His law is LOVE.
Oh man. This past Sunday I had so much going on, I was contemplating whether or not I should just stay at home and get caught up on some things or go to church. I decided to go to church and I think it was more of I was lead to make the decision to go to church. Within minutes of the service starting I was convicted. Like a lot.
The series we started this past week was The Gift of Forgiveness. After hearing that, my immediate thought was "crap." There had been a lot of internal stuff going on that past week and I knew God was trying to address how to handle it. "If there is anyone who should be quick to forgive, it should be us who have received the ultimate forgiveness". BOOM we're getting right down to business and not wasting any time. Isn't that so true though? Like we are all such horrible imperfect human beings and Jesus died so that we could be forgiven of all of that. Who are we to not forgive those who have wronged us? IT'S HARD! I know it is. I battle with it constantly. Sometimes you literally have to give things/ people up to God repeatedly so that you're free of them and the flood of emotions they bring.
1 Samuel 24:12-13
May the LORD judge between you and me. May He punish you for your actions against me, but MY hand will not be against you. The saying says "out of the sinful comes sin".
1 Peter 3:8-9
All of you be of one mind, sympathetic, lovers of your fellow believers, compassionate and modest in your opinion of yourselves. Don't pay back evil with evil or insult for insult. Instead, give BLESSING in return. You were called to do this so you might inherit a blessing.
God calls us to bless those who curse us.. SO not our natural instinct, or at least not mine! Love your brother or sister who wronged you and let God handle the rest. I'm still learning how to perfect this tactic.
Psalm 103:10-12
He does not repay us according to our sins or repay us according to our wrongdoing because as high as heaven is above the earth, that's how large God's faithful love is for those honor Him. As far as the east is from the west -- that is how far God has removed our sin from us.
Isaiah 43:24-25
You did not buy Me gifts with your money or satisfy Me with your sacrifices, instead you have burdened Me with your sins and wearied Me with your evil actions. I am the one who wipes out your rebellious behavior for My sake. I won't remember your sin anymore.
Thank You GOD! Those were so personal to me. I'm always so hard on myself. Sometimes I forget God doesn't love me any less if I screw some things up. -- though that doesn't give us the excuse to live in ways that are against how we're taught to live through the Bible, but if we accidentally get lost .. God is still going to be the same loving Father He always is. His love never changes. I know I need to stop beating myself up about some things AND we need to do the same for other people too!
Colossians 3:12-13
So as God's chosen one, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Be tolerant with each other and if someone has a complaint against anyone, forgive each other. As the Lord forgave you, also forgive each other.
DANG, hurts so good.
Luke 17:3-4
Watch yourselves! If your brother or sister sins, warn them to stop. If they change their hearts, forgive them. Even if someone sins against you 7 times in one day and returns to you 7 times and says "I am changing my ways" you must forgive that person.
God also commands us to forgive repeatedly. Another toughie. Yikes.
Basically it was a GREAT sermon at the Austin Stone by Matt Carter.
I know I'm giving the gift of forgiveness to some people this Christmas.
God has so generously helped me restore some friendships in my life that He didn't have to. Redemption is just the coolest thing. Seeing something completely broken turn into something beautiful and filled with glory that points to the Lord.
When I come back in the new year I want to start trying out different churches. Not because anything is wrong with Austin Stone, I love that place. I'll probably be there often regardless if I find another church to go to. That was my plan in the beginning but I didn't get to do as much of that as I would have liked because of football season. I just don't want to pass something by that could also be great for me. If there are any churches in the New Braunfels/ Austin area that you've been to and suggest I try, let me know! Also, FRIENDS if you want to tag along on any of my weekend adventures to try these new places in the spring, I would love to have you!
