“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that
you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13
In various religions and cultures, people worship and rely on multiple gods. Each god is associated with specific needs or desires. For example, they would seek favor from the rain god and the harvest god for
fruitful crops or pray to gods of war or sea for success in battle. They even turned to fertility gods or goddesses for the blessing of a child. That’s a lot of hoops to jump through and seems exhausting.
However, in Christianity, we experience a significant shift. Our faith centers around the worship of a single God who encompasses all aspects of life. Throughout Scripture, the Bible reveals that the God of the Old and New Testament, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is the one and only God. This God created heaven and earth, reigns as the King of the Universe, and His name is Yahweh. He is the God of everything.
That’s why the apostle Paul, recognizing this truth, asks the God of hope to also fill his readers with joy and peace. Paul understands he doesn’t have to go to three places to find hope, joy, and peace. He can find it all in the One True God. And here’s the amazing part: God is so generous that Paul can boldly ask for overflow. This overflow means that hope, joy, and peace can abound to be shared with others.
So, when you’re in need today, look to God for everything you require. Remember, you serve the God of everything. Need patience? He’s your God. Need love? He’s your God. Need wisdom and insight? He is your God. Need forgiveness, companionship, energy, grace, mercy, or comfort? He’s your God. You can ask Him for whatever you need and even request the overflow to share His blessings with others.
For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses. Matthew 6:14-15
Wow! The words spoken by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount leave no room for ambiguity. He boldly reveals the undeniable connection between giving forgiveness to others and receiving forgiveness from God. Forgiveness is not a matter of personal preference. It is a command by Jesus to His followers, and it plays a vital role in experiencing the fullness of God’s mercy. Paul echoes this truth in Colossians 3:13, where he urges believers to embody His forgiveness by extending it to others. Embracing this call requires patience, understanding, and a genuine willingness to release the offenses committed against us in response to the gracious forgiveness God has shown us. As recipients of His immeasurable forgiveness, Christians reflect His character, show others His grace, and extend forgiveness to those around us.
However, releasing offense and choosing to forgive is not always easy. Sometimes it may even seem impossible. Here are some helpful practices to remember when the opportunity for offense presents itself:
Take time daily to reflect on the profound forgiveness given to you by Jesus. Remind yourself of the depth of your own forgiveness, allowing it to fuel your ability to extend grace and mercy to others.
Forgiveness is not a feeling. It is a choice. Waiting until you feel like forgiving may hinder the process indefinitely. Remember, delayed obedience is the first step toward disobedience.
Cultivate the practice of pre-forgiveness. As you start your day, even before your feet touch the ground, acknowledge that someone might offend you. Make a conscious decision to forgive them in advance. Make this commitment out loud by saying, “I choose right now to forgive anyone and everyone for any hurt or offense they may cause me today.”
Make it a personal goal to live an unoffendable life. Ultimately, the responsibility for being offended and living in a state of offense rests on us, not the offender. We have control over our attitudes and actions, and choosing not to be offended is a powerful testament to spiritual maturity and faith in Jesus.
Missed Pastor David’s message on Freedom in Forgiveness? Watch Here
“No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29
We have heard it said that our words have power, and that is true. In some circles, people talk about the power of our words as self-affirmations or confessions. While that’s also true, there is another way to look at it. Our words have power over others. This verse says our words can give grace for the hearer. Grace is an empowering force. When we say things like I need grace for today, ” we mean that we need divine power for the strength to make it through the day. So, there is a connection between grace and power.
Our words have the power to tear down or build up. So today, let us make a habit of building up rather than tearing down. Let’s decide to use our words to uplift and empower those around us. We can make a positive difference in the lives of the people we encounter every day.
Missed Sunday’s message from the RELATE series?Watch Here
Prayer is a fundamental aspect of the Christian faith, yet it can be challenging for many believers to maintain consistency in their prayer life. Persistence is essential not only in the act of praying itself but also in the specific requests we make to God. Unfortunately, when we don’t see immediate results, we may become discouraged, allowing worry and doubt to take hold.
Thankfully, James 5:16 reminds us that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Through persistent prayer, we demonstrate our faith in God’s ability to work in our lives and the lives of those around us. Our persistence in seeking God deepens our relationship with Him, allowing us to grow in faith and align ourselves with His purposes. When we surrender our cares and worries to Him, we experience His peace and comfort.
Jesus himself emphasized the importance of persistence in prayer, as seen in Luke 18:1-8, where he tells the parable of a persistent widow who eventually received justice from an unjust judge. Unlike the unjust judge, our Heavenly Father desires to hear and answer our prayers. Therefore, we must continue to bring our requests to Him with faith and persistence, knowing that He will respond according to His perfect will.
Here in Georgia, the pine tree is king. Take a hike in almost any park and you find yourself surrounded by pine trees. More specifically you will be surrounded by the Loblolly pine. These pine trees found in Georgia grow to about 80 feet tall. While that is a tall tree, the California Redwood dwarfs the Loblolly pine. One Redwood in particular measured in at 380 feet. Now that is a huge tree. The most amazing part is the size of the seed that it grows from. The seed of Reedwood is about the size of a tomato seed. That’s incredible. The potential for that giant tree is in that tiny seed. That little seed has the roadmap for making that tree. Pretty impressive.
Just like that tree, God’s special DNA is in you. The hard truth is that what you do with that potential is up to you. Just like a seed that is not planted will never become a Redwood, unless we do something with what God has given us we will not become what He intended. This is a tough pill to swallow sometimes. However, the good news is that just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean that the potential is not there. Listen to what the apostle Paul says about this subject.
Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.
1 Timothy 4:14&15
Paul tells us Timothy received some kind of gifting. He also tells him not to neglect it. He then goes further and says to be diligent and give yourself wholly to it. If you do, Timothy, everyone will see your progress. It will be evident that you have that gifting. Along with this comes the idea that if you are not giving yourself to it, no one will ever know it is there. Ouch! So just because the potential is there doesn’t mean it will automatically be experienced.
So this year what are the things that you need to be diligent about? What things do you need to give yourself wholly to? What things do you need not to neglect? Maybe you want to be a better parent this year. Give yourself to it. Make it a priority. Find a podcast or watch a video or even read a book on parenting. Ask yourself what you can do to be a better parent. Maybe there is someone you admire the way they parent, reach out to them and have conversations with them. Let it be something you think about. When there is an area I want to grow in, I feed myself information about that. Periodically I will listen to something or read something on being a better husband. I do this so I can become better. Not perfect, but better. Most of the New Years’ resolutions fail because we stop giving ourselves to them. The scriptural principle is that whatever you sow to you will reap.
It comes down to the currency of our day. It is not money. The real currency of the day is time. So what are we “spending” our time on? Ok, time for true confessions, I love anything StarWars related. I watch anything Star Wars related. So guess what? If you have any Star Wars questions, I can answer them. If you want opinions about anything Star Wars related, I have way too many of them. You could say that I, embarrassingly, have given my time to it. Because I have given myself to it I know way too much about it. What you give yourself to WILL grow whether good or bad.
We can’t change what has happened already, so we are putting the past in our rearview mirror. The past is the past. We are going to do some proper seed planting. We are going to be careful about what we plant. We are going to give ourselves to the thing that we want to grow in. This year we are going to see the potential of the seed in us grow. This year we are going to be purposeful and see some changes. Let us commit to growing so that everyone around us will see the change that is happening. We may not all become perfect but we will grow when we give ourselves to growing the seed of greatness given by God to everyone. Now is your moment and it is time to GROW!
