There is power in the name of Jesus

To me, taking a step back feels like I have failed. Admitting that I’m struggling with something that I’ve had victory over in the past makes me feel as though all the progress was for nothing. But stumbling doesn’t mean that we have failed or are failures.

 It means that we are human.

There are some lessons that we need to learn over and over again. There are some fears, some lies that we have to stand strong against over and over again. Some mornings you need to wake up and forgive all over again. Some mornings you need to proclaim truths all over again. Some mornings you need to ask God for courage all over again.

Sometimes the most difficult person to show grace to is yourself. 

We say, “I shouldn’t struggle with this anymore, I shouldn’t believe that lie anymore, I shouldn’t be that afraid anymore.”

But we are and we do anyway. Because we are not done being made like Christ. We are afraid to share our shortcomings, our backward steps with others, as though they aren’t holding onto any themselves.

But God never condemns. He knows that it’s hard being human; He knows that it’s hard living on this planet. It’s okay to not have it all together, it’s okay to stumble and take a step backward, as long as you don’t unpack and live there.

The good news is that God sent His spirit to live in us, and that alone is what gives us the power to say no to sin and to believe truth. If you have accepted Jesus as your savior, then the same power that raised Him from the dead lives inside you. That is incredible. There is power; all we have to do is call on His name.

Romans 6:11 Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Do not let sin reign in your body so that you obey its evil desires... For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

It’s so easy for us to forget that God’s love for us is not a result of our actions.

I know sometimes I go to God and say, “Look! I don’t do that anymore, I do this more, look at how I’ve changed! Aren’t you proud of me? Don’t you love me now?”

And my Dad shakes His head understandingly and reminds me that He loved me before I even took a single breath.

We remember that we no longer have to be slaves to sin, that sin no longer has any power over us. We may fall occasionally, but we DO NOT have to live there.

The victory we have in Christ is being able to say, “God help me,” and knowing that He will.

Something that I struggle with is forgiveness. Sometimes I just don’t care that I’m supposed to forgive because all I’m feeling is hurt and forgiveness just doesn’t seem right.

I ask God, “How could you possibly ask me to forgive that person? Look at what they’ve done to me!”

And He replies, “Yes, I know. But look at what I’ve done FOR you.”  

If you are the one asking for forgiveness and the other person isn’t able to extend forgiveness, just know that God always will.

There is power in the name of Jesus to break every single chain that could possibly entangle you. There is no sin too bad, no person too far, no pit too deep for God’s power to save, rescue, and redeem. No matter what you’ve done, no matter where you’ve been, no matter how long or far you have strayed, God welcomes you back with open arms. You are not the exception, there are no exceptions. Jesus loves prodigals.

Every day I thank God that I am not dressed in my own righteousness, I am dressed in His. If I had to rely on my own power, my own strength, I wouldn’t make it a day.

I am so glad I can go to God and tell Him exactly how unbearably difficult it currently is for me to forgive. I am so glad that He is not up in heaven shaking His head in annoyance that I still struggle over the same hurt. I know that any time, morning, afternoon, middle of the night I can cry out to Him and say, "Lord help me to forgive, but more than that, help me WANT to forgive." 

What are some things that you need to call out to God about? Where are the areas in your life that you have not trusted in God's power to give you victory?  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uu2RDZdaxc

God of Justice

Psalm 89:14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.

I love justice. I love justice because God loves justice. If your not sure how much God loves justice, go on bible gateway.com and type in justice. It will take you a whole day to go through how much the Bible has to say about justice.

You don’t really see much justice in the world today, at least not the justice that God longs to deliver. People say that you have to be careful with justice, because God calls us to have mercy and show grace. While this is true of course, THERE CAN BE NO LOVE WITHOUT JUSTICE.

There are consequences for sin, and while God still loves you, you have to face the consequences of your sin. And that’s actually the most loving thing, only an uncaring God would let you do whatever you want with no consequences for your actions.

The phrase I hear all the time that just breaks my heart is, “I cant believe in a God who gets angry, punishes people and doesn’t let everyone into heaven.”

What I wouldn’t be able to live with, is a God who DID just sweep sin under the rug and shrug his shoulders.

Because this world is unfair, this world is corrupt and full to the brim with injustice.

When we sin, we hurt others and we hurt ourselves. And that makes God angry, because we are His children! If you’re a parent you know how angry you get when someone hurts your child, think how much MORE God is angry when someone hurts his children.

I wouldn’t want to serve a god who saw evil happening and just didn’t care. If I love my brothers and sisters around the world how much more does their father in heaven love them? The god who knit them together in their mothers womb, shrug his shoulders at injustice? Never. His anger is righteous.

Executing justice is one way in which God shows his love for us. He loves us too much to let us continue down a path of sin and destruction. He loves ENOUGH to rebuke and correct us.

We see how God punished the children of Israel when they continually kept turning away and worshipping false Gods and idols. But God loved them too much to watch them destroy themselves and so he punished them and after seeing His mighty power they would turn back to Him and destroy their idols.

God does not execute justice unrelentingly though. Throughout the consequences of sin, God’s love reigns.

Hosea 11 is God speaking to Israel, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. “Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent? “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger.”

“How can I give you up?” I love these words. Although God’s punishment comes first, He will never give us up and His compassion will never end.

It is also God’s desire that His people follow His commands and show His love by passionately pursing justice.

Matthew 12:18
“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

Jesus says this about US. It is our JOB to proclaim justice, our God given command.

If you don’t have a heart for justice, get down on your knees and beg that god will break your heart for what breaks his. I know that’s a really catchy song that most people know, but have you actually done it? Plead for an unrelenting love for his people.

You should love your brothers and sisters around the world so much that when you hear statistics of sex trafficking, it makes you want to cry. Because of Gods love, you have the compassion and the ability to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.

But not just to weep, but to be moved to action. To say to the orphan, the widow, the oppressed, “God loves you so much that He sent me to procure justice for you.”

Justice also makes forgiveness possible. We are able to forgive and love because god is angry on our behalf. However upset you are at a wrong committed against you, God is even more upset. More upset than you could ever comprehend.

The ‘justice’ that you think your securing by holding onto unforgiveness, could never measure up to the righteous justice that God administers. We can let go of hurt and love others freely, because our God is one who loves justice. 

Song recommendation: A song written AND performed (on my bed, dont worry, Zach's not into zebra stripes =]) by my awesome musician brother in Christ, Zach Bragg

Song is called, "Your Worth"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A7UaUlRK8k&feature=youtu.be

Forgiveness

Forgiveness. What great emotion and struggle and conflict all contained in that one word. When I first became a Christian I was all on board with forgiveness. “Me? Yeah I know God has forgiven me. I LOVE forgiveness. What? Forgive others? Hmmm, not so fun anymore.”

Everything God gives us are gifts to give away to others. Like we’ve been given love so we give it to others, grace, mercy…. So it makes sense that forgiveness is also something that once having received, we must give away. But forgiveness is hard! I mean its not even like algebra hard, its like climbing Mount Everest in flip flops, hard! While its not fun forgiving for little things, its usually not too much of a stretch for most of us. But what about the big things? The things that actually matter? The things that really hurt? It seems impossible to forgive those things right? Sins people do that hurt us are like a knife in our hearts. But thinking about it I realize, ‘my sin is like a knife in God’s heart. My sin kept Him tied to a tree.’

And He forgives me every day over and over and over. And He does it in love. Sometimes in my humanness I think, “fine, I will forgive you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still get to be mad at you.’

True forgiveness? Not really.
During worship one night at Rider the song, "How He loves," came on and I was reminded how much God loves me. But then God said to me, "I do love you. But you know that person you cant seem to forgive? I love them too." I forgot that Jesus loves those we find hard to love, He died for them too.

Every wonder why forgiveness is so hard? Because perfect forgiveness doesn’t come natural to us! Forgiveness is from God, forgiveness is divine. The way I thought about forgiveness before was just saying the words but not really meaning them. Our human nature is to be angry and protect ourselves by not forgiving.

We have to every day fight to forgive. Forgiveness is not a simple thing, it’s a battle, at least it is for me. But the good news is that God has already fought the battle for me. And He fights if for me all over again every single day. We must make a conscious effort to reverse our way of thinking. And forgiveness does not mean that we forget. It means that we choose to not hold the offense against them. 

There is a Bible verse I found that is very clear about the way our hearts are to be when dealing with others.

Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

We must be tenderhearted towards one another. Most of the time my heart is pretty tender, but sometimes it is a hard, stubborn, rock. But I remember in the same way that God was able to harden Pharaoh’s heart, He is able to soften mine.

I once heard this story about a girl who had been in a Jewish concentration camp where her family members had died. Later, she met the guard who worked at her concentration camp and he asked her forgiveness. Feeling anger pulsing through her, she lifted her arm to shake his hand and asked God to change her heart. And as He did, she felt an overwhelming supply of love for her former captor. This story amazes me and has stayed impressed on my heart since the day I heard it.

Taking a cue from this woman, every time I feel anger and unforgiveness creep back up on me I have to stop what I’m doing and ask God to once again supply the love that I cannot find anywhere. Asking Him, 

“Lord help me go through the motions and you supply the rest. Lord just help me do the best I can and You stand in for me where I fail.”

I always imagine forgiveness as a big valley with two cliffs at either end. Me on one end and forgiveness all the way on the other side of the deep valley. Its one hundred percent impossible for me to bridge the gap myself. Oh, but Jesus is standing in the middle. Jesus is standing in for me because I am not competent to do it myself.

I will forgive, even if I have to do it through gritted teeth. I look forward to the day forgiveness no longer hurts. The day I am a person who forgiveness flows from pure and freely. Until then, I will rely on the grace of God to make a way for me and be everything that I cant.

Song Recomendation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AA_UM10ARs