Jesus: More than a Savior

Love hearing him speak.  It's very challenging, not necessarily what we "want" to hear, but definitely what we need to hear as believers claiming to follow Christ. There is so much truth to what he's saying...

the unmerciful servant

   Last night while I was working things were a bit slow.  Times like these mean my mind could drift anywhere, and in that instance I though about a podcast I listened to of a sermon our pastor gave a few weeks ago.  It's entitled "I Don't Want to Forgive," and really challenged our sinful human nature.  The reference passage was Matthew 18:21-35, which is the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.  A servant has an insurmountable debt, one that his many generations to follow would be enslaved for in an effort to pay it back.  The king does the unimaginable and forgives the slave of all debts and sends him on his way.  The servant, however, refuses to forgive the debt that is owed to him by his own slave.  Finding out what had happened, "the Master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed." 
   This so perfectly demonstrates our lives in relation to the sacrifice Christ has made.  Never will we be able to fathom the grace, mercy, and forgiveness that has been given to us, nor will we ever be able to repay it. And while we are so grateful that we can live freely in Christ, knowing that our sins are forgiven and we will spend eternity with him....we struggle to forgive others for the trespasses we feel have been committed against us.  There are certain people that have wounded us so badly, and others that we feel have reached their "forgivable limit," and have just done too much.
   In the beginning of the parable though, Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive someone that sins against him? Seven times?  Jesus tells him no, not seven, but seventy-seven times.  In other words--as much as it takes. 

   This is hard to swallow sometimes, because forgiveness is hard and often painful, because it means we have to face a situation head-on....no denial and no running away.  At times we feel that when we hold back forgiveness, we're in control of the situation, and that once we start the process of forgiving that person...we'll lose all control and will end up being hurt all over again.  But in reality, it holds us captive, and robs us of any possibility of a healthy relationship.  And even if reconciliation isn't a possibility (because forgiving doesn't mean reconciling), it sets us free within other relationships that had been effected as well.  Because holding that bitterness and unforgivenss in, doesn't just affect those two people....it affects everyone connected in any way.  Satan isn't going to use our selfish human nature to just destroy one relationship, he's going to use it to get as many around us as he can.

   At the end we were challenged to think of who we needed to forgive.  Everyone has at least one person that they're still holding things against that they just can't let go of.  Things maybe they've repressed, things maybe they're trying to get revenge for, or things that maybe have caused bitterness and resentment to build up.  We need to seek God and His wisdom and help, because we can't handle it on our own.  I know that I've failed in this area because I tried to do it without Him, and it doesn't work.  And I think it's important that once we've reached a point of forgiveness, where we've truly let God take it from us and we are freed from the burden, that we talk to whoever it is that we've forgiven and let them know, regardless of whether there is reconciliation or not, but especially if that is a possibility.  There is so much power in forgiveness, and while it may not be instantaneous and the other person may not be on board at that point in time, it's headed in the right direction at least and you've started on the path of healing. 

♥....C

little things today:

- going for a bike ride with two of my favorite people

- being outside, away from the city, in the clean, clear, fresh air

- looking through old pictures

- spending time with my parents

- inside jokes

- frozen yogurt

- summer rain........♥

♥ C

                      it holds us captive. 

            it keeps us from loving completely, 

                                    passionately, 

                                            and unconditionally.  

       it puts the other at our mercy.  

it can't ever end well, at one point or another...

                             ...they will fail to meet the mark.

so let the expectations go.  let God be our example of grace and love without them.  try it in just one relationship to start; and see how much joy, wholeness, and richness there is to be found when we let the walls of expectation down, and we let forgiveness fill us up. 

♥ C

oh heavens.

This last weekend at church, a guest pastor spoke about heaven.  It was such a refreshing message; it was humorous, encouraging, honest, and thought-provoking.  It was a great sermon to hear, so I thought I'd share. :)

  "Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 
  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. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

  He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'" 

                                                                  Revelation 21:1-5

....♥ C

little things this week:

- waking up refreshed
- taking a walk
- phone calls from my family
- talking about what heaven will be like
- worshiping next to two of my best friends
- lazy Sundays
- swimming and laying out by the pool
- fresh fruit for lunch
- Friends
- starting a new book

....♥ C

learning to be thankful.

   Today Hannah and I decided we wanted to go to the farmer's market that's semi-close to our house so we could get some fresh veggies.  It was still late-morning and hadn't gotten too hot yet, so we decided to walk down instead of drive.  As we were walking we both commented on how beautiful of a day it was, and now nice it was to actually walk somewhere.  We're so accustomed now to just driving to where we needed to go, that we get into our routines and forget what about what a simple pleasure walking is. 
   Anyways, that got my mind going in a tangent about the simple things I forget to be thankful for each day, and the little things God puts in our lives to make it worth living each day.  There's a blog I'm quite fond of called justlittlethings.tumblr.com/.  All it is is a list of submissions people have made about the small things that fill our lives that we often forget to appreciate.  New ones get added each day, and it has become one of my most frequently visited websites.  There's so much joy to be found in them, joy that we often pass by as we get caught up in the humdrum of life.
   That said, I have added the practice of thankfulness to my summer list.  Praying with a thankful heart should be habit, and should go beyond "thank you for this day, for this food, for my health, etc...."  It should be at all times during the day, it should even be at times when things aren't that great because we know that God is present and in control, and it's through those times that we grow the most.
   One way I've seen it done is to simply make a list--in a journal, on a blog, etc.--that simply says what we're thankful for that day or that week.  Not only does this help focus and direct our prayers and our minds, but it also re-centers us and helps us change our mindset and perception; it's so easy to get caught up in what hasn't gone so well, what someone has said or done, or just the stresses of life.  Recognizing what we have to be thankful for helps us remember the things that make life beautiful and give us reason to love it, and that our God is the creator of all these things.  

♥ C