Luke 6:27-38 A Lesson in True Giving

Luke 6:27-38 A Lesson in True Giving 

 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

We almost always skip right to the easiest part of this powerful message. It is probably easier for even the stingiest person to part with his hard earned cash than it is to truly love the “unloveable” and forgive the “unforgiveable” but that is the essence of this message.

27 This is what I say to all who will listen to me:

He didn't say forgive when it's easy. He didn't say love when it's convenient. He left us with a goal to strive for which would be undeniable evidence that we are “a son of the Most High”. And He made it plain that He was talking about loving through some difficult circumstances. 

When we finally reach the ability to “love those who spitefully use you” there will be no need to TELL anyone that we are Christians.

I ask, How can I possibly forgive those who have done me wrong?

I look to the cross. I look to the powerful message of my Lord and Savior who asked forgiveness for those exacting a cruelty beyond my ability to imagine.

Matthew 22:37-40 New King James Version (NKJV) 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’                       38 This is the first and great commandment.                                                                             39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’                                   40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

I look in His Word and remember that He left me the Comforter to help me with this and all difficult tasks. I thank Him for the Comforter because I know, without a doubt, that I don't have a chance of fulfilling this commandment without His help.

Heavenly Father, every week we sing “And they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love—And they'll know we are Christians by our love.” Please help me to reach that point where this will be a whole truth for me. Please let Your love shine through in my every contact with others. Amen.

May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!!!

Joy of Forgiveness

Psalm 32:1-11 Contemporary English Version (CEV) (A special psalm by David.) The Joy of Forgiveness

32 Our God, you bless everyone
    whose sins you forgive and wipe away.

2 You bless them by saying,     “You told me your sins,
without trying to hide them, and now I forgive you.”

3 Before I confessed my sins, my bones felt limp,
    and I groaned all day long.

4 Night and day your hand weighed heavily on me,
    and my strength was gone as in the summer heat.

5 So I confessed my sins and told them all to you.
    I said, “I’ll tell the Lord each one of my sins.”
Then you forgave me and took away my guilt.

6 We worship you, Lord, and we should always pray
whenever we find out that we have sinned.
    Then we won’t be swept away by a raging flood.

7 You are my hiding place! You protect me from trouble,
and you put songs in my heart  because you have saved me.

8 You said to me, “I will point out the road that you should follow.
I will be your teacher and watch over you.

9 Don’t be stupid like horses and mules
    that must be led with ropes to make them obey.”

10 All kinds of troubles will strike the wicked,
    but your kindness shields those who trust you, Lord.

11 And so your good people should celebrate and shout.

Imagine David, known as “a man after God's Own Heart”, crying out for forgiveness to a God whom he was certain loved him.

We must know in our own hearts the wonder of the love of God. It is in this knowledge that we have faith in our salvation and we have faith in His unmatchable capacity for love.

We teach our children to pray “Our Father, which art in heaven”. It is important for them to see in us the knowledge that God is truly supreme father of us all. It is important for them to witness our dependence on his grace and mercy.

Like any father, he wants the best for us and the best from us. Like any father he is often disappointed in our behavior. Like any father, he stands ready to forgive us when we come to our senses.

Our teacher and Moderator reminds us that repetition, repetition, repetition helps us to hold on to the promises.

We repeat here Micah's reminder of God's Covenant promise...

Micah 7:18-19 New International Version (NIV)

18 Who is a God like you,
    who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
    of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
    but delight to show mercy.
19 You will again have compassion on us;
    you will tread our sins underfoot
    and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

Remember that God “delights to show mercy”. Remember that he left his Word as the road that we should follow.

I choose, like David, t go quickly to God and confess my sins. I am grateful to be a child of a living God who loves me and delights to show mercy. I thank him for being my shield who hides me from the troubles of this world.

I pray that you, too, know the Joy of Forgiveness.

May God Forever Be a Blessing in Your Life!!!