Tag: perfect love and forgiveness

The Perfect Standard for Forgiveness

Matthew 5:22
But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Jesus was absolutely crystal clear in defining His position about forgiving others. He taught that there is no leeway given for those who are unwilling to forgive. Whoever is angry with another without cause is in danger of judgement themselves.

We need to look to Jesus Christ when we consider whether we are justified to be angry with another. He is the essence of perfect love and forgiveness. Jesus’ anger was limited to those who took away from the glory of the Father. He set aside His anger and replaced it with love and forgiveness when any other lesser offense was involved, whether it be directed toward Him or not. His perfect standard is the same standard that we are all called to meet. When we fall short of this standard in our daily lives, we are commanded to right ourselves before we come to Him with our offerings and our prayers. Otherwise, our prayers will be ineffective.

Let us first recognize our shortcomings in reconciling our differences with others. Let us be quick to forgive and just as quick to ask for forgiveness. Let us share the perfect love and forgiveness of Jesus with the world around us as we grow as disciples of Jesus. Let us prepare to receive the fullness of His love and forgiveness in our own lives so that we may be worthy to bring our prayers and offerings to the Father.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the loving kindness, the mercy and the grace that You have shown us. We bless the name of Jesus who is the essence of Your perfect love and forgiveness. We pray, Father, that we may become instruments of Your good work and vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness. May the world know us by our ability to set aside our anger. We ask all these things in the name of Jehovah-Shalom, the Lord of Our Peace, Jesus Christ.

Claiming the Fullness of Life and Power

Ephesians 3:19
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Jesus loves each one of us unconditionally. He loves us so much that He gave up His position as Son of God to become Son of Man. He endured the pain and shame of the Cross so that He could become the sacrificial lamb that was necessary to provide the blood to wash away our sins, to make us acceptable to the Father.

He extended His unconditional love by sending the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins, so that we would understand His offer of salvation and accept it. He continues to extend His unconditional love by dwelling within each of us that have accepted Him as Our Savior, so that we may have the strength and the power to overcome the sinful nature that still tries to rule in our lives.

He continuously pours out His perfect love and forgiveness to each of us. He places no limit on the love that He pours into us because He wants it to overflow our cups. He wants us to become living vessels of His perfect love and forgiveness so that the world will know Him and know the fullness of His love.

Let us lift the name of Jesus above all other names. Let us rejoice in His incomparable love. Let us claim the fullness of life and power that comes from a relationship with the Son of God. May our changed lives proclaim His immeasurable love, so that others may be drawn to Him.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the perfect love and forgiveness that You have poured out into our lives. We exalt the name of Jesus who became the Son of Man in order to fulfill our need for a perfect sacrificial lamb. We thank You, Father, for the blood of Your Son that washes away our sin and makes it possible for us to receive and share Your perfect love. We ask that we may become instruments of Your good work and vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness for the world around us. We pray that we will live in the fullness of the life and power that is offered by You through Your Son. We ask all these things in the incomparable name of the Son of God, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.

The Power to Walk Away

Romans 6:4
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

So what is this new life that we may live? As we struggle to attain a new sanctified life in Christ, we all come to know and experience that the promise for holiness is activated in our spirit, but is hampered by the weakness that remains in our flesh.

In the flesh, we are in a constant struggle to try to attain the holiness that we know has been set aside for us. The struggle is ongoing as we react to our call to holiness and attempt to adjust the way we live as new men and women in Christ. All along, we realize that we have been given the power to walk away from our old sin nature, but our flesh and our new spirit are in a battle. The flesh wants to keep us in the world. The Spirit wants to lead us on our path to sanctification. We find that there is no peace if we try to live in both worlds. We have to get off the proverbial fence to find victory.

Knowing our weaknesses all too well, in His perfect mercy and loving kindness, Our Father in heaven set aside a Helper for us to manage through our daily struggles. He gave us a Counselor to help us overcome the calling of our flesh and the world. We were given the Holy Spirit to guide us and strengthen us and we were given God’s promise that He will perfect His strength in our weakness. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Cor 12:9

Let us call on the promise of Our Father in heaven. Let us rejoice in knowing that His grace is fully and perfectly sufficient to overcome our weaknesses. Let us strive to live new lives that are not conflicted by the world.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your perfect plan and provision for us to overcome our sin natures. We praise the name of Jesus for sacrificing His life so that we can have victory over sin. We bless the name of the Holy Spirit who comes alongside us to guide us and strengthen us. We pray, Lord, that You will show us how to end our struggle to balance our lives. May the Holy Spirit assist us and give us the strength to walk away from the world and commit everything in our lives to Jesus Christ, Our Savior. We ask all these things in in the name of our strength and our provision, Jesus Christ.

Refuse to Partner with Bitterness

1 John 2:2
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

God so loved the world that He gave His Son to die for the sins of all of mankind. In this one act, we see the perfect love and the perfect forgiveness of both the Father and the Son. The advocacy of the Son is limited to believers, but the propitiation for sin extends as far and as wide and as deep as the evidence of sin in all people.

When we receive the Son, Jesus Christ, as Our Savior, we are receiving the fullness of His perfect love and forgiveness. We also receive the indwelling Holy Spirit who instills in us this perfect love and forgiveness to share with the world around us. As it is with the Father and the Son, we are to withhold love and forgiveness from no man.

With all the anger and bitterness that is spewed every day in our society, we should not withhold even the smallest portion of love and forgiveness from any man anywhere. Our ability to love and forgive under all circumstances is what marks us as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Let us set aside the anger that the world stirs in us. Let us refuse to partner with the bitterness that our flesh demands. Let us live in the fullness of joy and peace that is only found through perfect love and forgiveness.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the unlimited flow of love and forgiveness that comes from Your Throne. We bless the name of Jesus for becoming sin for every man so that we all could receive the eternal gift of salvation. We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit will guide us as we learn to become free flowing vessels of Your perfect love and forgiveness. We ask for the grace to overcome all bitterness, anger and unforgiveness in our lives so that we may in no way hinder the provision of Your love to the world around us. We ask all these things in the name of the Lord Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Breadth, Width and Depth of the Love of the Father

Luke 15:20
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to Him” is the opening verse in the passage about the prodigal son. Luke wanted us to know that Jesus was not speaking to His disciples. Jesus’ audience was exactly who He wanted to reach with His message about the love of the Father. Jesus used this parable to define the breadth, width and depth of the love of Our Heavenly Father for all people – no matter how much their lives separates them from being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

When the prodigal son returned in shame, he was a filthy and stinky. He was a broken mess of a man, completely defeated. His father saw no filth. His father smelled nothing but the fragrance of the son that he so longed to see return to him. The father did not scorn the son. He celebrated his return and placed him in good standing once again.

Jesus went into great detail to establish that Our Father in heaven will allow us to go as far away from Him as we choose. But it will be our choice, not His. He will allow us to choose the entitlements of the world over the entitlements of His kingdom. But it will be our choice, not His. But no matter what choices we make, He will not stop loving us. He will not stop longing for us to return to Him no matter where we have gone in our travels away. And when we do return, all of the heavens will celebrate our return.

Let us run to the One who waits for us with open arms. Let us run confidently knowing that His love for us never changes. Let us repent of our old ways so that we may receive the abundant love that covers us completely. Let us share His perfect love and forgiveness with the world around us.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your loving kindness, Your mercy and Your grace. We rejoice in knowing that Your love for us is so great that You see us only in the image of Your Son, Jesus, whose blood covers the stench of our sinful pasts. Father, forgive us for the times that we have chosen the entitlements of the world over Your precious gifts. We humble ourselves before You and ask that we may be Your servants for all eternity. We pray our new lives in Christ will be an encouragement to others to join in Your heavenly celebration. We ask all these things in the name of the One who washes us clean, Jesus Christ.

Serving As Ambassadors of Compassion

Matthew 14:14
When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Jesus has great compassion for all people. During His time on earth, He poured out His compassion on all of the people whom He encountered. He did not go out condemning them, even though many deserved His condemnation. No matter what condition He found them in, He offered help. He came to heal them all in mind, body and spirit. In each case, He forgave them of their sins and offered them the hope of an eternal inheritance.

Today He does the very same thing for us. He does not care what condition we are in now or what condition we come from. His offer is always the same. He pours our His loving kindness on us. He offers us the opportunity to be healed in mind, body and spirit and to receive our eternal inheritance through His mercy and grace. His offer is always accompanied by His perfect love and forgiveness.

In turn, He expects us to reflect His love and forgiveness by having compassion on the people that He places in our lives. We should be alert to those around us that are burdened by afflictions, addictions and iniquities.

Let us raise our awareness for the need to show mercy and compassion for those who are burdened. Let us prepare ourselves to provide for the needs of their minds, their bodies and their souls. Let us willingly and purposely serve them in the same manner that Jesus would have served them, compassionately without condemnation.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing for our every need and offering us the keys to Your kingdom through Your Son, Jesus. We exalt the name of Jesus for the sacrifice He endured for us to be able to accept His loving kindness and mercy. Remind us, Lord, that we are Jesus’ ambassadors of compassion today. May we be living vessels of His perfect love and forgiveness. We pray that through Your grace we will serve the world around us compassionately without condemnation. We ask all these things in the name of our eternally compassionate king, Jesus Christ.