The Daily Scroll 9-3-12

  American workers:

We dreamed it, we built it, we keep improving it.

All bystanders welcomed to help.

Forgive, How Much?

Guest Post By Richard Spangler

 

People ask, “How many times must I forgive this person?” Or, “I can’t forgive what they did to me.”And, “I want God to judge this person.” These same people have financial and other troubles, wondering why God is not blessing them. Some also have relationship issues with their family and others.

I have personally dealt with people that were hard to forgive. Once I was given the responsibility of running a shop and yard crew for the water department. I worked with men, most of whom were much older than myself.

There was this guy I will call Frank, who would ride my case from the time I walked in the gate until I left. Frank would curse constantly, put open men’s magazines on my desk, and relocate my Bible and my lunch.

There were times I felt like getting revenge on him, but I didn’t. I continued to pray for him, asking God to save him, and to help me forgive him. This situation continued for months.

Then one day, Frank came into my office. I feared the worse, but to my surprise, he broke down. Frank’s life was a mess and he needed someone to talk to. He asked me to forgive him. I told him I already had and was willing to listen and help.

After that, a good working relationship developed. Frank would still slip up with the language, but would quickly ask my forgiveness. This was my first lesson in forgiving someone who continually sinned against me, so I understand how difficult forgiving can be. The question arises, how much to forgive someone? We can thank the Apostle Peter for the answer.

“Then Peter came to Him and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22 NKJV).

If we analyze these figures, it is amazing. Jesus says to forgive 70 times 7, which is 490 times a day! Then when you divide 490 by 24 hours in a day it means 20.4 times an hour. Then you divide 60 minutes in hour by 20.4 and you get 2.9 minutes. So we are to forgive someone who sins against us every 2.9 minutes!

This is a lifestyle of forgiveness. It does not matter what someone does to you or how many times they may sin against you, you are to forgive. It is almost impossible for someone to reach this volume of sinning against another. If you’re counting, are you really forgiving?

But, what about if they are breaking the law, you may ask? If they break a law of man they still have to pay the consequences and if they haven’t accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord, then they are under the judgment of God’s law, so we must leave the judging to Him.

Forgiveness is for you, not them. Unforgiveness blocks our relationship with God and leads to bitterness. Both unforgiveness and bitterness not only take their toll on you spiritually but also physically, opening the door to sickness and death. They also poison every relationship you have.

Unforgiveness also affects the blessings you receive from God.

“Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful^. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:32-38 NKJV).

What caught my attention is that most of this scripture deals with our relationship with others, then comes this one statement by Jesus on giving at the end. We are to love our enemies. We are to forgive unconditionally. We are to show mercy as God has shown mercy to us. Don’t condemn or judge and finally, forgive. Forgiveness jumps out as the key to the other blessings.

So forgive, for your own sake. Then, you will have an open, unhindered relationship with God and others. When you pray for the blessings of God, they will flow to you in a far greater way than you can imagine.

Richard blogs at http://lionsvoiceministries.blogspot.com/

His latest book "Adventures in the Spirit" is also available at his blog.

The Daily Scroll: The Forest of God

 

In the realm of God, in Heaven, are places prepared for you. Places of wonder, peace and adventure. Don't miss it. It's gonna be great!

The Daily Scroll: 8-28-12

The Daily Scroll:

Through many dangers toils and snares, I have already come...and grace will lead me home.

 

 

The Daily Scroll

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells. Psalm 46:4



 

 

 

The Blessing

Mr. Spock, of Star Trek fame, would raise his hand and say “Live long and prosper.”

This "Vulcan salute, " as it has come to be called, was invented on the set of Star Trek by actor Leonard Nimoy during the filming of the second-season opener, "Amok Time." What the people didn’t know was that the Vulcan greeting came from Leonard Nimoy’s real life Jewish heritage.

He took it from the ancient blessing the Jewish Priests would bestow upon the Israelites. The Bible says, “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing:

“May the Lord bless you and protect you.
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.”                                                                 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them” (Numbers 6:23-27 NLT).

The actual blessing is done with both arms held horizontally in front, at shoulder level, with hands touching, to form the Hebrew letter "shin." This stands for the Hebrew word for "Shaddai", meaning "Almighty [God]."

 With the hand symbol, the priest was putting the name of God on the people, sealing it upon them.

This is a special blessing God wants all of us to receive. This blessing is so important because it covers us completely in every area of our life, spiritually and materially.

This blessing is so specific that God commanded the Priests to bless the people not using their own words, but rather using and exact formulation for the blessing, prefacing the instruction with the words: “Thus shall you bless.”

This reveals that the blessing comes from the LORD Himself; the priests were a means for transmitting His gracious will. Now that we have Jesus, our Messiah, our Savior, we know that He is The High Priest, and that His sacrifice has made it possible for us to enter boldly before God.

So today we can pray, petition, and speak blessings knowing that our voice will be heard, and our words will be fruitful before the Lord our Creator, because of Jesus.

As we continue to study the Priestly Blessing we learn that the people accepted the blessing and responded. So how do we receive and respond to a blessing from our Heavenly Father? We anticipate His blessing with a thankful heart, and declare that His Word is so. Here is the blessing that the priests recited, along with the response of the people.

PRIEST: May the LORD bless you and protect you.

PEOPLE: Yes, may it be His will.

PRIEST: May the LORD shine His face to you and be gracious to you.

PEOPLE: Yes, may it be His will.

PRIEST: May the LORD turn (or lift up) His face to you and give to you peace.

PEOPLE: Yes, may it be His will.

You may ask, what does a Jewish blessing have to do with me?

The Bible says, “And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you” (Galatians 3:29 NLT).

So that means that all of God’s blessings are for us to obtain, because Jesus paid the ultimate price. Everything he promised pertains to all of His children.

So let us expect the blessings God, and enjoy His goodness. Be thankful for the gift of His Son Jesus, which is His greatest blessing to us each day of our lives.

Mother

 

Mother.  Just the name evokes a flood of thoughts and memories. Childhood memories of a loving hand to bandage a skinned knee, and a magical kiss upon that bandage that made the pain fade away. The big smile and wild applause from the third row in the audience of a second grade school play, acknowledging my dramatic interpretation of a tree, a tree that spoke not a word. The bedtime stories and prayers where I learned that the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 

Sometimes I look at her blood stained Bible, which she took with her to dialysis treatments in her latter days. There she shared her faith and testimony with the other patients, being a blessing in her time of sickness. Though she is with the Lord, her life and love remains in my heart.

Mother.  I am doubly blessed that my child has the best one, a Mother whose child is the center of her world. She’s a Mother who loves, teaches, corrects shares, prays, plays, and focuses herself completely on the health, welfare and happiness of her child. She’s a Mother who cries every year on the first day of school after we put our daughter on the school bus. So to cheer her up and get her mind off of it, I take her to breakfast at IHOP. It’s hard to cry in your pancakes.  She’s a role model our daughter will be hard pressed to duplicate, though I know she will. 

Mother.  There are many wonderful Mothers in all our lives and though we honor them every year, it seems inadequate considering what they really deserve.  

Mother. There once was a Mother so unique, so precious, that our heavenly Father chose her to be the Mother of His only begotten Son. She was so trusted that even though she was young, inexperienced, and poor, she was chosen to Mother our Lord Jesus. Difficult circumstances was her lot in life, and yet through unspeakable adversity, such as the death threat against her son by the King, she poured herself into her son, who became the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. 

It makes one wonder, what part of His determination; compassion, patience, longsuffering, and love came from her influence on Him. We assume that He received all of His attributes from His heavenly Father because He is the Son of God. But He is also the Son of man, so we must not forget to honor His Mother for being used of God the Father to instill many of those attributes.

Mother.  She’s the one who pushed Jesus into His public ministry by making Him do His first public miracle. John 2:1-11 describes how He wasn’t prepared to turn the water into wine because He said that His time had not yet come. 

“This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him” (John 2:11 NLT). 

Like us, He experienced that wonderful force of nature, a Mama who knows best!

He acknowledged her and provided for her even during His torture on the cross. 

“When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.”  And he said to this disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from then on this disciple took her into his home” (John 19:26-27 NLT).  

Their love and devotion for each other didn’t end there.  As she prayed with the others in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, He filled her with the Holy Spirit, and their relationship continues to this day. She is an example to Mothers, as He is an example to Sons and daughters.

Mother.  Love her. Cherish her. Honor her. She deserves it!

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