Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a huge subject and certainly one in which the Bible is not silent. In the Bible we can read about our amazing and loving Heavenly Father who forgives us of all trespasses. God calls sinners to seek Him and promises them forgiveness. It is because of His great mercy and grace that God rescues the believer from the dominion of darkness that began way back in the Garden.

Jesus extends a loving invitation for forgiveness of sins which is only possible through His shed blood. He gave His life so that we may live. We are forgiven because He was forsaken – That is amazing love!

Being able to forgive someone is an important part of Christianity. Christian forgiveness is unique - we should be able to forget those who "trespass against us," just like the Lord's Prayer tells us. It should be in every Christian's nature to forgive those who wronged them - but as much as we would like this to be true, it is hard to do.

Christ died on the cross so that our sins would be forgiven, yet he asked His Father to forgive his tormentors. We should remember this even during day to day situations. If our brother or sister has hurt us, it is important to remember how to forgive. It's never easy, but it is also worth it.

It is very important to always be willing to forgive, and the Bible teaches us the best ways to handle it. Learn how to forgive with these Bible verses about forgiveness. It may not be easy and it may not be fair... but these Bible verses on forgiveness will help you find a better way to live.

Forgiveness is hard work. And while we need to seek it and give it, we need God’s grace to humble us to the point that we realize we are nothing without Jesus and we’ll fail without his help.

Avoiding Sin and Temptation

The Bible tells us that it is important to guard our minds from sinful thoughts, words and actions, from wrong thinking comes wrong actions (Prov. 4:23, 2 Cor. 10:5). We must control our mind so that we can obey Christ.

Satan and his demons stalk the path of every believer, offering all manner of enticements to lure the Christian away from an obedient and faithful walk with Christ. No one is exempt from Satanic attacks, and no one is completely successful in countering them (I John 1:8, 10), but some Christians succumb to temptation so often that they see no hope for victory. They give up and give in without a struggle. This is an unfortunate condition, born out of despair, for it will blind the believer to the marvelous provision God has made for overcoming temptation

The first thing the Christian must learn is that God does not lead him to sin (James 1:13-15). God may test His children, a process designed to purify and strengthen them, but He does not lead them into sin. Without exception, sin results when temptation strikes a sympathetic chord in the human heart, and man has no one to blame but himself.

No one is uniquely tempted; Christians can help and learn from one another. Merely knowing that another Christian has overcome greed, for instance, may be just the assurance that someone needs to make another attempt to overcome it in his own life. The Christian who has grown in one facet of his spiritual life is responsible for helping other Christians who have not yet grown in that area. In this manner, Christians can edify (or, “build up”) one another in their faith(Eph. 4:15-16).

The following can help us avoid sin and temptation.

•          Identify your temptations and the personal flaws that create them. (Hebrews 4:15)

•          Fill Your Mind With God’s Word (Phil. 4:8 )

•          Keep Your Mind Clean (Ps. 101:3, Job 31:1)

•          Establish Accountability with Someone (Heb. 10:24, 25)

•          Avoid Temptation (Rom 13:14)

•          Remember to trust God even when being tempted.

We pray to be able to avoid sin and temptations by the help of GOD. Amen.

Sin

In our struggle to avoid and overcome sin, it is vital that we understand exactly what it is.

Sin is described in the Bible as transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4) and rebellion against God (Deut. 9:7; Joshua 1:18). Sin had its beginning with Lucifer, not content with his position, he desired to be higher than God, and that was his downfall (Isa. 14:12-15). Through Adam, the inherent inclination to sin entered the human race, and human beings became sinners by nature.

Tragically, sin in any amount will distance us from God. Isa. 59:1-2.

Seven Deadly Sins listed in the Bible are Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed, and Sloth.

The good news in all of this is that, once we recognize ourselves as sinners, we need only to repent and embrace Jesus to be forgiven. Jesus can forgive us because he died and rose again three days later in victory over sin and death. 

The Apostle Paul refers to this process of recognizing sin and being responsible for it as "godly sorrow." 2 Cor. 7:10-11

Strict obedience to God's laws alone doesn't change what we are. It's a start, certainly. Sometimes we make the same mistake the Pharisees made. We can concentrate so much on avoiding breaking God's law that we lose sight of the purpose of that law: to change our focus from thinking about ourselves to being concerned for and showing love for others. (Mat 25:31-46,  Luke 16:19-31) .

We pray to learn the way of the lord, recognize the evilness of sin and overcome temptations, Amen.

Giving

Giving is a relational issue with God.

Many see the responsibility of giving as a burden. How sad that is in light of Paul’s reminder that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:6-7). Giving is actually a relational decision. In the process of making giving decisions we really establish our agreement with God about stewardship. As we continually decide to give, we constantly affirm how much we value our relationship to God as His children. The Bible teaches that Christian giving is an act of worship (1 Cor. 16:2) and should be done in accordance with our means (2 Cor. 8:12).

An amazing benefit of giving as stewards is that it releases us from the real burden of our own financial needs. As we learn to trust God through giving, we can live confidently on what is left because we know that God is taking care of that. Giving is a freeing experience as it connects us more closely to God relationally. The ultimate outcome is that those who give as stewards experience a sense of intimacy with God that all followers of Christ long for. Giving becomes worship. Giving becomes a way of saying thanks to God for His grace and promised provision. Giving becomes a deep part of our personal connection to God.

The Lord Jesus expects and requires us to give (Matt. 6:2), He warned us not to give for the sake of being admired by men (Matt. 6:1).

We pray that we will give as we ought, for the right motives, that we may give joyously and extravagantly.