Forgiven

by Tim Howard

Jesus taught His disciples to ask for forgiveness. He said: “When you pray…. say Forgive us our sins as we also forgive everyone who sins against us”

 I have discovered many truths about God over the years that go far beyond the fact that He is truly alive, active and involved in the lives of people. God loves people, God is all-powerful, God is just, God is faithful even when we are faithless and God never gives up on us – just to name a few.

One of life’s great truths about God is tremendously liberating and life altering. He is forgiving!

If it weren’t for His forgiveness, none of us could have a relationship with Him. For that matter, you couldn’t have any long-term relationship with anyone. My marriage would never have survived had my wife chosen to not forgive me for the hurt I caused her. My family relationships with my sons would have been destroyed had we not offered mutual forgiveness at various times.

Un-forgiveness is the tether that holds you prisoner to your past hurts. It will keep you from soaring above and beyond adversity and challenges. At times it may feel right to choose un-forgiveness rather than forgiveness because the pain of the hurt goes so deep but the ramifications are negative and long lasting.

Maybe you hurt someone and they won’t forgive you. Your relationship is over! Possibly someone has injured you emotionally or relationally and you won’t forgive them. The result is the same – separation and devastation.

Forgiveness brings healing to hurts and we all get hurt now and again. There are physical hurts but there are emotional hurts as well. Beyond that, I believe relational hurts cause the deepest pain.

Hurts happen because of what people say to us and think about us. That old adage “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me” is simply untrue. Words hurt and can be conveyed in non-verbal ways as well. Words can kill your spirit, wound your emotions and divide good friends.

Hurts happen because of what people do to us. The Bible is full of stories and you have many examples of times when people did something to you that brought much pain. Maybe they betrayed you or cheated you or lied to you. Whatever it was, it hurt.

One of the worst ways of dealing with hurt is to repress it. Minimize it. Ignore it. A man by the name of Absalom did just that when a family member was taken advantage of – you can read about it in 2 Samuel 13 –He kept it inside – repressed it for two years and finally exploded by him killing the person who did the offense.

It’s best to talk about the hurt. Talk to God first! Then find a trusted friend to talk with. If you don’t talk it out, you will take it out. You will take it out on your family, your co-workers, your wife or husband because hurt kept inside grows resentment and bitterness. You will not find any closure on past hurts without disclosure.

Communicating with God about your hurts allows Him to bring healing and enables you to forgive. It was refreshing this week to hear of a family who forgave a woman who caused tragedy by drinking and driving. Their daughter was killed needlessly but they dealt with hurt by forgiving.  Hurt people – hurt people but forgiving people bring help and hope to people. Choose to be forgiving!

Take Out The Trash

by Tim Howard

Recently while talking to a doctor friend about some physical challenges, we began to discus some of the systems in the human body which enable people to live a full life. It was fascinating to hear him share insights into the Digestive System, Respiratory and Circulatory System, Musculoskeletal System and Nervous System. He went on to explain the excretory system It is one of several major body systems designed by God to regulate the volume and molecular and ionic constitution of internal body fluids and eliminates metabolic waste products from the internal environment - In simplified terms, the human excretory system functions to remove waste from the human body. This system may be less glamorous when compared to others yet it too is absolutely necessary.

Don’t laugh! We all have waste. Every household has trash that needs to be removed and that’s true for our personal lives as well.

We all have some garbage laying around due to unhealed hurts, disappointments, painful memories, wounds, broken promises, broken hearts, unmet needs and unresolved issues. If we don’t have a systematic way to dispose of these items, problems tend to grow, emotional sickness often develops and Spiritual growth can be stifled.

Simply stated; life stinks when you don’t remove your trash. The system necessary to experience cleansing is revealed in 1 John 1:9. It says: “…if we confess our sins to God, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”

When you confess your hurt, your needs, your sin, you bring it into the open. You quit hiding and admit to what’s really going on. You choose to reveal it rather than conceal it. In doing so, you experience forgiveness from God, a cleansing from the stench and a brand new start. In the same way you take your waste container to the curb on the proper day of the week so the waste management department can take it away, we are to bring our contaminants to God. Once a year Kings County gives each homeowner a free trip to the Kings Waste & Recycling Plant but God gives you free access to Himself each and every day.

What needs to be disposed of in your life? What have you been holding on to that is holding you back? Is there any hurt that is in need of forgiveness? Is there a painful memory in need of healing? Why not take out the trash?

The cross is the place where Jesus died for you. He dealt with your personal failures, sins, weaknesses and trash of all types. The cross is the place where sins are forgiven. The cross is the place where you can exchange the old for the new. The cross is the place where you can confess without the fear of being criticized or attacked. God can deal with your garbage! So take your trash to Him.

Why not visit one of the many Church families this weekend in Kings County. They would love to help you experience the forgiving, cleansing, healing and restoring power of Jesus Christ.