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Forgiveness
Posted by Merv on Thursday 18th February 2010 | 0
Comments |
Our walk with God begins with recognizing that we have offended God and are in need of his forgiveness and cleansing. We have been infected by sin and nothing will remove the stain except the blood of Jesus.
In fact our plight is so bad that we are considered to be enemies of God, and headed for a lost eternity. Our condition is so bad that God himself cannot overlook our sin or just forgive us.
But God, who is rich in mercy, sent His only Son to pay the price for our sin. The righteous one died in our place, bearing the guilt of our sin. This is but the starting place of our salvation. Without acknowledging our lost and sinful condition, we cannot find God's mercy and access His forgiveness.
When Jesus hung on the cross He said "it is finished." What was finished at that time? The penalty for sin had been made, and Jesus bore all of my guilt and shame. The fire of God's wrath cannot burn in the same place twice, just as a bushfire cannot re-burn the paddocks which it has already devastated.
God cannot re-judge my sin, but He will judge what I do with Jesus, who is God's gift for our salvation. What have you done with Jesus? Did you accept his act of mercy and receive his judgment for your sin and thank him for it? Heaven's door swings wide open to those who receive God's forgiveness through Jesus, but remains closed and cold as steel to those who try to obtain salvation another way.
Once I am forgiven of my sins, my name is placed in God's book of life, and my death is only a passing out of this body and into a new Heavenly body, and out of this sin sick world into the realms of Heaven.
When we have been forgiven, God expects us to forgive others also. When we hold onto resentment, bitterness and un-forgiveness we distance ourself from God and bind ourself to the problem. We are required to walk in forgiveness, so that nothing blocks our walk with God.
Quote: "Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting." - William Arthur Ward
It is time to stop judging people and start being a friend instead. When we refuse to forgive others, we ourselves end up in bondage by the very judgement we held against others. But we even need God's help at times to forgive, because some things hurt so much that we need to ask God for grace to forgive and see the good in others. Love covers a multitude of sins.
Quote: "To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you." - Lewis B. Smedes
Mark 11:25-26 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father, Who is in heaven, may also forgive you your (own) failings and shortcomings and let them drop.
But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings.
Ephesians 4:32 And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another (readily and freely) as God in Christ forgave you.
Colossians 3:13 Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has (freely) forgiven you, so must you also forgive.
Matthew 5:24 Leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
Matthew 5:44-45 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Matthew 6:9-15 This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 18:21-35 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Matthew 26:28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
| Merv
Senior Pastor
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Fixes 16/02/10
Posted by TijN on Tuesday 16th February 2010 | 1
Comments |
[FIX] Hit Counter now displays in the month section a 12 month period.
[FIX] Hit Counter colours updated, red last year and green current.
[FIX] Hit Counter more search bots and os's added to code.
[FIX] Some code shortened and cleaned up for faster page loading speed.
| TijN
Site Administrator
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The problem of pain
Posted by Merv on Wednesday 3rd February 2010 | 0
Comments |
Some people age gracefully, others disgracefully, while some others obtain continual panel beating so that they can look like a younger model. While watching sporting bloopers over the holiday time, I realized that people are continually inventing new and creative ways of hurting themselves. Obviously, their misfortune was other people's amusement.
When a person has the misfortune to get run over by a truck, they are treated to a ride in the back of an ambulance, surrounded by surgeons and nurses, while pictures are taken of every part of their anatomy. A person who arrives at a social function with their broken leg dragging behind them as they maneouver their crutches through the crowded room, will receive lots of sympathy from all of their mates. If the same person was to arrive at a function suffering with mental pain or emotional exhaustion it is likely that they would receive some sympathy initially, but if they still have the same emotional pain a couple of months later people start to lose their compassion.
Unlike a visible injury, emotional pain can remain for years and even intensify as the person grows older. Bones can be set and all sorts of disease treated except emotional pain. It's a very lonely disease which most people would struggle to adequately describe.
Pain is a part of life which no-one is immune from, and sadly it's not just the problem but how we actually deal with the problem that's important. Just a couple of thoughts: ~
- It takes a long time to get that bad so expect the recovery to take time
- What doesn't destroy you will make you stronger
- You almost never get better alone
- There are people who can be trusted, people are not all the same
- There is a living, personal God who will be there when you are ready to turn over control
| Merv
Senior Pastor
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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
Posted by Merv on Wednesday 3rd February 2010 | 0
Comments |
Various tabloids have been reporting that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are splitting up. That may or may not be true. What is interesting is to look behind the mystique of the 'perfect couple,' and see that they are just ordinary people.
William Bradley "Brad" Pit (born December 18, 1963) is an actor and film producer. He has been cited as one of the world's most attractive men. Brad Pitt's first acting role was purportedly in the series Dallas, and he has now starred in dozens of movies including Oceans Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, where he acted alongside Angelina Jolie.
Angelina Jolie Voight was born June 4, 1975 to her parents Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, both well known actors, and is god-daughter of Jacqueline Bisset. After her parents' separation in 1976, Jolie and her brother were raised by their mother, who abandoned her acting ambitions and moved with them to Palisades, New York.
Jolie's time as a student at Beverly Hills High School left her feeling isolated among the children of some of the area's more affluent families. Jolie's mother survived on a more modest income, and Jolie often wore second-hand clothes. She was teased by other students who also targeted her for being extremely thin, and for wearing glasses and braces. Her self-esteem was further diminished when her initial attempts at modeling proved unsuccessful. She started to cut herself, wrongly believing that it was somehow therapeutic to her.
At the age of 14, she dropped out of her acting classes and dreamed of becoming a funeral director. During this period, she wore black clothing and dyed her hair purple. Though she made her screen debut as a child alongside her father Jon Voight in 1982, Jolie has been long estranged from her father.
Some say that the many children Pitt and Jolie have adopted is really an attempt to make the world right for children and somehow address their own broken childhood. Sadly, Angelina carries mental and physical scars from a hurtful past.
We cannot change the past but we can build a better future. You can be beautiful on the outside but broken on the inside. Only a power greater than ourselves can make us whole, and Jesus has already made things right so that we can be acceptable to God.
| Merv
Senior Pastor
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Lives which make a difference
Posted by Merv on Wednesday 3rd February 2010 | 1
Comments |
"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." Henry David Thoreau
People who make a difference in life choose to think outside the box, challenge the status quo, and ask the question, "Why can't it be done this way?" It's the difference between living life and just surviving it. People who are thinkers are always looking for ways to change their world for the better. 'Normal people' just leave things alone and drift with the crowd.
Salmon swim upstream
Although scientists don't even understand why, adult salmon begin to swim back home even though they may have swum thousands of miles. They swim upstream, against the current of the river and face predators, both bears and people. That's why salmon are so strong and healthy, because they are constantly working hard to get upstream against all obstacles.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was born in 1483 and during a terrible thunderstorm he cried out to God, "If you will save me I will become a Monk." He duly fulfilled his vows, becoming a Monk and then a Priest. Martin Luther was not just an ordinary person who was prepared to live with the status quo. He had a deep soul-searching and came to a salvation experience by grace alone (not by good works). Aged only 34 and believing that the Church of his day had lost the truth of scripture, he wrote out his now famous ninety-five theses and nailed them to the door of the castle Church. Others were prepared to toe the line but Martin Luther has gone down in posterity as one who changed the course of history.
Failure can be your teacher
Sometimes people are afraid to make decisions on their future because they fear making mistakes. Yet it is impossible to achieve anything of substance in this life without error. Mistakes are part of our learning curve.
Thomas Edison, when inventing the light globe, failed time after time, yet Edison himself is quoted as saying, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
You will always get the right answers when you ask the right questions.
| Merv
Senior Pastor
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