Forgiveness From The Heart

"So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, If ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."  Matthew 18:35.  God will recompense unto us what we do unto others.  How we respect others is how God respects us.  Jesus has answered a question about forgiveness.  His answer included a story of a man who needed forgiveness, but was himself unwilling to forgive.  It is impossible but that trespasses come.  Not only do we need the forgiveness of God, but we also need the forgiveness of others.  Jesus teaches that those who are willing to forgive will be forgiven, but those who are unwilling to forgive will not be forgiven.  We all sin against God, and God is willing to forgive us.  God wants us to have a heart of forgiveness.  A heart of forgiveness is a heart of compassion and love.  Mercy received must be mercy given.  Forgiveness does not seek revenge, nor does it harbor malice.  Hate is cured with forgiveness.  Broken bonds can be united with forgiveness.  Friendships can be restored with forgiveness.  God forgives the sins of our life when we from our heart forgive those who trespass against us.  Forgiveness is indeed a heavenly blessing.

Call For The Great And Mighty

"Call upon me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."  Jeremiah 33:3.  We can call upon the Almighty, and He will show us great things.  We have the right to call upon the most mighty Being in the universe.  Has He not shown us His greatness in times past?  The sea parted and the flood rolled.  Mighty Jordan was crossed and Jericho fell.  Goliath was slain with a stone, and the pillars in the house of Dagon fell down.  The Hebrew boys survived the fire, and Daniel walked among the lions.  Ten lepers were cleansed, and Lazarus walked out of the tomb of death where he had resided for four days.  The cross was raised, and the sun turned black. God will show us great and mighty things.  Call Him when you are cast down.  Call Him when your world crumbles.  And He will answer with a mighty display.  Call upon Him when you are sad, and when you are happy.  Call in the time of heavy burdens, and call when you are carrying a light load.  Call at all times.  His ear is open.  The Lord desires to hear from you.  And, He will greet your voice with a mighty display of power.

I Was Known Beforehand

"Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect: and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them."  Psalm 139:16.  Before I was born, God knew me.  Before He fashioned me, He saw my existence.  God sees what has not yet come to be.  My members were fashioned by His divine handiwork long beforehand written in His book.  God planned, and I came to be.  My birth was according to a plan formed in eternity.  From the everlasting pattern, I was made.  We are not the product of an accident.  We are the perfection of an eternal plan by an eternal mind.  There is no spur of the moment with God.  Each soul is a divine creation very skillfully formed.  This knowledge is overwhelming.  I am somebody to God.  God planned for my being, and as an architect would build according to his drawing, thus did God with me.  I am formed with absolute precision.  And God sees me day by day.  His eye watches me due to His loving concern.  God provides for me what I need for my life to be pleasant and good.  He did not make me, and then, forget me.  God watches, and cares.

Prepare Ye The Way

"As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."  Luke 3:4.  What was once written is now time to be fulfilled.  John, the preacher in the wilderness, was sent to cry out the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus is coming.  Are you ready?  When He comes to you, will your heart be ready to receive Him?  We must prepare for Christ to come to us.  We are to be ready to receive Him as an honored guest.  Jesus may not tarry long.  He may knock but once.  Let us open unto Him immediately.  We are to see our need for Him to enter our heart.  As cursed sinners, we must receive Jesus.  He comes to save, not destroy.  He comes to redeem us from the slavery of sin.  Jesus brings the blessings of God.  We must humble ourselves knowing His greatness and our weakness.  Jesus is wiser than all the minds of humanity.  His power and majesty far exceeds the kings of earth.  We must be ready to take His cross and follow after Him.  His steps lead to holiness and glory.  Sometimes, His way will lead us through difficulty.  We must be ready to fight for His cause, and lift high His banner of truth.  Jesus will lead us in straight paths.  Prepare ye to receive Him.

Wait To Renew

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."  Isaiah 40:31.  Is it not difficult to wait?  We seem to be always in a hurry.  There is much to do, and so little time in which to do it.  But, we are to wait on the Lord for a renewal of strength.  All need renewal.  We sleep so that our body can be recharged.  We eat so that we can be replenished.  But, the prophet speaks of the renewal of our soul.  This old world will sap our strength.  The old devil will cause us to question our faith.  Defeat can bring us to fainting.  Doubt can cause weariness.  We must wait on the Lord.  The Lord does not forget us.  The Lord does not forsake us.  But, He may tarry.  The Lord does not always arrive at the time which we would like.  We must not despair.  Wait for Him so that we may have a renewal of our strength.  We will then continue to run the race.  As an eagle mounts its great wings and soars high in the heavens, so we will mount up to the challenges before us.  Let those without strength wait on the Lord who has all strength and freely gives.  Then, we shall run toward the prize.

Continue In Prayer

"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving."  Colossians 4:2.  Prayer is the watchword of the saint.  Children of God need to pray.  We live in a world that opposes us, and therefore, we need the communion with our Father.  We are subjects of temptation from the devil, and so, we need the mercy that flows from the throne of God.  We experience sorrow and loss, and so, we must find strength to continue.  Pray, saint, pray and do not cease.  We find that Christ was often in prayer, even through the long night on one occasion.  Daniel and David of old prayed.  There is not a single saint of scripture who did not pray.  Sometimes God is long time in answering our prayers, but do not cease to pray.  Sometimes our prayer does not meet the will of God, but continue to pray.  The soul that does not pray is the soul that wanders in a vast wasteland without heaven's help.  God's children cannot live long without prayer.  Prayer seeks God and His help and grace.  What a grand honor that a child of the dust can go into heaven's throne room and speak to the Maker of all things. Let prayers unto God fall from our lips night and day.  Heaven's grace is given to those who ask.

The Mind Of Christ

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 2:5.  We are to have the mind of Christ.  This will require our full devotion.  This is to be our life's work.  The mind of Christ was a mind of perfection.  In all things, Jesus was submissive unto the will of God.  The will of God was His very reason for leaving heaven and coming to earth.  Christ was sacrificial.  He gave Himself for others.  Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient.  Christ was willing to do what God required for the redemption of humanity.  He was selfless.  We are to develop within ourselves the personality of Christ.  We must surrender ourselves unto God so that we come to have the mind of Christ.  The world was made better because Jesus came and lived in the world.  We, having the mind of Christ, will make the world a better place.  We will be better.  We will ascend to a higher plane of living.  As we come out of ourselves and into the mind of Christ, we will discover the fullness of our purpose in this life.  The mind of Jesus was a divine mind that proclaimed the glory of God.  As we possess the mind of Christ, we will shed forth the glorious light of God's glory and presence in a world of darkness and despair.  The mind of Christ gives hope and promise.  Let us have the mind of Jesus.