Forgiven Much

"But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."  This phrase comes from the story found in Luke 7:36-50 when Jesus was invited to the home of Simon the Pharisee.  As Jesus reclined at the table, a woman came into the Pharisee's house.  She came uninvited, unannounced, and stood behind Jesus, weeping.  Then she came and bowed herself down, and began to wash Jesus' feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair.  She began kissing His feet, and with the flask of fragrant oil she brought, she anointed His feet.  The Pharisee, observing this scene, said to himself that if Jesus were really a prophet, He would know who this woman was, and what kind of a woman she was.  The woman was known as a sinner, without doubt a prostitute, an outcast of society.  She would not have been welcome in the Pharisee's house, and he would have had nothing to do with her.  However, Jesus does know who the woman is, and He also knows what is on Simon's mind.  So He says, "Simon, I have something to say to you."  Jesus first tells a parable about a creditor who has two debtors, one owing 500 denarii, and the other owing 50.  One owes 10 more than the other, but when neither could pay, he forgave them both.  Now Jesus asks, "Which one will love him more?"  And Simon answers, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more."  So Jesus says to Simon, "You have rightly judged."  "Do you see this woman?  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.  You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.  You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.  Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.  But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."  The Pharisee showed no love for Jesus, and no love for the woman.  The woman loved Jesus with all her heart, and now had a heart of pure love for others.  When we know how much we have been forgiven, we will love Jesus, and we will love people.  May my heart always become more like the woman's, and less like the Pharisee's.

If I have been forgiven much, how does that affect my life?

Life and Peace

Romans 8:6 says, "To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."  Living carnally minded is a killer, it brings a separation in your walk with God.  The carnal, fleshly mind is an enemy against God, and is not subject to the law of God.  The enemy of your Christian life is your carnal mind.  It is the place of battle for your walk with God.  God gave us freedom to choose what we will think about in our hearts and minds, and what we choose to submit our minds to is what we will follow after.  Lately when temptation comes to my mind, I've been saying, "I'm not going to subject my mind to that.  I'm going to subject my mind to the Spirit and the Word."  I won't allow my mind to follow after the things of the flesh.  To be spiritually minded is life and peace.  This is the opposite of the fleshly mind which brings separation from God.  I can walk in the life of God and in the peace of God when I choose to be spiritually minded.  Peace is what the human heart is searching for.  We look for peace and satisfaction through alcohol, drugs, sexual experiences, money, etc.  Yet all these things do not bring long term peace.  The satisfying of the soul can only happen through what Christ offers us.  He is the Prince of Peace, and He knows how to satisfy our deepest needs.  Isa. 26:3 says, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You."  "Great peace have they who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble."  Ps. 119:165.  Recently I saw three things that really affect all of us:  1.  A feeling of being unloved.  However, Rom. 8:35-39 tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  2.  A feeling of being unworthy.  But Romans 8:33,34 tells us we are not condemned, that Christ died for us, and rose again, and is on the right hand of God, and prays for us.  We are worthy because of Christ.  3.  A feeling of not having enough.  But Romans 8:32 tells us that God did not spare His only Son for us, and therefore He will freely give us all things.  Say it to yourself today, "I am loved, I am worthy, and I have enough."  Renew your mind with these truths, and begin to live in life and peace.

Say it over and over; I am loved, I am worthy, and I have enough.

Nahum's Stronghold

"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him."  Nahum 1:7.  The message of Nahum was to the city of Nineveh, representing the entire Assyrian Empire.  Nineveh was a beautiful city, located on the Tigris River, surrounded by a wall almost 8 miles in circumference.  The wall was 100 feet high, and wide enough for 3 chariots abreast on it.  The city also had canals, and moats, and guards outside.  The inhabitants of Nineveh felt safe in their stronghold.  But Nahum comes with this message, that the Lord is a stronghold in the day of trouble.  The city of Nineveh was about to be destroyed, and the Assyrian Empire was going to be taken over by the Babylonians.  Nahum's 3 chapters foretell of Nineveh's downfall.  But it didn't have to be this way.  About 150 years before this, another prophet had come to Nineveh to prophecy.  His name was Jonah.  We know how Jonah disobeyed God, and fled to Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord.  And when he was vomited by the fish, the word from God remained the same, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you."  So Jonah went to Nineveh with one message, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown."  At Jonah's word, everyone in that wicked city turned to God with crying and fasting, and God relented and saved the city!  Jonah was angry at God, because God was so gracious and merciful, and relented from the harm that was coming to Nineveh.  God forgives those we may think are undeserving of it.  Jonah's perspective needed to be changed.  The plant provided by God one day, was destroyed by a worm the next day, and Jonah was angry again.  But God was teaching Jonah about mercy, and lovingkindness, and grace for people that Jonah despised.  Nineveh's repentance turned out to be short lived.  They soon let sin back into their lives.  The city became full of lies and robbery, and soon would be laid waste.  Coming to God in repentance is necessary, but we must also continue to live in repentance, holiness, and humility before God.  The Ninevites did not learn this, and gave up the blessing of God that was offered to them through Jonah's preaching.  Now under Nahum's prophecy, they will reap the harvest of their harlotry, sorcery, and lies.  We learn this from Nahum, that the Lord is our true stronghold in the day of trouble.  God knows those who trust in Him.

Am I living out the repentance of the past?

I Will Love Them Freely

Hosea was called to speak to God's people about the fallen state of their spiritual lives.  Hosea would not only speak to them, but he would live out a living demonstration of the love of God by marrying a prostitute who would be unfaithful to him.  Hosea would go and seek out his wife and love her freely, even after what she had done.  So Hosea obeys God, and he marries a wife of harlotry named Gomer.  They have 3 children, and each of the children names speak to the nation of Israel of their lost condition before God.  Yet God promises He will once again gather His people back to Him, and once again they will be His people, and a place where Mercy is shown.  Israel and Judah broke the first and greatest commandment, which is to love the Lord with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their strength.  They allowed their hearts to fall in love with many other things.  "...They became an abomination like the thing they loved."  Hosea 9:10.  "They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind..."  8:7.  The sowing and reaping principle came into effect, and their enemies were overtaking them as a result.  They rejected knowledge, and were destroyed for their lack of knowledge.  "Harlotry, wine, and new wine enslave the heart."  4:11. Their love affair with idols, wine, harlotry, and everything the flesh could desire brought them to a place of brokenness and affliction.  "Their drink is rebellion, they commit harlotry continually, her rulers dearly love dishonor."  4:18.  Their life had fallen to the depths of rebellion, and now the Assyrians were going to take them captive.  But Hosea's book is a great revelation of the love of God, despite our behavior.  God calls for them to come return to the Lord.  He promises to come to them once again like the rain, the former and the latter rain to the earth.  Now they can turn their situation around, "Sow to yourselves righteousness, reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you." 10:12.  God will not hold back His love from us, no matter what we have done.  "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him."  14:4.  "I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love..."  11:4.  What a beautiful picture of the love of God.  As Hosea sought out his unfaithful wife, so God seeks after those who have been unfaithful to Him.  "For the ways of the Lord are right; The righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them." 14:9

Am I walking in the free forgiveness of the love of God?

Possess Your Possessions

"The pride of your heart has deceived you..."  Obadiah 3.  The prophet Obadiah spoke to the nation of Edom. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, Jacob's older brother.  Jacob was a deceiver from the time he was born, as indicated by his hand on his brother's heel at birth.  Though Esau was the older, he was persuaded by Jacob to sell his birthright for a meal of stew.  Then later, with the help of his mother Rebekah, Jacob stole the blessing from his father that was meant for Esau.  Esau was so angry with his brother that he planned to kill him.  Jacob left to go live with his uncle Laban so that Esau's anger would cool down.  They did have a reconciliation meeting later, but history indicates that the animosity of Esau's descendants continued up to the time of Nebuchadnezzar's capture of Jerusalem in 586BC.  As Obadiah prophecies to Edom, he rebukes them for choosing to side with Babylon against Jacob their brother.  From verses 12-14 there are at least 7 things they should not have done.  They made their decisions from an attitude of pride and animosity.  They felt secure in their nation, living in Petra, a natural fortress.  They said in verse 3, "Who will bring me down to the ground?"  Their pride deceived them, and they became vulnerable to deception.  Obadiah's message warns us of the danger of living with a prideful heart.  "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."  James 4:10.  "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." James 4:6.  It is in this attitude of humility that we submit to God, we resist the devil, and he flees from us.  Humility is the key to experiencing grace in our lives.  Forgiveness is the key to experiencing freedom in our lives.  Esau's refusal to forgive Jacob caused a root of bitterness to grow, making Esau an immoral and profane person, Heb. 12:14-17.  Edom was stuck in the past because of unforgiveness and anger.  Jesus told us exactly how to stay free from the root of bitterness, "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."  Mark 11:25.  Forgive anything against anyone.  Why?  Because it sets you free from the past, so you can move on in what God has given you.  Obadiah, the shortest book of the Old Testament, reveals two great truths: humility brings grace, and forgiveness brings freedom.  It is the way to "possess your possessions", Obadiah 17.

Does pride deceive me into thinking I don't need God?

Entering Into Rest

"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God."  Heb. 4:9  The Old Testament is full of examples for us to learn from.  The promised land is an example to us of the fullness of blessing that God wants every Christian to enter into.  In Numbers 13 and 14 we read that Moses sent 12 spies into the land to spy out the land and bring back a report.  10 spies brought back an evil report, because they did not believe they could conquer the land because of the giants and the enemies.  Only Joshua and Caleb brought a good report, saying to the people that they could enter this land and possess it.  This land had already been promised to them by God, so now it was time for them to possess their possessions.  Instead, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.  Now there remains is a rest for the people of God to enter into.  We do not want to wander in the wilderness!  We need to enter into the rest of God.  The Israelites had the sons of Anak, the Amalakites, the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites and Canaanites to defeat.  We have different enemies, but we must conquer our enemies.  We are told in Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 to beware of an evil heart of unbelief, and to watch lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  In Heb. 4:1 we are told to fear lest any of us seem to come short of entering into His rest.  Again in Hebrews 4:11 we are to be diligent to enter that rest.  The enemies of unbelief, doubt, worry, strife, unforgiveness, anger, and fear must be defeated.  We are given 3 things at the end of Heb. 4 to enter the rest.  We have been given the Word of God, which is alive, and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword.  With this spiritual sword we can cut down the enemies.  We have a great High Priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, and run to our aid.  We have a throne of grace to come to in prayer, to obtain mercy, and find grace to help in our time of need.  "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You," Isa. 26:3.  The rest of God is a place of peace.  Peace is that invaluable quality of heart that keeps your mind at rest when there is turmoil all around.  Surpassing our understanding, it keeps and guards our hearts and minds.  One day there will be ultimate peace and rest from our labors, Rev. 14:13.  Now, we must be diligent to enter that rest in faith and trust.  Enter into your place of rest today.  Through the Word of God and prayer, you can defeat your enemies, and enter into rest!

In what way am I living in rest today?

Wonders of Creation

Gen. 1:1 says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."  The wonders of creation are a message from God for everyone to read.  Gen. 1 recounts the seven days of creation.  Not only do we see the things God created, but every element of chemistry, biology and physics were set in motion.  The laws of nature were put into place so that the earth would be a beautiful place for people to inhabit.  On the fourth day God created the sun, the moon, and the stars.  I recently did a google search to find out how many stars are in the universe.  After another look, astronomers say that the number of known stars has tripled, due to more sophisticated tools.  In every direction of the sky, the stars reach to an infinite distance!  Why would God make such an extravagant creation?  Everyday, every person on the planet has an opportunity to experience creation, and ask the question, "How did this happen?"  Everyday we have an opportunity to worship God because of what we see and experience.  "For since the beginning of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,"  Rom. 1:20.  The creation speaks of the invisible attributes of God: His power, His wisdom, His care, His love, His beauty, His order, His omniscience, His infinite greatness.  An infinite creation speaks of an infinite God.  I also did a google research of DNA.  Science tells us that the DNA stretched out from a single person would reach to the sun and back about 610 times!  DNA is a very complex ladder like structure and is different in each person making every person unique.  Whether we look outward to the heavens,, or inward with the microscope, we are struck with wonder at the creation of God.  No wonder God is called the Lord of heaven and earth, Matt. 11:25.  Looking at creation gives us all the more reason to trust God with our lives.  He who created the heavens and the earth can be trusted to rule in our lives.  Let us take Him at His Word, and follow Him in this walk of faith.

Today I will let the awesomeness of God touch my heart!