Give Forgiveness Part 2

Matthew 6:12-15
“And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us, and don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

These verses in my bible are in red which means they were spoken to Jesus. He said this at His famous sermon on the mount while instructing the crowds how to pray. To me this does not look like an option but a command. It seems pretty much like even a pre-requisite for our Father forgiving us doesn’t it? But some may say; “Yeah, but you don’t understand what they did to me,” Forgive, “Yeah, but they really hurt my feelings,” Forgive, “Yeah, but what they did to me was uncalled for,” Forgive. We need to know that if we hold unforgiveness in our hearts, it will hold us back from receiving our true intimacy and relationship with our Father.

Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you.”

Give Forgiveness Part 1

In the book of Matthew 18:21-22, Peter asks Jesus, “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.” It actually sounds like Peter was being kind of sarcastic here, when he says even up to seven times. But we have to remember that Jesus came to forgive us for our sins. What if Jesus said, seven times should be good. We would all have blown it a long time ago. I remember it clearly when I recommitted my live to Christ and it was by these 10 words. “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”. After being whipped 39 times, being punched in the face, spit on, had to carry a cross in a crowd of haters, made to wear a painful crown of thorns and He says forgive them? I mean come on; he could have at any moment stopped it all. I remember reading this thinking, how could he love someone that much. But He does.

Today let’s remember the cross and who do we hold contempt against that we haven’t forgiven?

Love Deeper Part 5

Romans 13:8
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law.”

Today I want to close this out with knowing that we must learn to love one another. We need to have the passion to know that love is not just a feeling or emotion but an actual commandment from God. Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment based on the ten commandments God gave to Moses and He said, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul and love your neighbor as yourself.” Too many times people base love on a feeling or emotion and don’t consider that we are to love one another. Many divorces are caused by one of the two not having that feeling or emotion anymore, but I believe that love is deeper than a feeling or an emotion. Love is something that is very close to being seen but not seen with the human eyes. It is seen with the heart. True love is when you learn to forgive and forget things that might have hurt you. True love never dies but is a living thing that goes on forever. We are called to LOVE.

Love Deeper Part 4

Romans 12:9-10
“Don’t just pretend that you love others. Really love them, hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. “

Today’s message talks about being real. I totally think people can tell when someone is being sincere or not. I have really tried my entire life to show my true sincerity and I have been teaching my kids to do the same. We also still live on the rule, “if you can’t say something nice don’t say it at all.” But I would like today to take that a step further, if you can’t say something nice then find something to say nice to say (with sincerity). We really have to be looking at the positive in everything we see and do. My wife was sharing with me last night (on our awesome date night! See love deeper part 3) that instead of looking at the world and seeing the evil in it, we need to look at the world and see GOD in it.

Today I want you to be real and find God in everything.

Love Deeper Part 3

I dedicate this devotional to the most amazing woman in the world, my wife Stacey.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails.”

I got to go out on a date with my wife last night and it was just me and her. When I look into her eyes I see the person who has given me three amazing children, stuck with me for over 13 years, encouraged me when I am down and most importantly my best friend. I can’t communicate the emotion I have about my wife, because she is amazing. Too many times marriages are just a business arrangement without love. Each day I learn to love my wife more and more, and every day she somehow gets even more beautiful, which is pretty hard to do because she is gorgeous. If you never believed in God, you should see the miracle I scored with my wife. She is way out of my ballpark but every day she loves me right back. We have committed our entire lives to each other and we have gone through many sacrifices and changes to make sure we are in tune with each other.

I just wanted to share in a devotional the amount of Love I have for her. I could write an entire book on it, but I figured I would just start with this.

I LOVE YOU STACEY!!!

Love Deeper Part 2

1 Corinthians 13:13
“There are three things that will endure – faith, hope and love—and the greatest is love.”

So many times we get so wrapped up in ourselves that we forget those around us and I am speaking to myself here also. But if we realize when it is all said and done and we have come to the end of our life we can’t take anything with us. What are you doing today to leave a legacy? What are you doing that will show others that you do care? What are you doing that will speak to someone else without using words? The one word that comes to mind here is that Love will endure, after we are gone, the people most important in our lives will remember the love that we showed rather than the toys and money we left behind. Before, Christ really got a hold of me, my next goal was to become the next CEO of a huge corporation and I respected the men around me who worked 60+ hours a week. After I gave my life to Christ, I realized what was important in my life and that is the love I show for others.

How can you show love to another person today? Is it an email, is it a call, is it a letter or just a thank you. But let someone know you care.

Love Deeper Part 1

Luke 6:31
“Love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

This is the Greatest Commandment Jesus said and above all things this is what we are called first to love. This is one thing that kept me away for many years from becoming a dedicated follower of Jesus. I did not understand why if it was such a loving God why would he want me to love Him before my precious children and my beautiful wife? I could not wrap my mind around this, until one day He came and met me through reading his word and with tears in my eyes, I committed my life to Him. When I did, I immediately understood that it was Him who gave me the life, gave me my wife and gave me my wonderful kids.

Today I want you to reflect on God’s love and realize that it is Him who gives life.