Forgiveness—like rain on parched land

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Rain on Eastern Washington

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”  Luke 7:39-50

You can’t see others as God sees them unless you forgive.
You can’t see yourself as God sees you unless you forgive.
You won’t be able to forgive yourself unless you forgive others.
You can’t love others as God loves unless you forgive.
You can’t love yourself as God loves you unless you forgive.
You won’t know how much God loves you unless you forgive.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  John 13:34-35

We are to forgive as we’ve been forgiven.
We are to love as we have been loved.
Love and forgiveness are intertwined.

A Morning of God’s Love

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Oh, what a beautiful morning.

Because of God’s love for me:
I am forgiven, and I can forgive others.
I am loved, and I can love others.
I have hope, and I can offer hope to others.
I have His life in me, and I can offer His life to others.
I can pray for my family and know His love for them is greater than mine.
I know His love will never leave me.
What a wonderful beautiful morning!

 

Piercing the Darkness

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The sky proclaims the sun is coming.

“He is risen,” but what does it mean?
The death of Death for those who believe.
His Life for our life for those who receive.
The proof of His Power to break all powers for those who bow.
The Joy of heaven becomes our joy for those who confess.
He is risen is hope reborn, declared by God for those who will follow.

Every morning comes heaven’s whisper––
“He is risen.”
Can you hear His love calling to you?
Let it pierce your darkness,
Let it wash over your heart,
And rest in His grace and peace.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7

Pure as Snow

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Beautiful snow, a metaphor for life touched by God’s grace

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Isaiah 1:18

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7

Anger In the Night

SH_170921-0226In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Ephesians 4:26-27

Anger robs me of enjoying the day.
It prevents me from loving those around me.
It leads to bitterness of spirit.
It keeps me in turmoil.
It puts me on edge ready to lash out.
It makes me ugly.
It shortens my life.
The bondage of anger is to strong I cannot walk away.

Forgiveness breaks the chains
Forgiveness leads to restoration
Forgiveness leads to peace.
Forgiveness allows me to love instead of hate
Forgiveness is what I need
Forgiveness makes me someone who can be loved
I need God’s forgiveness, so that I might forgive,
And live.

At the Start of Day

Rejoicing in the new day

Rejoicing in this day

It is God’s grace that turns this day into a special day with eternal purpose. All that is needed is God’s grace upon grace. His grace that forgives and makes me right, followed by grace to give me strength to do His will. At the start of each day I need to let these verse wash over me.

For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. John 1:16

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

Rejoice for this is the day that the LORD has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24

Deception Falls

Deception Falls

The lower portion of Deception Falls, WA

If you have never stopped at Deception Falls, while traversing Stevens Pass, you are missing a beautiful spot. Now about my personal deception falls.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

When I make a sinful choice, I often place the blame on someone else, or point to the circumstances of life as the reason for my relapse into wrong (I can always find an excuse). This lets me think of myself as the victim and not the perpetrator. Unfortunately, this rationalization only takes me further from what I really need––forgiveness and the Holy Spirit’s help. So, I mope around enslaved to this subtle self-deception missing out on God’s joy. The good news is I am just a humble confession away from a pure heart and a renewed spirit. God’s grace to wash away my deception and renew the joy of my salvation

Enjoying Sunrise

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You don’t want to miss sunrise

When I am in a grumpy mood,
I miss out on goodness.
When I am angry,
I miss out on love.
When I covet and filled with discontent,
I miss out on all the gifts I have been given.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

For only when I am right with God can I enjoy all his blessings.

Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Psalm 51:11-12

How good is God that he wants to clean us up that we might enjoy life.

A New Beginning

Sunrise of a New Day

Sunrise of a new day

“If only I had been more loving … spent more time.” These are words I have heard over and over from people grieving over the death of someone in their family. It is especially difficult when the death was self-inflicted. We all wish at times to be able to go back and change something we said or did. But, unfortunately, erasing and changing the past is not possible … or is it? The key to this miracle is found in the word forgiveness.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.  2 Corinthians 7:10

This verse is about confessing our wrongs before God and receiving forgiveness.

How can God’s forgiveness leave no regret, especially when the person we have wronged is gone? Because the grace of God brings with it the “hope of the glory of God.”

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  Romans 5:1-2

In other words, in the end the glory of God wins. It wins over our regrets, our shame, our sins — it wins out over death. God’s grace replaces all our regrets with peace and hope in Him. I still struggle with my feelings of regret; constantly reminding myself that I stand covered by God’s grace. How God resolves all the messes in life is His miracle not mine. I just know that through forgiveness and following Jesus, I will someday see the glory of God cover the land … like the sunrise of a new day.

Learning to Fly

The joy of flying

The joy of flying


Anger consumes my mind letting nothing else in.
Holding a grudge takes over allowing only thoughts of getting back.
Wanting to see someone hurt because I have been hurt, only keeps the wound open.
My life crippled from pain, yet I want to cause more pain.
Like a cancer, anger spreads and takes over.
It destroys joy. It gives me a heart of stone. It slowly strangles life.
Thank you, Lord, for forgiveness.
When I forgive, it lets me move on, it lets me fly again.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (Matthew 6:12-13)

The merciful man does himself good,
But the cruel man does himself harm. (Proverbs 11:17)