Certain truths about God in the Bible are confusing and even troubling to some. In this lab, John Piper corrects one way of questioning God, and encourages another. Questions are welcome, even necessary part of the Christian life, but they must be offered to God with the right attitude.Click here for further study.
God does not count questions as disbelief.
God had answers.
Now, when it comes to prayer, there are a lot of folks who have the idea that God doesn’t want us to ask Him questions. But that’s not true! God delights in His children asking Him questions. In fact, God was asked questions… big and small… all the way through the Bible. Click here to read about some ways that Gods answers our questions.
Seek first to understand.
Above all, seek wisdom.
“I tend to ask God for help in understanding, rather than blindly asking for elimination of something because that might be the only way for me to learn. It’s called experience. From experience comes testimony. James 1:5 tells us that if you ask for wisdom, God will give it generously without finding fault: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James A. Washington. Read more about it here.
It is OK not to understand everything.
God meets us where we are.
” Sometimes people think they have to get their lives together BEFORE they come to Christ (like, “i need to get over my addiction, get a hold of my vices,” etc), whereas it is Christ who saves and cleanses you. If we could fix ourselves, then we wouldn’t need a Savior. But like was said before, we still need to have repentant hearts… He’s not going to shove himself down our throats” manillabar Quote taken from this question/answer forum.”
It is OK to ask questions.
Only seek Him with a sincere heart.
Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding,for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. Proverbs 3:13-14 (ESV)
Sunday
Stills; My Way ← In this post I tell how “My photos are not primarily
OF windows. They are mostly FROM windows. My home office window, car windows,
hotel windows, plane windows.
The
windows I want to talk about today, are the windows of our hearts; the windows
of our minds; and the windows of our perceptions.
She
spoke about humiliation, shame, cyber bullying, public shaming, and online harassment.
She
quoted Brene’ Brown saying that “Shame cannot survive empathy.”
We have freedom of expression, but also responsibility of that freedom.
Might our harsh words cause the demise of another?
Let’s face it, myself, and many others I am quite sure, heard Monica’s story while it was going on, and thought what a horrible person she must be, as well as the one she was involved with.
Did we consider her with compassion? Did we think of her as young and naive? Did we consider that she may have been being taken advantage of by another? Did we think of her as Someone’s Daughter?
Maybe
for a moment, but the mainstream media of the day made it very easy to
characterize her as a floozy; or many other names that she goes over in her
talk.
Her
stand in her talk was that we need to communicate, consume, and click with
compassion.
We
must take back our own narrative, and help others currently in that position.
As
a child, I was bullied a lot. Every day.
I
somehow knew (not in my head and not until much later) on a visceral level,
that I was being protected.
I
simply cannot imagine how much more infinitely difficult it is during THIS time
period.
What
with social media and TV media and print media all screaming insults and
vitriol all over the place for no reason, and hardly any basis in fact.
So I ask you now to consider your own “Windows on the World”. (Heart, mind, perceptions)
Are you communicating your thoughts with compassion?
Are you consuming your media with compassion?
Are you clicking with compassion? (Clicking usually = dollars)
Are you listening to EACH side, or only the one you like?
Along
with the link to Monica’s story above, I’ve added a few more links.
Perhaps
they can help you to begin your search for your OWN WAY to do things with more
compassion.
We do not need to agree on everything; in fact, we can disagree completely with another’s world view, and still listen to them, and treat them with compassion.
If we use compassion, we can have some really good conversation, and who knows: maybe everybody can learn something.
Matthew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
In this article I’m going to share with you 5 of the most important things that I’ve personally discovered about the ability to forgive THAT WORKS! (CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE TO OPEN THE ARTICLE)
1. We do NOT have the natural ability to forgive anyone…no matter how hard we try! In fact, the more we try, the more weary we become. That does NOT mean we are helpless victims of other people’s foolishness. Because what we do have is the God-given ability to choose…to choose to forgive. That opens the door for the Holy Spirit to do in and through you the same thing that He did through Jesus on the Cross when He said, “Father, forgive them…” Jesus did not do that in His own strength. He made the choice, in the same way that you and I make the choice. That brings us to point number 2:
2. The Holy Spirit has the power that it takes to cause forgiveness to take place. More than anyone, He knows the value and power of forgiveness. He also knows our weaknesses, and is more than willing to fill our weakness with God’s strength. But, equally, the Holy Spirit will not (and cannot) make the choice for us. That’s our part. Making the choice when everything within our pain is shouting, “For what they did, they don’t deserve to be forgiven!” And, that leads us to our third point:
3. The other person (or people) don’t deserve it! The Lord’s
prayer is, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” The person (or
people) owe you a debt. Jesus prayed from the Cross, “Father forgive
them…(why?)…because they don’t know what they are doing. If the devil knew
what he was doing when Jesus was crucified, he would not have done it! Easily
ninety-five percent of the time (or more) the person (or people) that inflicted
pain upon you, did not really know what they were doing. We like to think they
knew because it justifies our anger and bitterness. But, in truth, they are
blind to themselves and their own actions. That doesn’t justify horrible
behavior, but it sheds light on a human reality.
4. Forgiving isn’t the same as forgetting. We’ve probably all
heard the saying, “To forgive is to forget.” If we can’t forget, it leads us to
the conclusion that we must not have truly forgiven.” Forgiving is releasing a
person from a debt they truly owe you. You make the choice to allow the Holy Spirit
to move in forgiveness in and through you. It begins as an act of faith that
you may or may not feel for awhile, but if you continue to make the choice and
allow the Holy Spirit to do the work only He can do, the feelings begin to
catch up.
Why do you
supposed Jesus told His disciples to forgive 70 time 7 (490 times in one day)?
It’s because of what the power that not
forgiving does to destroy us emotionally and physically. Choosing to forgive
and releasing the Holy Spirit then to do His work in and through us is one of
the main ways to enter the river of God’s love. This may sound very strange,
but the choice to forgive is one of the most positive selfish things you can do
for yourself.
5. Finally, forgiving DOESN’T mean that you automatically allow
the person or people to return into your life as if nothing has happened. You
can forgive and still be wise. There needs to be a time of proof where you see
a change in their attitudes and actions before you fully embrace them. That is
another area where the Holy Spirit will help you with wisdom if you will ask
Him for the wisdom.
I truly
hope this helps! Learning to walk in the love as well as the wisdom of
forgiveness is one of the most critical things we need to learn!
If this was beneficial, please respond with a “Like”! If you
have any questions, please ask in the comments. If you have some wisdom that
you’ve worked out in your own life, please comment. And “Share” this with
someone you believe it may help!
Prayer: Father, In Jesus Name, I now make the choice to allow
the Holy Spirit to work forgiveness because of what _____________ did/said to
me. Thank you Jesus. Amen.
Pastor
Gary Ellis
1. Choices. I
never realized I even had a choice until I was in my mid twenties. That was a
life giving revelation. It meant I no longer had to eat it just because it was
put on my plate by someone. I get to
fill my own plate.
2. My not forgiving them was poisoning me, while they were
walking around “free”.
3. Wrong doers do wrong. That’s what they do. We can expect
no different from them. Many times they have literally no idea just how wrong
they are. They have no chip for that.
4. Unforgivness harbors bitterness, and causes sorrow and grief. Psalm 31:10 says “For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.” Note that it takes away our strength. 5. It is not wise to forgive, and then to return immediately, this is so true. Give yourself time, and time, and time. After that, you can make a wise choice due to the actions you see. During that time, you are not holding on to poison, but allowing yourself to regain your strength.
Thanks for being here, and please join me again next time!
Significant Encounters 
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