The Heart of God to Forgive..Craig Denison Ministries

 The Heart of God to Forgive

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

This week we'll spend time stirring up our affections for God through the renewing of our minds. Your mind is the gateway to your affections. What you think is worthy of your affections is what will receive them. So, as we grow in our understanding of God’s overwhelming goodness we will naturally give him our hearts. May you be stirred by the unconditional love of your heavenly Father this week as his perfect nature is revealed to you in greater, more transformative ways.

Scripture:“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

Devotional:

As much as God hates sin because of its destructive effects on us and others, he hates even more that something could come between our relationship with him. Because he desired a relationship with us, God sent his Son to pay the price for our restoration. And it’s because of his continued love for us that he forgives us the very moment we repent of our sin. There’s no price to pay. There’s no time we have to spend outside of his perfect love. Jesus paid the price for every sin you and I will ever commit.

Think for a moment about your normal routine after you sin. What process do you usually go through before you feel restored to God? How long do you wait to repent? How much time do you usually let pass before you feel you can open your heart to God and enjoy him? It’s true that the consequences of sin can linger even after we ask forgiveness, but an obstacle in our relationship with God is not one of them. Jesus paid the highest price, his own life, so that nothing could ever come between us and God again. The Bible says in Romans 8:33-39,

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword… For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The depth of God’s unconditional love for you drives him to forgive you. Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” After you confess your sin to him, he chooses to remember it no more. If you feel reminded of a transgression, it is not the voice of the Spirit. You have an enemy who lies constantly to form barriers between you and God. Because the enemy can no longer keep you from heaven, he will work tirelessly to wreck your relationship with God here on the earth. The moment you confess your sin to God is the moment there is nothing between you. Allow nothing to hinder your relationship with your heavenly Father. Renew your mind to the truth of what God says about your sin. God’s heart is to forgive you now and forever. His heart is to lead you into perfect relationship with him every day, all day. Say yes to God’s leading today, and rid yourself of the condemnation of past sins he has already forgotten.

Guided Prayer:

1. Let the peace of God which surpasses all understanding fill your room right now. 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:6-7

2.Now ask God to reveal any sin in your life, and take some time for confession. Again remember that God’s heart is not to condemn, but to heal. Write down your confession if it helps you focus or remember.

“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” Psalm 103:10-14

3.Receive his forgiveness for your sin. An incredibly important part of confession is receiving  forgiveness. Choose not to punish yourself any longer. Choose not to veil your heart before God because of shame. Align your heart with the truth that he chooses not to remember your sin after you confess.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

Restoration with God so often hinges upon our choices. Will you choose to condemn yourself? Will you choose to listen to the voice of your enemy who reminds you of past transgressions? Or will you choose to trust God at his word and receive total restoration with the Father? The choice you make will profoundly impact your quality of life. You were made for unhindered relationship with God. Anything that gets in the way of you and him needs to be removed as quickly as possible. Receive his forgiveness today. Whenever you are reminded of past sin, align your heart with God’s word through the renewing of your mind. Live in restored relationship with your heavenly Father today.

Extended Reading: Romans 8

3 Things You Never Knew about Psalm 137..Jean E. Jones

 3 Things You Never Knew about Psalm 137

By Jean E. Jones

Psalm 137:9 shocks: “Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!”

Woah. 

But before you skip over this verse, let’s look at three things most people don’t know about it, things which help make sense of the words and explain the psalmist’s motives for writing it.

1. The psalmist writes from exile in what today is southern Iraq.

The psalmist penned this poem while exiled in Babylonia (today’s southern Iraq). He tells us he and the other captives wept when they remembered Zion. 

Why?

Zion was the Temple Hill that included Jerusalem, the capital city of the Jewish nation, Judah. The merciless Babylon had laid siege to Jerusalem long enough to cause widespread starvation. Finally, the Babylonian troops breached the city walls, looted treasures, and scorched buildings. They slaughtered the young, old, and infirm. Most they killed by sword, spear, and arrow, but small children—well, small children they dashed to the ground. That’s how ancient armies conducted war. It prevented the children from growing up to seek revenge and it terrorized parents into submission.

The Babylonians then shackled survivors and marched them into exile. The nations of Israel and Judah were gone and the exiles wept bitterly. They wept over their homeland’s destruction, the death of so many loved ones, and their captivity in a strange land. Some wept in disbelief, wondering why God had forsaken them (Psalm 89:49), for many false prophets had assured them God would bring only peace because he did not care how they lived so long as they offered temple sacrifices (Jeremiah 7:9-10).

But the righteous knew the peace-proclaimers were false prophets, and they wept in repentance (Daniel 9:4-15). They knew God had proclaimed since the time of Moses that if his people abandoned him, he would drive them out of the land.

Judah’s fate was sealed when one of her kings filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, including that of his own sons, whom he burned as a sacrifice to the god Molech (2 Kings 24:3-4; 2 Chronicles 33:6). Still, the message of doom came coupled with hope: the exile was necessary to give them “a future and a hope,” and he promised to restore them in 70 years (Jeremiah 29:10-11).

Now as the exiles wept, their captors mocked them, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” (Psalm 137:3). The songs of Zion celebrated God’s past deliverances. But there was no victory to celebrate here—only defeat to mourn.

And so the poet wrote this psalm instead. He gave the exiles a song to both voice their grief and orient their hope.

2. Psalm 137:9 relies on eye-for-eye justice.

The Lord through Moses instituted an-eye-for-an-eye justice system where punishment matched the crime (lex talionis). Their laws prohibited avengers from punishing a wrongdoer beyond what he or she had done: If he intentionally wounded someone, he would receive an equal wound back. Ideally, such a system prevented feuds from escalating while providing justice.

Psalm 137:8 speaks of Babylon being repaid by having precisely what she did to the Jews done back to her. Verse 9 names the crime: killing babes. To the exiles, such justice would show that God stands up for the oppressed and cares about righting wrongs.

3. Psalm 137:9 invokes prior prophecy.

Psalm 137:8-9 does not ask God for Babylon’s doom, but rather assumes it. Why? Because the true prophets said Babylon would exile the Jews for 70 years, after which God would send the Persians (Medes) against Babylon and the Jews would return home. The prophet Isaiah said this would happen to Babylon: “Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes” (Isaiah 13:16).

The psalmist isn’t making up a gruesome punishment. He demonstrates faith that what Isaiah and the other prophets foretold was going to happen. Babylon would fall and the exiles would return to the land. Psalm 137:9 turned the exiles’ hopes toward restoration.

The Quickest Way to an Attitude Adjustment..Lynette Kittle

 The Quickest Way to an Attitude Adjustment

By Lynette Kittle

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” - Hebrews 4:12

Have you ever found yourself in need of an attitude adjustment? If so, be encouraged, as you’ve reached the most critical step in receiving one by knowing you’re in need of it. Realizing and recognizing there are wrong attitudes in your heart and mind is the breakthrough moment to a new attitude. So many of us walk around, living day-to-day with no idea we might need some adjustments. For sure, God is quick to recognize wrong attitudes in us, even if we think we’re covering them up with our words. “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me” (Matthew 15:8).

Although wrong attitudes are often easy for us to see in others, for some reason, they are usually very difficult to see in ourselves. Because it is sometimes almost impossible to see wrong attitudes within us, what is the quickest way to an attitude adjustment? As Hebrews 4:12 explains, when we commit to reading God’s Word, it has the power to cut through our soul and spirit and to judge our heart’s attitudes. Nothing else in the world has the ability to do so like the living Word of God.

God’s Word Actively Exposes and Corrects Wrong Attitudes
God’s Word is so vital to our daily lives and the quickest way to recognize and reveal hidden mindsets, especially helpful in addressing and adjusting wrong and sinful attitudes. Because it is alive and active, it doesn’t ever grow outdated or irrelevant to correct current incorrect thoughts and ways of thinking. Before wrong attitudes can enter our hearts, God’s Word has the power to stop them before we accept them into our thinking. As 2 Timothy 3:16 explains, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”

Three Ways God’s Word Adjusts Attitudes
As well, Proverbs 6:21,22 describes three ways it has the ability to help us live daily with the right attitude when we take the time to make it the top priority in our lives by reading, studying, and applying it to our lives. ”Bind them always on your heart; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.”

1. God’s Word guides our attitudes.
His Word will take lead in our lives to help guide our thoughts, Words, and actions each and every day to be aligned with His ways over worldly wisdom and philosophies. As 2 Corinthians 10:5 explains, with God’s Word, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

2. God’s Word protects our attitudes as we sleep.
Have you ever woken up in a bad mood, feeling disgruntled, upset, negative, and on edge, not knowing why? Well, that isn’t just by accident. The enemy of our souls works through the night to influence our thoughts and attitudes. But as Christians, we don’t have to wake up with wrong thinking and mindsets because God says His words will protect and watch over us when we’re sleeping, guarding our hearts and minds against the onslaught of the enemy’s attacks. His Word works as a shield against the enemy’s midnight assaults. As Proverbs 30:5 assures, “Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”

3. God’s Word speaks to our attitudes during the day. When we’re awake, God will personally speak to us through His Word. Because it is alive and active, when we take the time to read and know it, God will speak to us through it at times when we need to hear His voice.

Although some think God’s Word only speaks to us in a general way, He speaks through it to our hearts and minds in very personal deep, life-changing, transformational ways.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
How is your attitude today? Did you wake up in a bad mood? Most of us often don’t recognize wrong attitudes within ourselves, or even worse, we justify having them. If you’re not sure how you’re doing today, ask God to expose any wrong attitudes in your heart and correct wrong thinking with His Word.

A Prayer for Those Who Fear the End of the World..Lynette Kittle

 A Prayer for Those Who Fear the End of the World

By Lynette Kittle

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” - John 14:27

The world is sensing the coming of what Isaiah 51:6 describes, of the earth wearing out like a garment and the heavens vanishing, yet as Christians, we know God’s salvation will last forever, and His righteousness will never fail. Still, with the growing number of doomsday films, television shows, books, headlines, and world events filled with natural disasters, threats of nuclear war, and talk of terrifying zombie and alien invasions, people are fearful.

With eyes full of unimaginable end-of-the-world apocalyptic and catastrophic images, many are up at night, unable to sleep or find rest, living in a perpetual state of terror. For some, it’s paralyzing, causing them to give up hope and stop planning for the future, feeling like it doesn’t matter because it’s all going to end soon. However, as believers in Jesus Christ, we have a hope greater than a fear of the world ending and celestial invasions. We have the promise of eternal life with God, free from darkness, pain, sorrow, and death (Revelation 21:4). The end of the world is just the beginning for us.

Because we have this hope, we can continue to grow in the knowledge of the Lord, share His truth and love with those around us and keep moving forward in our lives. Rather than being paralyzed by fear, we can walk in peace knowing it doesn’t matter if the earth ends tomorrow because we have much more to look forward to ahead of us than what we’ll leave behind. Because God has already planned our amazing future with Him, preparing a place for us to live with Him forever, what could possibly ever be better?

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God’” (Revelation 21:3).

There is no uncertainty concerning our future, so we don’t have to feel shaken by world events or live in fear of what might happen next because Jesus offers His comfort and refuge to us.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am”(John 14:1-3).

Let’s Pray:

Dear Father,
Thank you, Lord, that I don’t have to live in fear of the end of the world or what tomorrow might bring upon the earth because my life is in Your hands, and my steps are established by You (Proverbs 16:9). Today, dear Lord, fill me with Your peace. Let my heart and mind be guarded by it, knowing, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

I praise you for Your peace and comfort in my life to carry me through life’s daily stresses, troubling headlines, and disturbing occurrences. Thank you for your divine protection over my life, as John 10:28 assures, “No one has the power to take us away from You. ‘I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand.’”

Help me, Lord, to not stay up at night trying to figure out what’s coming next in the world, but instead to fully trust in You with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. Each day helps me to submit to Your leading in my life (Proverbs 3:5,6). I praise You that my life ahead is set with you and because it is, I can rest peacefully each night knowing You have planned and prepared me a home with You.

Lead me, dear Lord, to walk out each day confident in Your faithfulness and Your covering over my life, knowing You cover me with Your feathers and under Your wings I find refuge. Your faithfulness is my shield and rampart (Psalm 91:4).
 In Jesus’ name, Amen