Seventy times seven

Forgiveness: (n) the act of ceasing to feel resentment toward something or someone

Just reading that word "forgiveness" makes me get all defensive inside.

Some people don't deserve to be forgiven. Some people take advantage of your forgiving spirit. Sometimes a hurt goes so deep, a wound is so painful, that you can't imagine forgiving that person. They may not even realize that they hurt you. They may not care that they hurt you. Every time you think of that person or situation you feel angry, betrayed, bitter, sad, rejected, alone, taken advantage of, belittled, and flat out miserable. Do you know what that's like? If not, I envy you. But more than that, I respect you.

How many of you have been hurt by the church? Maybe a pastor or church leader, maybe a family member who is a Christian. I know what that feels like, and I know what it looks like to let my hurt and anger cause me to shut God out. I let my hurts caused by people affect my relationship with God. That doesn't seem very fair, does it?

It's so easy to let our emotions control us. Instead of putting our foot down and having self-control we let our minds go rampant with negative thoughts. We need to remember that we have been given a spirit of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7), and we've also been commanded to control our thoughts. To bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). So we know that it's possible to control our negative thoughts. Now that brings us to a fork in the road.

Are we going to control our thoughts or let them control us?

In Matthew 18:21-22 Jesus talks about forgiveness with his disciples. Peter asked him how many times he had to forgive someone who wronged him. (Sidenote: Isn't that so typical? As Christians, sometimes we get so caught up in legalism that we forget about grace and unconditional love.) Jesus responded with this, "I tell you this, not up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." Did you just try to do the math in your head? Haha, I know I did! Seventy times seven? That's a lot! But Jesus didn't say that so we would count how many times we forgive each other, he said that to make a point. We need to forgive so often that we lose count.

We are told to love our neighbor as ourselves, to consider others more highly esteemed than ourselves. Part of loving others is forgiving them. Read 2 Corinthians 13, it emphasizes how important love is! One verse says that love keeps no record of wrongs--in other words, we aren't allowed to hold grudges. Think about all the things Christ has forgiven you for. We're told to forgive as we have been forgiven, and Jesus has forgiven us of every sin we've ever committed--past, present and future. Also, practically speaking, it's healthy to forgive others. I promise you will physically feel better when you let go of those hurts you've been holding on to.

Now here is the challenge I bring to you. Who are you going to forgive this week? I'll bet there's at least one person that you've been thinking of while reading this. I challenge you to pray and ask God to forgive you for being bitter, and then go to that person and let them know what's going on in your heart. Maybe even ask them for forgiveness for holding on to whatever they said or did. I will also be doing this challenge, my friends. We're all in this together.

Ask God to soften your heart, he will help you let go of those hurts. "If he leads you to it, he'll get you through it."

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae

Hot or cold

Just thinking about what I'm going to write about right now makes me scrunch my nose in distaste and think, "Ugh..." because this topic is convicting. Take a look at the verse Revelation 3:16. It says, "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth." (NKJV) As Christians it's easy to ignore the Scriptures we don't want to think about or come to terms with. This is one of those verses that I don't like to really study because I'm afraid of what I might see when I apply this to my current circumstances. Am I on fire for God? I encourage you to ask yourself the same question.

You might be thinking to yourself, "Hm, I don't know if I'm on fire for God. I love God, I feel like I know God, I talk to God and serve Him. Does that mean I'm on fire for God?" Well let's take a look at what the Bible has to say about that.

In Matthew 7 Jesus talks about fruit. He says you will be known by your fruit. As a human being you have influence, and everything you do and say influences those around you. How you influence people is evidence of the fruit you are producing. Are you pointing people toward God or away from him?

Your works and your fruit are not the only things that define you as being "hot" for God. The most important thing is that you remember your love for Jesus! Revelation 2:2-4 says, "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love." It breaks my heart to read that! How often do we get so caught up in serving God that we forget to sit at his feet and enjoy our relationship with him? The best way to love God is to have relationship with him, that's why he sent Jesus to die for our sins. We were separated from God because of our sin and he sacrificed everything so we can enter into his presence and be near to him.

I, for one, don't want God to spit me out of his mouth. I can't imagine that would be a pleasant experience. It's easier to live on fire for God when you decide to make each day count.

How are you going to live passionately for God today? How are you going to make today count?

Hot or cold, you choose.

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae

God knows why, we don't need to

We don't always need to know why. In fact, we're not always meant to know why. But isn't that the most common question we ask God? We fall on our knees, we cry out, "Why, God? Why did this happen? Why now? Why me? Why didn't you stop this from happening?"

I don't have all the answers, and no pastor, teacher, parent or scholar is going to have all the answers. The only one who knows everything is God. Instead of trying to figure out God's plan and trying to guess his next move, let's just obey. I am the worst at obeying, I really am, so just know that I'm speaking directly from my heart. But 1 John 5:3 (NIV) says, "In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands..." We need to ask less questions and do what we know we should do.

This is where faithfulness comes in. David could have asked why many times in between the time he was anointed king and the time he actually became king. But what did he do? He served God faithfully and didn't question God's plan. We have a tendency to forget the perfection of the God that we serve. He knows exactly what he's doing, and he is not bound by time. Let us not forget in the darkness what we were told in the light. It's easy to doubt God when we're going through a tough season, but I encourage you to run back to God. Fall at his feet and surrender your plans and your future to him once again. Even if you've done it a thousand times. God won't give up on you, don't give up on him. Don't let your fears, your mistakes, your pride, your hurt, your anger, your relationships, your job keep you from the Lord! That's exactly what the devil wants. Don't let him win, I know I have. If I get one thing across to you today let it be this: the devil is out to steal, kill and destroy YOU and you can either fight or surrender. I say let's fight. "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7 NKJV) I'm always up for a challenge. =)

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae