Are you “the first”?
God can help you to become “the first”. Just ask Him because He can help you be brave, He can help you forgive, and He can also help you be happy.
What more could you ask for!
You say, “I can’t forgive what they’ve done to me.”
I ask you, “What has anyone done to you that is worse than what they did to Jesus Christ?”
Christ was crucified on a cross. He died a slow and agonising death.
We thankfully will never have to endure the pain, agony and persecution that Christ suffered while He was here on earth. But let me remind you that because Christ died on the cross, our sins were forgiven, and every sin we ever commit will be forgiven.
Therefore to try and repay Christ for dying for us, let’s make sure we forgive all those who hurt us in any way, because only then can be truly find peace again. There is nothing anyone can do to us here on earth that we should not we willing to forgive, so let’s keep our hearts open and true to God so that we can find forgiveness even when it feels that forgiveness is the last thing you want to do.
If you are kind people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Be kind anyway ~ Mother Teresa
It’s true, some people will always question your motives when you show kindness. It’s a sad indication of the society we live in these days – no-one believes people may just want to show kindness, without needing or wanting anything in return.
Kindness is something we are all capable of giving, but so many choose not to share their kindness with others.
It costs us nothing to show a little kindness to another human, so make it your aim for this coming week to be kind to everyone who meet – it won’t hurt you, but it may stop some else from hurting quite so much when they realise someone cares!
Is life about helping others or about getting one over on someone?
I do wonder sometimes, as there are definitely a lot of folk about who always seems more intent on trying to get one over on someone else, than in actually working together and helping others.
What makes me even sadder about that observation is that some of those people I’m talking about profess to be Christinas…and that makes me mad!
We need to get the message out there that we’re all in this together, and therefore life should be about helping one another, not trying to get one over on everyone else. i.e. Help others rather than trying to beat them.
Do you feel forgiven?
God forgives us if we are willing to repent. Does that mean if we don’t feel forgiven, God hasn’t forgiven us?
I’d like to suggest that maybe it isn’t that God hasn’t forgiven us, but simply that we haven’t been sincere and honest when we have asked God for forgiveness. e.g. We just asked God to forgive us because we knew that’s what we should do not necessarily because we really were sorry for our sins.
When you seek God’s forgiveness, don’t do it if your heart’s not in it, only ask God for forgiveness when you really do want to be forgiven.
Do you spend much time thinking about all your sins? If you’re anything like me, you probably have answered no to that question!
It’s true, we all know we sins many times each day, but are probably all guilty of not talking to God about our sins, acknowledging our failures before God, and accepting His forgiveness for our sins.
We must acknowledge our sins to God so that He can forgive us and help us do better in the future.
I think we walk around with some unconfessed sins on our shoulders, and we all know how debilitating it can be walking around feeling guilty and burdened by sin.
It takes strength to admit our faults, but it’s only by doing so we will ever be truly forgiven. So when we pray we must freely admit to God all our sins. No only will that allow us to receive God’s forgiveness, but it will lift the burden of sin from our shoulders.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD— and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Here’s Rebecca St. James singing Forgive Me – a wonderful touching song that fits perfectly with my thoughts today:
Matthew 25:35-36 (NIV)
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
How many of us would actually do all those things mentioned in the above bible passage?
Yes we might all manage to give those who are hungry or thirsty food or water, but would we invite a stranger into our homes, give someone clothes, look after someone who was sick or even visit someone in prison?
I may have taken this passage of scripture quite literally , but I think in this instance it shows some distinct ways in which we may or may not be willing to “put ourselves out” for others.
If we profess to be Christians, God expects us to do all we can to help others, so we must give of our times and our processions to help others whenever we can – Whether that be giving the homeless food/water/clothes, phoning or visiting someone who is ill or has not attended church for a while, spreading God’s message to those who don’t yet know Him.
Sometimes we can do things that can mean the world to someone else, just by a simple action, so go on reach out and help someone today.
As I said in yesterday’s blog post entitled Carry On Encouraging, we’re always told that we should encourage others, but how do we do that?
Joshua 9:9
Let your life blaze with the truth and presence of God. The people around you will be encouraged towards faith.
So you can see that it’s not always the case that we need to speak to someone personally to actually encourage them. Sometimes our actions and the way we live our life are enough to encourage someone by helping them find the strength to get through their troubles, by bringing them closer to God.
Do you know of someone who is need of being brought closer to God? I’d urge you to show your love for them by encouraging them more so that they might find God can be the answer they are looking for.
by: Unknown Author
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit.
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out:
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are.
It may be near when it seems so far:
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
Always remember God is with you.
Through times of joy and times of despair, God is with you.
God will pick you up and guide you towards your goal, and will help you to learn to from your experiences.
Trust God always, He will never let you down.
