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July 7 is recognized as "Global Forgiveness Day" on the US National Day Calendar to encourage forgiveness as part of an element of personal health.
While it is great to give "forgiveness" the importance it deserves, maybe Good Friday, should be actually World Forgiveness Day!
Today Jesus forgave and recommended to the father to forgive His assassins, murderess, betrayers, deserters, mockers, thieves, gamblers, bribery takers, - everyone who were involved in nailing Him to the cross.
Good Friday is about forgiveness as well as a demonstration of God's love. When we forgive someone, we stop disliking them. We pray for them; we support them in times of need. It does not mean we start immediately liking them, that may take time. We may not like them. But we stop disliking them. We stop hating them. We stop gossiping about them, however juicy it may seem.
Today, following His example, can we think of one person (or more) whom we have not been able to forgive, decide to do so and pray to our God and Holy Spirit to give us the strength to forgive. And... can we also forgive ourselves, including our regrets, failures and dislikes.
We are called on to share the bounty we have received from God and Forgiveness is part of that bounty, given to us on that Friday on the cross.
Prov 9, 10 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight".
(This post is drawn from the KJV Bible Study and Lloyd John Ogilvie)
Jesus Christ totally transformed the relationship that we have with God - from Fear to Reverence.
In the times of the Old Testament, people feared God and they never thought of coming into His presence. Even the High Priests weren't safe enough to enter God's presence, the Holy of Holies, because of their sin.
But the dynamics of our relationship with God changed, when Christ arrived on the scene. When He sacrificed Himself on the Cross and, was resurrected to be a living God, a series of events we will shortly celebrate. We no longer have to be far away from God. We don't have to cower away from him, wallowing in our imperfections. God wants us as close Him as possible so that He can love us, guide us, assure us, and strengthen us. God wants to see us grow. He wants to see us overcome the habits and strongholds that held us down for years.
God wanted us free and we were set free through His son. The freedom we received was free of charge. God granted us this freedom out of his deep love for us and nothing else. There weren't any ulterior motives. God didn't wait spring any unpleasant surprises on us - and that is how it will remain.
God takes delight in the fact that we are able to approach him boldly. He doesn't want us to be afraid of him. This may confuse a few people who many not know what the "fear of God means". To fear God does not mean to be afraid of Him. It means to hold him in high regard; to revere him.
According to Lloyd John Ogilvie, "wisdom is ... the vertical thrust of the mind of God into our minds, ... wisdom is the gift we need ... in order to do the will of God".
Basically, this verse teaches that the fear (or reverence) of God is foundational to true wisdom; all other types of learning are worthless unless built upon a knowledge of the Lord Himself.
Matthew 28:19-20 New International Version 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age
Matthew 28, 19-20, quotes Jesus as instructing us to make disciples. Verse 20 goes onto say how and what they are expected to do. But before that, we, ourselves need to observe and follow verse 20 before we preach to others and expect them to follow Christ. Titus 2:11 tells us how.
Pastor David Jacobs opens up on this in a transparent manner. While we, and as churches, blindly believe and follow verse 19 we seldom understand that verse 20 is a qualifier and a responsibility and forms the discipline of discipleship for ourselves.
Here is what he says -
"This verse tells us how to conduct ourselves in a holy manner. Titus 2:11 says: "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men." God has given us salvation, and we must honor his salvation by doing what he asks. God's grace is involved in the teaching of us to turn away from godless actions. Living devoutly and avoiding sin are part of Paul and God's plans.
Paul writes this letter to Titus, often emphasizing the importance of living a disciplined life. Think about how important this would be: what kind of person do you think would attract more followers of Christ? Do you think it would be an ungodly one, one that pursues his every bodily desire, drinking and hurting others along the way? Of course not. Leading by example, Christ showed us how to live a disciplined and pious life. Christ has attracted followers based on his example for thousands of years, the vast majority of whom were not alive during his time. Disciples of Christ should see his life as the ultimate example of discipline and attempt to follow suit. This is Paul's aim in his letter to Titus.
Paul writes the letter knowing full well that the conduct of the early church members will go a long way in determining the impact of the church. Think about the churches in your own communities. Churches have fallen on hard times and been devastated by scandals, some never fully being able to recover. By resisting the temptations of the flesh and being delivered from evil, we protect our own immortal souls as well as show others how God hoped that we would live."
In short "We should exhibit self-control. We should live soberly, righteously, and godly. The rest we should leave to God."
We’re all familiar with the idea of laws. We know the Ten Commandments, and we understand all of the rules that have been built on top of them. They spell out what how we ought to live, but they really provide no recourse. That recourse came from Jesus, when He took on Himself the penalty of the sins of the entire world, then and in the future. But now that we have received grace from Jesus, are we done with the law? The growing feeling among people is that with the belief in, and grace of Jesus, that being in the grace of God means that they don't have to do some of the things. that God has told us to do. In fact, while we may not admit how we lessen their priority in our day-to-day life, as adults, some may not even remember the 10 commandments! Rather, we should see how the law has pointed to Jesus all along, revealing His character, and helping us see our need for His grace, by which he empowers us to live for Him, for without the law we would not even know how deeply in trouble we are, such is our affinity to rebel. We should realize though that the Commandments provide a moral framework that guides believers in living out their faith in practical ways. They are not followed out of fear or obligation but as a response to God’s love, helping to shape a life that reflects His grace. The fact is that we, each one of us, are so prone to straying even after receiving His Grace that we need a reference to return back to, if we truly love and believe in Christ and our Father. To be clear, "the Ten Commandments are not optional for believers in Jesus Christ, nor do they become irrelevant when we get saved. They are the pathway of knowing life to its fullest and living life to its limits" - says Pastor Jack Hayford who served as Chancellor of The King’s University (formerly The King’s College and Seminary) in Southlake, Texas. He goes onto to say - "The same that was true of Egypt is true of our culture; only the idols have changed. No longer the sun god, Ra, now the idol is sex or the great god of science and many more". This could be as simple a thing as a car, our children or anything we may give more importance to. "Every one of the ten directives God spoke are for our blessing, not to show His muscle, intimidate people, or badger them with His greatness. They represent God’s heart toward man’s deliverance and destiny and are given to make possible the prospering of our lives". Lastly, the question is why do we believe in the need for Jesus or His grace? It's only because we know we have fallen way, way short, of the Law and the only recourse is Jesus. How will we know that if we don't even know the Law and its importance?
Anxiety and worry are crippling issues for many people. In this age of technology, it is easier than ever before to compare ourselves to one another, which can lead to a lot of thoughts of inadequacy, insecurity and worthlessness. "The two listeners" in their book called God Calling, describe this feeling as below:
How can you be "joyful when days were rain-packed, nights tortured by chronic insomnia, when poverty and almost insupportable worry were our daily portion, when prayer went unanswered and God's face was veiled, and fresh calamities came upon us...... Disheartened, one of us would gladly have ceased the struggle and passed onto a another and happier life".
In truth many, if not all, some of us go through such times and feelings. What do we do about it?
Pastor David Jacobs has this to say and suggest- Consider Philippians 4 verses 6 and 7 -
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
"What does Paul say in this verse: don't worry about anything! "Be careful for nothing." NOTHING! If only it were that easy...but can it be?
"I would like you to try something the next time you feel anxious or worried: immediately mention it to God when it happens. Notice the feeling, mention it, and see what happens. I think you will be surprised by the results. I often feel most anxious in the morning: I think about the things that I need to do that day, the things I didn't do yesterday, and the things I will think about tomorrow. Basically, I am a nervous and anxious wreck. I have a habit that has helped me greatly with this issue, however: every morning, I wake up and pray.
Immediately. I don't toss and turn in bed, I don't check my phone, I don't make coffee...I go immediately to pray. The effects have been tremendous in terms of dealing with my anxiety.....
The first reason I like to pray in the morning is because it quiets my mind. Suddenly the day ahead of me becomes more clear. I know what things I want to deal with immediately, what things I can put on the back burner, and what things I might not have to deal with at all. Second, although you might think I would be sleepy as a result, I have found that I actually wake up. My mind is fresh and free to wander a bit, and I have a nice conversation to start the day. Third, and I believe this is the most important, I am given an opportunity to thank God for all that I am grateful for.
This prayer of thanksgiving starts my day on a positive note, and it trickles down into all the things that I do that day."
Today, at 12 am, 2020, 4 years ago, the world officially went on to face a pandemic, of proportions unknown by these three generations which are present here today. The pandemic called Covid.
Worse than the Spanish flu, it went on to claim 7,004,732 lives as of March 2024. That is more than 7 Million!
To give you an idea of the depth of the tragedy, on November 5, 2020, Neapolitans woke up to discover a provocative white marble sculpture placed at the center of their most important square, Piazza del Plebiscito (Plebiscite Square): a chained baby lying down in a fetal position. Naked, with closed eyes and looking tired, the baby’s name is Homeless. Appropriate for this time of COVID lockdowns, the sculpture is called “Look Down” and invites each passerby to stop and look down at the human condition, chained by the health emergency and by the economic crisis heightened and exasperated by the ongoing pandemic. (Sage Journals)
And yet, here we are. Survivors. It changed the way we lived, isolated, masked, sanitized. It also changed the way we died.
During this time, we tried all sorts of things to survive, facing shortages of food & supplies, were locked into our rooms / homes, were always masked and always FEARFUL.
And every day, we gave thanks. And praise. Today, I would like to suggest we pray for those we have lost, and praise and thank God for those we still have.
As the world went into complete lockdown, God, gave us all the grace and strength and faith as promised. And though we lost loved ones or good friends and neighbors; though we lost our businesses or jobs and livelihoods, everyone, everywhere did gain someone: Jesus.
A survivor family who got caught in lockdowns in foreign lands for all those years says this:
"We have learnt two things: First, Christ Lives! and second, all resources we are blessed with are meant to be shared".
Today, once again, after 3 years we are sharing with you this song, which was recorded during Covid lockdowns, across 2 continents of India and Australia, and 5 states and multiple cities, by these young people, bringing a message and assurance of hope and calling on His promise to save and protect. As we hear this song, can we say simply say - Thank You Jesus.
(The credit for organizing this amazing rendition goes to Mr. Peter Baker from Bethel Methodist Church (BMC) in a city called NOIDA in India, and all these singers are the youth who at one time were part of the Praise and Worship Group of this church, led by Mr. Baker. Their names are given at the end of the video).
A sailing boat is an ideal example of a partnership between man and God. Even the law recognizes and divides actions into two parts - act of man and act of God.
When God works for us to provide various blessings, it is through a combination of actions - act of God combined with an action of man. Unlike the law it does not separate but combines. Much like a sailboat which sails when a sail is hoisted by man to use the wind sent by God.
In our earthly life, we have been destined to work the ground with labor to eat and live. Every action of ours, unless supported by God is useless. A farmer tills the ground, breaks his back to plant but unless the right weather conditions exist, he won't get a crop. Likewise, a factory worker will flourish when demand for that product is high which will happen if economic and natural forces are positive, both of which depend on nature which depends on God.
Yet, we try and solve our own problems, find our own solutions. How much more foolish can we get? Therefore, to overcome we need to partner with God. Listen to His directions. If He needs us to perform an action, well, that is what we must do. But to do that we need to first "hear" Him.
In the year 2000, Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book called the tipping point. According to the book summary "The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behaviors, crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.
Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a change in mindset, a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. Or a powerful faith in Christ.
You and I can discuss Christ, God and the Gospels because Christianity itself went through a tipping point when Christianity was rocket-propelled from a dynamic new religion to an official state sponsored religion and can be traced exactly to the day, it was 28th October 312 AD.
To reach that tipping point were the efforts of Jesus’ disciples, who along with the apostle Paul were on fire with the new Gospel to the point that all but a few of the 12 apostles died natural deaths. The majority were persecuted and executed for their faith. But the virality of that tipping point continued. Like then, today too we need followers who have fire in the belly, not hordes of lukewarm "me too" Christians, trying to fit in with a crowd,
We need that tipping point again, both individually and as a society. The context with which we evaluate our lives is the material world, on a material scale. Lies often become the truth and truth becomes lies, because that is convenient. We all, without exception, rebel against God while rationalising our behaviours. Obviously we are not happy. We are ever searching for something beyond, something we don’t know. We all have a void that we are constantly trying to fill – maybe social, physical or financial etc.
To create a tipping point or helping to create one, we first need to change our own context and reference points. From materialism to the fullness offered by God. This fullness has no place for farce, ego, social climbing, gossiping and so on.
Ephesians 3:19,says "And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God"
How do create a tipping point? There are three factors - the messenger, the message itself, and the context of the message. These three factors need to be in sync with each other.
Further, these three factors can be rolled into one: Become a living example. Create so much value that people want what you have, whether it is peace, satisfaction, the glow of God's love. Be genuine. Be caring. Be forgiving. Do not put on a farce - People see through you. Our speech often exposes who we are, so let us be careful.
In fact, what each of us need to become are individual tipping points, creating the gateway to a life in Christ, infecting each other with the joy, peace and security of God. If each of us reach our tipping point, imagine the peace and love we will transmit to each other; the joy we will share and the security we will experience, creating a spiritual fire that will transform the world.
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