Begin Again

"But though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity." -Proverbs 24:16

 

Have people ever let you down? If you're dealing with human beings, in ministry or in business, or anywhere for that matter, it's likely they will! 

But what do we do when people mess up? Do we tell them there's no hope, that God is angry with them, or do we tell them that God is a God of second chances, waiting with open arms for us to run back to Him when we repent? The second picture is the more accurate one. 

Peter was in the garden with Jesus. Jesus told him he would deny him three times before the rooster crowed. Peter didn't believe he would do it. 'I will never deny you,' he said. And yet, when he was asked by Roman soldiers if he knew Jesus, he denied it three times.(John 18:27) But even after all of that Jesus still said to him, 'You are Simon Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church." (Matthew 16:18) 

As Christians, we need to realize that God is cheering us on. He loves it when we lead a life that's pleasing to Him. And He knows it can be difficult sometimes. We need to believe in others like He believes in us. People WILL let us down, there is no doubt about it. But there is always hope in God, He is the hope of the world! We need to place our faith and trust for the outcome of their lives in His hands, and learn to see them as He sees them. 

If you're like a lot of people, YOU have let you down. But we need to learn to dust ourselves off and get back up, and try again. The Bible says the righteous fall 7 times, but they get back up. Are you getting up from whatever it is you're encountering, or are you staying on the ground? We can't let ourselves or others fall into the trap that there is no grace, no hope. As long as we're alive we have the ability to turn things around. 

Is there someone you need to forgive and believe in again? Do you need to forgive yourself? May we all receive the grace necessary for our journeys, and give it to others who need someone to believe in them. If the church doesn't believe in people, who will?

As It Is In Heaven

"And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven." -Matthew 16:19
 
You know, God gave us quite an incredible gift when He sent His son Jesus to die for us.  In addition to this free gift of eternal salvation, He also gave us many keys that, when activated, can move mountains on our behalf.  All He said we needed to have was a mustard seed of faith, and to keep asking (Matt 17:20, 7:7).

Recently a friend was going through a really difficult situation.  Something had happened with her place of residence, and she was facing undue eviction!  Understandably, she was very upset.  I said, "You know what?  God doesn't want you to be evicted.  He wants you to have a place to live that is safe and secure.  So since that is His will for you, we should pray that His will be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven." (paraphrase)  So that is exactly what we prayed!

It took several days for a decision to be reached about her eviction, but thankfully, the landlords decided to let her stay!  After she discovered that the motion was halted against her, she told me and we prayed and thanked God for His moving on her behalf.

Is there anything in your life that needs to be, "on earth, as it is in heaven?"  Pray with firm belief that the things you are hoping for will be manifest on the earth.  God can do incredible things through us, if we will believe.

Free Will

"The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, 'You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden - except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.'" -Genesis 2:15-17
 
Did you know that, in the beginning of time, God gave us a very important gift? The gift He gave us wasn't life, or work, or authority, or companionship - although those are very important things that did He give to us. But God gave us something very powerful that most of us don't even realize: He gave each of us the ability to choose. He gave us the gift of free will. 

We may think that we know what free will is, and yes, it is a choice. God could have created us as drones in the garden - robots to do His bidding - (which would have been far easier), but He didn't. "Then God said, 'Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.' So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." -Genesis 1:26 & 27
 
However, we as believers do much of the world a disservice when we expect them to abide by the same rules and belief systems that we do. I'm sure you've heard the phrase, "To love is to let go." If a choice is forced upon someone, then it really isn't their choice. But God is a good, loving God, drawing each of us to repentance by His goodness. "Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?" -Romans 2:4 
 
We shouldn't be people who expect the world to live by our standards. Instead, we should be the ones to love and serve the world, creating an example that your best life is lived with God, surrounded by a community of people who love others and want to serve them too. And, most of all, who have really understood what it means to accept Jesus' free unmerited gift of precious eternal life and live in His abundant love, grace, and joy. 

Do you know how powerful this precious gift of free will is? Pray today that you would use your free will to bless and benefit others, so that more and more people could come into relationship with a loving God who cares about them so so deeply.