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Tag: forgiveness

Hope for Relationships

Written by amerrill on . Posted in Blog. No Comments on Hope for Relationships

Relationships are the building blocks of humanity. They can elicit overwhelming joy, such as the special bond between parent and child or the enduring love between a husband and wife.  However, the breakdown of relationships—seen across the ages and across the world—can cause unbearable devastation. Couples divorce, family members become estranged, siblings fight, and longtime friendships dissolve bitterly.

Yet, God has created within every man and woman the desire to form lasting, loving, and meaningful relationships with those around them. So, in order to nurture healthy relationships in the future, how does one obtain healing for a heart that has been broken by hurts from the past? We find hope for relationships by looking to God’s Word for answers.

Here are four things we can do when our relationships need to be revived with hope:

1. Surrender to the proper authority. God is the Creator of the universe. The Bible says He heals, restores, and gives life—even to relationships that seem dead and hopeless (Romans 8:11). The devil, on the other hand, aims to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10). In every decision you make, you are either submitting to God or to the devil. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” How do you submit to God? By obeying His word, the Bible. Make a commitment to read the Bible every single day, even if it’s just one chapter. Pray and ask God to help you to obey Him.

2. Confess and let go. James 4:8 says, “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Take an honest assessment of your heart and what role you may have had in the demise of a certain relationship.  First John 1:8-9 says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” When you confess your sin to God and ask Him for forgiveness, you are able to forgive others and let go of resentment and bitterness you may be harboring within your heart.

3. Don’t slander. Whenever we are hurt, it is very tempting to complain to anyone who will listen about the person we feel has wronged us. James 4:11 admonishes us not to engage in this kind of slanderous speech. Jesus Christ suffered the cruelest injustice in all of history—His undeserved death on a Roman cross—but He did not protest or slander His accusers. Instead, He said, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). Let us follow Jesus’ humble example.

4. Give grace instead of judgment. When others fall short of your expectations, choose to show them grace, which is defined as mercy, favor, and pardon. Jesus showed you and I grace rather than judgment when He died to pay the penalty for our sins. He says in Matthew 7:1-2: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Trust the Lord to examine the heart and motives of those who may have hurt you, and leave all judgment to Him. You will find that letting go of this responsibility is tremendously liberating, and it will allow God to fully heal and restore your heart.

We will be starting a series at Shepherd Church soon called, “A Living Hope.” Please join us for this important study through the Book of 1 Peter as we learn about God’s plan to bring hope for all!

You Are Not Defined by Your Mistakes

Written by amerrill on . Posted in Blog. No Comments on You Are Not Defined by Your Mistakes

Making mistakes is an unavoidable hazard in life.  As humans, whether by ignorance or insolence, we make decisions or statements we later regret.  However, what is most important in these situations is how we respond to our sins or mistakes.  In addition to making efforts to rectify our error, we should also introspectively reflect on the causes of our error in the first place.  In those times we may hear two voices—one of condemnation and another of conviction—and the voice we listen to will determine our self-perception and subsequent actions.

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[Photo by Chris and Karen Highland on Flickr]

Too often, the voice that penetrates our hearts and minds is one of condemnation. “Condemnation frames one instance, one momentary lapse of judgment, and turns it into the defining moment of our life,” said Tim Winters, our executive pastor here at Shepherd Church.  Condemnation is the counterfeit version of conviction; it tells us that we need to change, but at the same time taunts us that we cannot change.  The truth is, God put condemnation on the shoulders of His Son, Jesus Christ, when He died for our sins, so that we do not have to experience it ourselves.

“Condemnation frames one instance, one momentary lapse of judgment, and turns it into the defining moment of our life.” – Tim Winters

God’s word promises in Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  One word that is often overlooked in this Scripture is the word “now.”  When Jesus died on the cross and paid the penalty for our sins, He did so for all of our past, present, and future transgressions, declaring in John 19:20, “It is finished.”  The price has already been paid; all we need to do is accept His ransom on our behalf.

While God’s word is clear that there is no condemnation for our sins, there are always consequences of our sins.  We must remember that sin is a choice, and it is oftentimes ugly, disturbing, hurtful, and frustrating.  We may have a choice in our sin, but we do not have a choice in the consequences.  Too often, our sins impact people who we never intended to affect.  As we respond to our sin and their inevitable consequences, believers who have been set free from ultimate condemnation must choose to listen to the voice of conviction in order to truly be healed and restored from iniquity.

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[Photo by Kyle Pearce on Flickr]

God’s Holy Spirit, the voice of conviction, begins by reminding us who we are: God’s masterpiece, created in His image and loved by Him (Genesis 1:26-27; John 3:16).  Once God reminds us of who we are, He begins to deal with our sin.  Similar to effective parenting, a parent reminds his or her child who he or she is in relation to the parent, before taking disciplinary action.  In contrast, condemnation always starts with what we’ve done, and then accuses us of who are.  The enemy condemns us so he can destroy us.  God convicts us so He can correct us and make us more like Him.  Through the power of His Holy Spirit, He gives us the strength to overcome pride, addictions, greed and other roots of sin, and humbles us to seek forgiveness.

The enemy condemns us so he can destroy us.  God convicts us so He can correct us and make us more like Him.

To which voice will you listen?  In the face of mistakes and their respective consequences, how will you respond?  Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  For those who would accept Jesus’ invitation of salvation from our sins, He gives us His Holy Spirit, who works in us to remind us what we should and should not do (John 16:7-11).  Furthermore, God works in us “to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).  If you want to learn more about who you are in Christ and what His amazing purpose is for your life, please join us for weekend services at Shepherd Church.