Category: Knowing God

Forgiving Yourself

Many years ago I had a discussion with a young lady who was debating within herself whether to acknowledge to the congregation things she had done wrong in the past and asking forgiveness from those who knew what she had done. More than that, she wanted the prayers and encouragement of others as she struggled to forgive herself. That struggle to forgive oneself was the subject of the letter that I sent to her and share here with you. If you are struggling to forgive yourself I hope you will find words of encouragement to allow you to free yourself from the hold this sin exerts in your life as it weakens your spiritual strength. If you have obtained forgiveness from God through the gift of His Son, give yourself a wonderful gift of freedom by removing the grip of the past sin so you can fully embrace your future service for God.

First of all, I appreciate your sensitive heart, the courage to face yourself, and the changes already evident in your life. You are a fine example to others and I do not think making this confession will diminish it in the least. On the contrary, I think it may open opportunities for you to help others in a similar situation. Though God does not want us to sin, I think that He is able to use our experience to help heal the lives and pain of others in a way that others cannot do so easily. I think I have told you before but when I was in high school and college I did not drink. I wish I could say that it was because of my dedication to God but more often there were other things in my past that created a strong aversion to alcohol and its results. Whatever the motivation, I am thankful for the result. However, when talking with someone who is having a drinking problem or other problems to which alcohol contributes, I can encourage them from the scripture but I cannot relate to them as one who has been there. However, there are other problems with which I can be very helpful because of my personal experience. God says, “Behold, I make all things new,” and he will be able to make something new from your experience.

Your confession statement was well worded and very moving. From your email I know that you believe God has forgiven you and, based on His promises, you are correct. However, since you have written this document and revised it on several occasions I assume that it has been on your mind for a long time. If this is troubling you and you cannot find peace without bringing it before the congregation, I think you have the answer you are seeking. If you feel that you should have said something in the past, you should say something now, I am sure that you will feel that you need to say something in the future–until you do. Your statement explains well why you have waited to make such a statement.

It breaks my heart that you are still struggling with your guilt and have problems forgiving yourself. You have already made the hardest decision–facing yourself and your sin and making changes. Sometime when you pray, thank God for the guilt and shame that moved you to repent and leave a path headed to destruction. Your past will not define your life and you should not look at yourself through the lens of your past. There are many young Christian women who have been down the same road you traveled who are fine teachers, loving wives and mothers, and good examples for young women. Many young women at the church look up to you and, knowing what you have been through and the changes you have made, I would, without any reservation, feel that they chose well when you are listed among their role models.

Sometimes we hold onto guilt and have problems forgiving ourselves because we feel that we are letting ourselves off too easily. Holding guilt allows us to punish ourselves and, when reaching some spiritual summit, reproach ourselves saying, “You’re not so good.  I remember when you…” It is perfectly fine to let go of your guilt. Acknowledge that your inward pain has been your punishment and prison for past sins and give yourself a pardon. Forgiveness is the greatest thing you can give others and yourself. Grieve your sins, the embarrassment you feel/felt, the sorrow for letting others and yourself down, the actions you regret–yes grieve them–then let them go. You have punished yourself well enough–I think anyone could say that you have not let yourself off easily–you have the right to free yourself and enjoy true peace and happiness. You will never forget what you have done, but when you forgive yourself, it finds a place in your past that can only give you a small tinge of pain when it is brought to mind, but it will not bully and berate you anymore. This I can tell you from experience.

OMG: Does Not Mean “O Majestic God”

Guest Post from Edwin Crozier (www.edwincrozier.com – great site to visit)

I need to share a concern with my fellow Christian Facebookers, MySpacers, Pleonasters, Twitterers, texters and other social media types. “OMG!” doesn’t mean “O Majestic God” or “O Magnificent God.” It is not a means by which God is honored. It doesn’t even mean “oh my goodness.” When people read that, they see and hear in their minds the phrase, “Oh my God.”

Please recall that under the Old Covenant one of God’s 10 laws was, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). God’s name was to be held in honor or God would curse His people (Malachi 2:2).

The New Covenant demonstrates the same principle of honor for God. I Timothy 1:17 says, “To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” Revelation 4:11 says, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” In Revelation 7:12, the angels, elders and living creatures cried out, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

I’m seeing a trend that concerns me among Christians online. More frequently I see Christians use texting shorthand for taking God’s name in vain—“OMG.” I just want to ask you to think before you type that shorthand on your computer. If you typed the longhand phrase, “Oh my God,” would it be appropriate? Would you think this use of God’s name was intended to honor Him, to give Him glory and praise?

Certainly there are times when saying “Oh my God” is appropriate. We have songs that use that phrase. As we pray, we may praise God by calling out to Him, “Oh my God.” We are recognizing that He is our God; we are not. We are recognizing that He is our God; money is not. We are recognizing that He is our God; idols are not.

However, when someone has said something surprising or said something that really resonates with us and we want to accentuate it simply by typing, “OMG! That’s amazing,” are we really calling on God, honoring Him? Were we even addressing Him? Or were we just taking His name in vain because it was so easy and every one else does it?

God’s name is not meant to register our surprise, our shock, our amazement. God’s name is meant to be held in honor, to bring glory to Him, to address Him.

Please think about this before you type your next update. Let’s honor God in our speech and our online posts. He deserves it.

Who You Are Is Not Who You Were

The Bible clearly teaches that we will be judged by our actions. Revelation 20:12 tells of judgment where “…I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.” The books (Old Testament and New Testament) reveal the standard of what we must do in order to please Him (2 Timothy 2:15; 2 Peter 1:3). Paul clearly links our actions to eternal punishment or reward (Romans 2:6-11 – note the variations of “do” and its direct relationship to the results). Jesus says that we will even be called into judgment for every careless word (Matthew 12:36). What we do and say impacts our eternal life.

But our actions also enrich our earthly life and the lives of others. I think the scripture makes it clear that God does not want us to live holy lives to prepare for a grand accounting, but in order to share in His holiness and to be like His righteous Son. Jesus lived the life of a servant and had a tremendous impact on the lives of those He touched. A life that serves God and others is the life revealed in God’s word.

The Bible teaches that we have all fallen short of the standard God has set (Romans 3:23). The question is, how will you react to your failure to be holy? You can beat yourself up and say that you’ll never be able to live up to God’s standard but, in truth, you are blaming God for your lack of effort. You can say that you have too many sins or you have messed your life up too much, but that is accusing God of having insufficient grace. However, God wants you to take two important steps.

First, be reconciled to Him through His Son. We must believe what the gospel says about Jesus and confess Him as God’s Son (Romans 10:9-15). We must also turn away from a life that is dedicated to honoring self instead of God and the sin that separates us from God (Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19). We must also submit to baptism, immersion in water, which is a burial and resurrection with Christ, so that our sins may be cleansed (Romans 6:1-14). Note that it is not the actions themselves that save us but obeying the will of God that commands these things. When we sin after we are baptized, we can repent and pray to God to forgive us (1 John 2:1-5).

Second, as a child of God you have the duty and privilege to bring others to God to receive the forgiveness, hope, peace, and joy that you received. The reaction of the Samaritan woman in John 4 is a great example of one who lived an unrighteous life but used the testimony of her past (“Come see a man who told me all things I ever did”) to bring others to Jesus. If you have overcome a type of sin or habit you are in a better position to help others overcome that sin or habit better than someone who has no experience with it. We should not indulge in sin so we can help others–we must strive for holiness–but when we do fall, we should use our failures to help others succeed. God can help us use our defeats to bring victory in our life and the lives of others.

Do not let yourself be defined by failures of your past. What has been done cannot be changed, only forgiven. But yesterday’s actions do not demand the same actions today. When we give up because of past sins, we allow history to steal the present and hinder the opportunity for a brighter future. When we give our sins to God, make the choice to reject sin, and strive for holiness we will become more like Jesus and less like what we were. Jesus can clean up a polluted life, fix what is damaged, and create a wonderful child who lives a satisfying life and makes a positive imact on the lives of others.

Do You Follow Jesus or Just Admire Him?

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He was often followed by great crowds. The numbers were so great that at times he had to withdraw from them to have time with His Father. However, Jesus challenged the motives of His followers on certain occasions and some “turned away and followed Him no more,” (John 6:66). On such occasions Jesus did not change His message to be more acceptable to the crowds. He let them depart. Wise followers, such as the apostles, did not cease to follow Him. As Peter said, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,” (John 6:68).

Today God wants men and women to follow Jesus. Just as in His earthly ministry, Jesus has admirers and followers. The philosopher Sorën Kierkegaard wrote “It is well known that Christ consistently used the expression “follower.” He never asks for admirers, worshippers, or adherents. No, he calls disciples. It is not adherents of a teaching but followers of a life Christ is looking for,(Provocations. P.85). The admirers left Jesus when His message became uncomfortable; the followers changed their lives for the better.

Kierkegaard continues, “What then, is the difference between an admirer and a follower? A follower is or strives to be what he admires. An admirer, however, keeps himself personally detached. He fails to see that what is admired involves a claim upon him, and thus he fails to be or strive to be what he admires,” (Provocations. P.86). Admirers can be seen wearing religious shirts, attending church, or even teaching Bible classes. They like “God things” and can be very excited about the teaching of Christ–until they hear something that they don’t like or condemns a practice they like. Admirers will leave the teaching to Christ or only follow what agrees with them. Followers will say “thy will be done” and change their lives to conform to eternal principles. Being a follower requires complete submission to God and investing ourselves completely in Him.

If you want the truly fulfilled and exciting life with God, learn how to be followers of Christ: not admirers, adherents, or simply worshippers who are around God but not with God.

Is Your Faith Your Own?

Guest Post by Phil Robertson

     The old adage “numbers never lie” is really true.  Two plus two will always equal four.  No matter the situation, time, consequence, or feelings of those “doing the math” the numbers always stay the same.  When someone learns the math, they can calculate almost anything.  For example, NASA scientists use the precision of numbers to determine the exact location of stars, planets, and comets shooting through space at 20,000 miles per hour.  It truly is amazing when you think about it.  Using math, scientists have sent spacecrafts through the icy tails of comets and even guided one probe into a head-on collision with a comet.   And due to the precision of numbers, scientists know that Haley’s comet will return to our inner solar system in 2061.      

    Although the numbers never lie, that does not mean mathematical answers are always easy to find. That is why math teachers do more than just demand the correct answer on tests, they require students to “show their work.” 

     Jesus taught absolute truth.  Like the precision of numbers, He claimed He was the only path to salvation.  “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except by Me” (John 14:6).    But, Jesus also demanded believers “show their work.”

     Consider Pilate, the Roman responsible for our Lord’s execution. “Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?” (John 18:33-34) 

      It seemed like Pilate had the right answer but Jesus challenged his means of arriving at that conclusion. Jesus wanted Pilate to “show his work” or in this case “show his faith.”  It is as if Jesus is saying to Pilate, “Are you saying I’m the king of the Jews because you searched for the answer yourself and that is what you truly believe or are you just repeating what someone else has said?” 

    When you think about it, it is a good question for all of us.  Do you believe in Jesus because of your own faith?  Or, are you just believing what the preacher said, or what your parents said, or what your friend said? 

    “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his own cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37-38).  Where did you get your answers?  Is your faith your own?  Can you “show your work?”

     Please answer the following questions with Bible verses.  This will hopefully give you a little insight into your our faith.  Remember “faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).  The Word is our only guide to absolute truth (John 1:1).  (Hopefully you will be able to answer these questions with the verses from memory without opening your Bible): 

     1) Why do Christians worship God on Sunday?

     2) Why does the Lord Supper consist of unleavened bread and grape juice?

     3) How do believers worship God collectively?

     4) How is someone saved from sin?

     5) How are disciples added to the Lord’s church? 

     Although numbers enable us to calculate the pathway of a star or comet, I’m sure I could never figure it out.  However, it does not take a rocket scientist to find the pathway to heaven.  Jesus said, “Seek and you will find” (Matthew 7:7).  Just remember, we have to seek on our own and we cannot follow someone else’s path.  We must have our own faith.  

Answers to the questions will follow soon… but for now… please do your own work!  Thanks.    –  Phil Robertson  philrobertson@charter.net