You Were Dead...But God!
Because of God's work on our behalf, Christians now have the hope of redemption by grace through faith.
The word forgiveness draws various reactions. If we’re talking about God’s forgiveness of us, it can be a soothing topic resulting in gratitude and peace. If we need to seek forgiveness from someone we’ve wronged, we might wrangle a bit with our pride before we finally approach that person in humility—but our resulting cleared conscience makes it well worth the effort.
Usually, however, the most uncomfortable kind of forgiveness is what we must extend to someone who has wronged us or hurt us deeply. The Bible says a lot about this kind of forgiveness—perhaps because our emotions arm wrestle with it and other lingering memories skirmish with it. It’s really hard to do.
Find out what God’s Word says about forgiveness, how essential it is to understand, and how to actually do it...if we want to grow in our walk with God.
Because of God's work on our behalf, Christians now have the hope of redemption by grace through faith.
Forgiveness is a required course in the curriculum of the Christian life. It isn't an elective. And the exams are tough to take. If you've gone through the process of seeking or giving forgiveness you know how tough it can be. But there's nothing more healing than a forgiving spirit.
The changing of seasons is a wonderful time of transition for all of us. In this message, Chuck Swindoll calls us to gain a fresh perspective…not only on where we might be going in God's plan but seeing where we've been.
Too often, we end up saying “if only I had known then what I know now.” Since there’s no way to go back and relive our lives, we need to focus on the best way to respond to these painful memories. Otherwise, we will live under clouds of blame and shame and be paralyzed by fear.
Life is all about growing and learning. And it’s in the day-to-day living that we learn how to forgive, how to handle disappointment, and admit failure. It’s in the day-to-day struggles that we mature.
Of all the bad habits we could address, few are more prevalent yet more acceptable than lying. As painful as it may be to hear it, ours is a nation of liars. The majority of North Americans find it hard to get through a week without lying.
Isn’t it great when someone says, “I forgive you”…just like that? Without pleading or begging for mercy, we’re simply forgiven. That’s probably one of the best feelings in the world.
God’s Word says that there will be a day of judgement. But as Christians that’s not something that we need to fear. When we placed out trust in Christ our guilt was removed, now and for eternity.
When someone hurts you deeply, it’s easy to feel justified in holding a grudge. But in this message, Chuck Swindoll warns us that holding onto resentment doesn’t just injure our relationship with the other person…it damages our relationship with God.
Through the three years the disciples learned from Jesus they watched Him calm storms, walk on water, and confront the religious establishment…all while casting His saving net into humanity’s sea.