God's Heart

God saw what the people did. He saw that they stopped doing evil. So God changed his mind and did not do what he planned. He did not punish the people. Jonah was not happy that God saved the city. Jonah became angry. He complained to the Lord and said, “Lord, I knew this would happen! I was in my own country, and you told me to come here. At that time I knew that you would forgive the people of this evil city, so I decided to run away to Tarshish. I knew that you are a kind God. I knew that you show mercy and don’t want to punish people. I knew that you are kind, and if these people stopped sinning, you would change your plans to destroy them. So now, Lord, just kill me. It is better for me to die than to live.” Then the Lord said, “Do you think it is right for you to be angry?” (Jonah 3:10-4:4)

Don't be surprised when God acts 180-degrees from how you thought he'd act! God is always more concerned with our hearts than he is anything else. When the people moved to change their ways instead of continue in their depravity, Jonah was caught a little off-guard. He likely never expected God to just 'spare' their lives and show them all that grace. There are times when we need a whole lot of grace - like those 'belly of the whale' moments, or entanglement with the seaweed moments. It can sometimes be hard for us to realize God treats ALL sinners the same way - with love, grace, and hope. Even the most 'vile' of sin can be forgiven when one seeks his forgiveness. This is how Ninevah responded, and in turn, God seemingly 'changed his mind' about destroying them. Don't for a moment forget God knows the end from the beginning - sinners seeking grace is not a new thing for him!

Jonah thought he knew God's plan, but when the 'plan' changed, he didn't understand how that could happen. If we understand God sending him to deliver the message as a 'warning' that could give them a chance to repent, then we come a little closer to understanding the extreme love of God. He doesn't delight in evil things happening, nor does he delight in the depravity of sin and what it brings with it into a man's life. He does delight in any response that acknowledges the path a man has been traveling hasn't been right and has been destroying lives. He can 'work with' that acknowledgement and the desire to change. The actions that led God to send Jonah were still sinful and destructive to a whole nation. Change was needed and that is exactly what the King of Ninevah and the people acknowledge. God is always open to receiving a repentant soul.

Did God really 'change his mind', or did he know they would repent if given the right opportunity? We don't really know this because we have no other way of describing God's actions than to say he must have had a 'change of mind'. On the outside, that is how it looks. Did God know the message would evoke repentance? I honestly believe he did, but he wasn't through with Jonah's heart yet. It needed a bit more attention. We might think God is going to do something one way, but when he doesn't 'perform' as we thought, we can sometimes question if we heard God correctly. We might question if God really intended to do what he said. We don't need to second-guess God. We need to trust him when he asks us to do things we don't understand - even when they lead to greater things we still don't understand. He has a reason we may not comprehend, but he has a heart we can fully come to appreciate. Just saying!

Discovering the perfect hiding place

What God has said isn’t only alive and active! It is sharper than any double-edged sword. His word can cut through our spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts. (Hebrews 4:12)

There is a science to the "dissection" process of butchering meats - much like there must be a "science" to getting at the desires and thoughts of our hearts. God doesn't just go about "butchering" our mind, will, and emotions to get at those things which need to be revealed and separated. He has a skill in what he does and how he does it. He isn't going to yank and pull - creating a case of "tug-a-war" within - but he is going to gently "part" what is responsible for keeping those "deep crevices" of our lives hidden and bound up until they are exposed to his careful attention.

Can a dead thing resist? All it takes for death to occur is the right opportunity and environment for death, decay continuing to do the work which had begun when it was first removed from that which gave it a life source. Sin yields a type of "decay" in our lives - hidden away in the places we don't think can be easily reached; it is allowed to continue the process of death until it is discovered under the careful attention of our Lord's hand. It remains hidden, allowed to continue its work of decaying because sin is really a part of our lives where "separation" from a good life source has occurred. When we are separated from the righteousness of God, death begins to occur. The longer that area is allowed to be hidden in the recesses of our hearts and minds, the more it will "rot" where it is hidden.

This is why God uses great care to get at those recesses of our hearts and minds - so he can help us uncover what is bringing about the "decay" in our lives. It brings a "putrid" kind of "stench" to our character which must be dealt with in order for us to be rid of it. Great care is taken to get at the reason for the decay. We know something exists which is contributing to that odor, but it won't just jump out at us! We have to go after it! Sin isn't just going to "own up" to its hiding place, my friends. We need the tools God provides in order to discover its hiding place and to finally rid ourselves of the putrid decay it has been creating within our inner man.

God's Word is a skilled tool in his hands. God doesn't just "clean house" - he inspects what is there, identifies what doesn't belong, and then sets about to finally and completely remove it. It is done with care - through the revealing power of his Word. God's Word helps us to not only "take inventory" of what is in our lives, it helps us remove what doesn't belong there anymore - those things which will only give off a stench and produce more decay as a result of their presence. Grace is the healing instrument in the process of God separating that which belongs and that which must be removed from our lives. Through the Word, he exposes. By grace, he begins to replace that which was decaying with that which comes with a new life source and with a fragrance only reproducible because it remains attached to that new life source! It is already a dead place in our hearts - that which is dead doesn't belong in the place where we want to reproduce life. Just sayin!

Nothing like grace

Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. (Isaiah 55:6-7)

Three thoughts for us to ponder this morning: 1) Seekers find God; 2) Those who seek also ask for what it is they have need of; and 3) Those who turn to God find he is generous beyond measure. How is it possible to receive what we did not have a means to find on our own, or have our prayers heard in the heavens? Maybe God answered that one for us in the next verse: "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine." Beyond anything you could imagine - seekers find, those with needs find them met, and forgiveness abounds where it is the least deserved.

Seek the Lord while you can find him. Does this mean we could miss the opportunity that is presented to us today by not seeking with an intensity that indicates our determination to find what it we need so desperately? I think there are times when we are 'more open' to receiving from God than at other times. It is as though the intensity of our search is magnified because of some external force exerting pressure upon us, or the internal struggles we find so overwhelming driving us to find a solution to our turmoil. Seekers know they have need of something and they search with the determination to find it. Those external or internal forces merely magnify the intensity of the search.

Call on him while he is near. Does this mean God goes away at times? If we are honest here, we probably just didn't see that he was moving us on from where we had become so comfortable and now we feel like he isn't all that 'near' to us anymore. God is always near to those who call upon him. We may not 'sense' his nearness at times, but that doesn't mean he isn't ever-present with us. So, call on him - he is nearer than you may think.

Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. Does this mean we might not realize how much we need his forgiveness? It is possible we don't realize how wicked our ways have become until we turn fully into his face and behold the depths of his grace. When we finally behold him, we see the filth of our sin and fall at his knees seeking what we most need - mercy. Turn toward him and you will always find exactly what you have need of - even when you didn't realize how much you need what he offers. Just sayin!

Forgive and Restore - it is God's way

Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends. (Proverbs 17:9)

I know forgiving someone when they have said or done something to hurt you is hard - we all struggle a bit with this one. We might want to say something in return that returns wound for wound, but that rarely works out too well for either of us. We might want to just 'cut them off' and forget about the one who has offended us, but that also doesn't work very well. Probably the last thing we want to do is extend grace, but it is the most effective and godly way for us to deal with one who has offended us. Love prospers when a fault is forgiven. Allow that one to sink in for just a moment. Read it again and let it really grip you. Love - sacrificial, peace-loving, kindness - actually grows out of forgiveness. It is as though forgiveness is the fertilizer that helps the relationship grow. This type of love does not dwell on the wrong - although that may be our first instinct. Remember, that instinct is 'human' and God asks us to see the other person through his eyes - with grace being the very 'lens' by which he views us.

This type of love does not rehearse the wrong, although it may be hard in a 'human sense' to allow God to replace the way we think about the offense with the way he sees the other individual. This type of peace seeks to maintain relationship rather than forsake it. Forgiveness has no room for broken relationships - it works to remove any distance that is created when hurts are allowed to interfere with the closeness God intends for his children. Does this type of love forgive even when the other individual doesn't seek forgiveness? It might be hard to accept, but there are just times when the other person has no clue how much they have offended you. The shoe could the on the other foot tomorrow, and you won't know how much your actions offend someone else. How would you want them to treat you? I imagine you want forgiveness, to be restored, and to have the relationship flourish, not flounder. Grace is desired. Dwell on God's goodness and grace, not on the offense or the offender.

To keep bringing up the offense is to allow a separation to come within the relationship. Maybe this is why God reminds us to not let the sun go down on our anger. Get right with God, then get right with each other. As long as God's children dwell upon this earth, there will always be a call for forgiving action. As long as there are offenses, real or imagined, there will be a call to forgive and restore. It is God's way. Just sayin!

Give today what you may need tomorrow

Some of you accuse others of doing wrong. But there is no excuse for what you do. When you judge others, you condemn yourselves, because you are guilty of doing the very same things. We know that God is right to judge everyone who behaves in this way. Do you really think God won’t punish you, when you behave exactly like the people you accuse? You surely don’t think much of God’s wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don’t you know that the reason God is good to you is because he wants you to turn to him? (Romans 2:1-4)

It is much easier to look at someone else and then find fault with what THEY are doing rather than finding fault with what YOU are doing. We don't like having to take an introspective look to see that we could be at the heart of the issue! Truth be told, when we find issue with others it is usually because we can find issue with ourselves, but we just don't want to focus on that! Scripture is plain - when we stand in the place of accusing others of what we do ourselves, we are judging ourselves! We actually are passing the verdict on our own behavior without even recognizing we have done it! Even when we are naive about our own "guilt" in the matter, God has prepared a way of grace to help us deal with our own sin! Pointing out another's faults is really not doing us any good - but sometimes when we consider why we might be doing this, we find a reflection coming back at us which shows we are guilty of the same kind of things. It gives us a chance to repent of those actions and to fall fully into the arms of God's grace! How great would it be if we reflected back that grace to the person we are finding fault with?

God's goodness is extended to us - all we need to do is fall fully into it. When you finally take the leap, you are letting go of your fears. You are launching yourself fully into God's hands and there is no turning back. Life doesn't have a rewind button! When we make the decision to fall fully into God's grace, we are taking a plunge which has no "rewind button"! God's grace envelops us and then acclimates us to the feeling of that grace! You might be surprised at how quickly your soul and spirit acclimate to the richness of this grace. God wants us to turn fully toward him. Instead of looking at what others do wrong, look at what we might do right in this life! We "do right" when we rely upon the redeeming grace of God to keep us focused on what he desires of "US". We step out of the place reserved for the judge or the jury - we become the one who is on trial. We find ourselves relying upon the leniency of the "court" - so to speak! 

Grace is never deserved - but it is so often needed and yearned for deep within our souls. We can be instruments of judgment or grace - the choice we make toward the actions of another are important. Remember, the grace you give today might just be the grace you need tomorrow. Just sayin!

Wisdom or Sensibility?

Are any of you wise or sensible? Then show it by living right and by being humble and wise in everything you do. But if your heart is full of bitter jealousy and selfishness, don’t brag or lie to cover up the truth. That kind of wisdom doesn’t come from above. It is earthly and selfish and comes from the devil himself. Whenever people are jealous or selfish, they cause trouble and do all sorts of cruel things. But the wisdom that comes from above leads us to be pure, friendly, gentle, sensible, kind, helpful, genuine, and sincere. When peacemakers plant seeds of peace, they will harvest justice. (James 3:14-18)

Perhaps one of the greatest struggles we will face in this life is to respond with wisdom and sensibility when others attack us. Get in a position of not seeing eye-to-eye with another in relationship and you will soon note that sensibility is something which flies out the window. Both parties somehow forget how to act toward the other - they are responding to the emotion of the moment. In turn, things get said, attitudes get displayed, and memories are planted which just don't belong within the relationship. This is how bitterness and resentment get started. Sensibility is just the capacity to experience senses - we need wisdom to keep those senses in check!

The things which are said don't actually reflect reality to us - but they do reflect reality to the other person. We know there must be something behind those words which come as an attack - but we aren't seeing the relationship moment the same way they are - so we need this wisdom from above to weed our way through the messiness of relationship. One response to being threatened, or feeling like you have not been understood in relationship is to become a clam. The individual pulls tightly into their shell and closes down. If you have ever tried to get a live clam open, you know you are struggling against their desire to stay "shut up". The same is true in relationship - when someone pulls in and shuts down, the damage done trying to get them to open up before they want to can actually be quite devastating!

Even clams will die in their "bitter juices" if they don't expel the "waste" of what they have taken in! In relationship, we take in a whole lot of stuff - wisdom dictates we take in the best and leave the rest. Yet, we don't always use wisdom, do we? In fact, we sometimes take in stuff, clamp down on it and allow ourselves to fester in the juices of the garbage we took in! In time, our whole life turns bitter because of what we have been marinating in and on! If we are "clam-like" in our response to attacks within relationship, we may live a long, long time, but we become pretty hardened by what we have marinated in all those years! Bitterness has no part in our lives, yet it takes root quicker than weeds! When words are spoken, our minds latch onto them, form memories around them, and file them away. We rehearse them when we cannot figure out why the other person said them, what was behind them, or when we just want a good pity party. In time, what is rehearsed forms a new reality for us - it clouds how we see the relationship. The root is set, and we are going to harvest a huge crop of resentment if we don't get a handle on it early on!

Every opportunity for the relationship to fail is there, but every opportunity for it to grow in Christ is at our access. It takes opening up to each other and God in order to get in freshness - it takes letting go of the gunk we have clamped down on for so long in order to bring in newness. All of us has the potential to be the clam. All of us have the potential to be the one who brings freshness into the relationship. It may not be the easiest thing to be a peacemaker, but if you find yourself being impressed to be one today, step out and see the potential in the newness you can bring into someone's life today. It may be the only "fresh water" they have taken in for a long, long time! Just sayin!

A reminder from Shakespeare

William Shakespeare admonished us to, "Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none." These are more than just good words of advice. Take them apart and you might just see a few principles you'd like to live by. Love all - isn't this what Jesus said when he reminded us to, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’"? (Matthew 22:37-39)

Trust a few - scripture reminds us not to trust a fool, but always to trust God. Remember: "A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart." (Luke 6:43-45)

Do wrong to none - this is probably one of the most controversial things Shakespeare could have challenged us with, right? We 'get' how we are to love one another, and even how we are to trust those who reveal themselves as trustworthy but getting to the place that we actually 'do wrong to no one' is hard, especially when we have been wronged. Doesn't scripture remind us, "Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord." (Romans 12:19)

Shakespeare may have found three of the hardest things for us to accomplish in life - being a kind and loving person to all we encounter, be wise in our placement of trust, and not returning a wrong with another wrong. If he could challenge us with these 'life actions', how much more do you think God will challenge us? Just askin!

Acting a little inconsistent lately?

Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends. (Proverbs 17:9)

Let's face it, we act 'faulty' at times. We make dumb decisions because we like what we see and don't read the reviews very well. When we don't listen to wise counsel of others, we are prone to make mistakes. We might ACT faulty at times, but that doesn't make US faulty. It makes our decisions unwise, but it doesn't make US less in God's eyes. The sooner we separate the 'faulty act' from who we ARE, the better. We don't always think through our actions, but that doesn't change the fact that we are redeemed, blood-bought, clean and whole IN CHRIST JESUS. If we begin to look at the person as 'faulty', we are seeing them inaccurately.

I know too many individuals who somehow equate the entire 'worth' or 'value' of a person based on some action they may have taken. It as though that one act made the whole person 'faulty'. We ALL have those 'unthinking' moments when we speak out of turn, are a little too harsh with our words, or just plain do something less than stellar. When a person is struggling to make right decisions, they don't need judgment, they need forgiveness. 

The Lord's Prayer contains the words, "Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Forgive US our trespasses, but let me hold onto the trespasses of another, judging them as 'faulty' or 'flawed' or 'unworthy', is not the way God instructs us to act toward each other. God asks us to forgive as we have been forgiven. Forgiveness is always directed toward the person who committed the 'faulty act'. Restoration is about bringing both parties back into symbiotic relationship - not allowing the ACT to become how we see the person.

I don't know about you, but I have been 'faulty' in my actions a great many times and each of those times I have sought grace (unmerited favor, mercy). If those around me had judged ME as faulty and not my ACTION as faulty, I might never have received their forgiveness. I am grateful that our ACTIONS don't define us - CHRIST defines us - as beloved, whole individuals that sometimes need grace because we act inconsistent with who we really are. Just sayin!

What counts as sin?

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” (2 Corinthians 5:19-20)

What 'counts' as sin? I have actually had some attempt to 'debate' this topic with me. What I found to be at the root of this question was their desire to 'justify' something that they didn't consider 'all that bad', and therefore it wasn't really 'sin'. Truth be told, if our conscience is actually causing us to ask that question, it is likely not the right path for us to be taking! I was raised in a church that 'graded' sin - in other words, there were 'degrees' to the 'badness' of your sin. There isn't anywhere in scripture that actually says sins are 'menial' - all sin is sin (small to large, small compromises or the biggies). As an ambassador of Christ, it is important for each of us to recognize this fact because 'grading' sin is just not biblical and that ALL sin 'counts'.

Does all sin require God's intervention to actually be free of it? I believe the answer to this one is a resounding "YES". We are incapable of wiping away our own sin - we might think we can just push it away and never pursue it again, but the stain of that sin remains. All sin, big or little, creates a 'stain' in our lives. It may not be visible to the naked eye, but there is a stain created within our subconscious and our 'conscience' that isn't dealt with by pushing it away. The only thing capable of removing the stain of that sin is the blood of Christ. We need to bring ALL sin to him and allow him to remove the stain.

Can we actually be free of sin? I know for a fact that sin remains a constant struggle while we live and breathe on this earth. We are asked to compromise time and time again, even when we have no real desire to do so. There will be weak moments when sin gets the best of us. Temptation urges us into compromise, and we oblige. As much as we might think we can never be free of sin, the more accurate way to look at it is that we can never be totally free of temptation. Temptation will remain - even after we no longer desire to follow that path of sin. What we are assured of is that Christ can help us resist that temptation, but we might actually have to do the work of 'fleeing from it'! I Corinthians 10:13 - "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure."

Ambassadors do their very best to represent the one they serve. The longer we serve Christ, we will eventually come to the conclusion there can be no room for compromise in our lives. What if we compromise? We confess it, ask forgiveness, and then ask Jesus to give us a plan to not be duped by that temptation again. Then we work the plan! Just sayin!

Focus your energies on...

Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting. (William Arthur Ward)

If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings, who would stand a chance? As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that’s why you’re worshiped. (Psalm 130:3-4)

As it turns out...those are actually words of realization on the part of our psalmist. When we have that moment of recognition that only God can provide, what a moment it is! Just grab hold of what he is saying here - God could keep record of all our mistakes, making it impossible for any of us to actually 'clean up our acts' totally. He could make us pay restitution for each and every failure, but he doesn't. Instead, he paid the price - not out of 'obligation' or 'regret', but out of love. His 'habit' is to live and breathe love - where love is, grace abounds.

If God gives so freely of his love - forgiveness being an integral part of love - how is it we can hold grudges against each other? What is a grudge anyway? The formal definition is a 'feeling' of ill-will or resentment. Did you notice I put 'feeling' in quotes? A grudge is an emotional tie to the offense we have internalized. We form 'feelings' toward the person committing the action, not so much against the offensive act itself. Then we hold the person in some form of 'emotional prison' deep within us. 

Ward also reminds us: It is wise to direct your anger towards problems - not people; to focus your energies on answers - not excuses. The issue is oftentimes NOT the focus of our grudge - it is the person. If we took our eyes off the person and focused on the issue, we might just have less hatred and enmity in our society today. When I have a water leak in my sprinkler system, I am not happy. I could kick the valve, curse at it, and even talk badly about the leak ad nauseum. The leak would still be there and all those 'feelings' I have now attached to the leak would cause me to dread repairing it even more.

That is exactly how holding grudges works - the feelings we attach to the 'person' and the 'problem' actually never fix the 'leak' in the relationship. The leak is still there, and we dread fixing it even more than we would have if we had of worked it out right then and there. God is immediate in his forgiveness - confess your failure to him and grace is immediately extended (in fact, he provides the very measure of grace we need even before we ask for it). How could we possibly think it is okay for us to hold onto those negative feelings towards another? It could be we need to do a little work of letting go of those 'feelings' and focusing a bit more on what it will take to remedy the issues. Just sayin!

The means

I love you, God— you make me strong. God is bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God—the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout. (Psalm 18:1-2)

I have been watching some old western shows lately. As I watched one yesterday, something of a 'message' came forth. There was this man who robbed a stagecoach, making off with gold, monies, and some jewels. He was wounded by one of the passengers as he rode off, but he made it to his destination - an outcropping of rocks with a hole large enough to stay inside. His horse was cleverly concealed in the craggy places, but horses being what they are, they like to drift a bit to where there is a bit of munching to be done. It was the horse that gave this man's location away. Found out by a young boy, he asks for help as he needs food and water. The 'message' from this story was one of hope. This man felt he had no other recourse in life than to continue his life of ill-gotten gain because he committed the crime once when he was a young boy. It was that one failure that made him think he could never return to his father and brothers - never be forgiven of his 'criminal act'. Instead of confessing his failure, he gave into it as an 'inevitable way of life'. It made me wonder how many of us give into actions that we believe to be an 'inevitable way of life' for us just because we failed at some earlier point in our life?

Even though his 'hiding place' was a doggone good one, he was 'found out' by the actions of his horse! Try as we might, we can hide our sins as deeply as possible, but sometimes it is something quite out of our control that 'finds us out'. He hid in the crags of the rocks, but those crags were not sufficient to hide his horse - the 'means' by which he performed his criminal actions. We try to hide the guilt of our sin, but as long as the 'means' of our sin remains, we will be found out! We need to deal with both our guilt (produced by our wrong actions) and the means by which we are given 'license' to perform those wrong actions. The 'crags' of our own making are never sufficient to really deal with our sin. They will conceal for a while, but when our wounds get deep enough and our defenses are lowered a bit, we may just find they no longer conceal our sin as well as we had hoped they would. The lowered defenses will allow our discovery. We need God's sanctuary - the sanctuary of grace. The only real 'hiding place' should be in God's presence - not to hide our sins, but to allow them to be dealt with and forgiven totally.

Do you know the end of the story for that gentleman? He heard clearly that one action, wrong as it may have been, did not need to define him. It didn't need to declare his future. He could be free of those wrong actions. He just needed to turn away from them and return to his father. Most of the time we think our actions are unforgiveable, but they aren't. They just need to be confessed and brought into the presence of grace. Do you know what confession really is? It is us making a 180-degree turn AWAY from that sin. We do an 'about-face' and walk away from it. In order for this man to be free of his sin, he had to accept the grace extended to him. The townsfolk forgave him - making him free to return home for the first time in a long time. We may think we have no 'means' of return, only the 'means' to continue to sin. The opposite is truer than you may realize, for God's grace is the 'means' by which you may walk away from your past and into your renewed future. Just sayin! 

BOGO or FREE?

If your local car dealership advertised a weekend sale that boasted a 'buy one, get one of equal value free' deal, how many folks would you think actually would look the other way on that deal? For the most part, if the deal was genuine, there would be a line down the block awaiting such a 'deal'. We almost always go after things that are 'freebies' in this life, don't we? I scour the local grocer ads hoping they will do those BOGO deals - it helps to keep my pantry stocked. There are some things I pass up because they don't 'apply' to my life - like men's deodorant or shaving cream. I don't have any need for those things in my life, but if it was coffee creamer, heads of lettuce, or even an extra loaf of bread, I'd be adding those things to my shopping list for sure. If we have 'need' of something, and it is offered for free, why on earth would we pass it up? It makes no sense when there is a need and a totally free way to have that need met fully!

God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone! We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness. (Titus 2:11-12)

God's forgiveness is unconditionally FREE. It isn't one of those BOGO offers where you have to buy one before you get something for free. His gift of salvation is FREE - because Jesus already paid the price for our hearts to be set right and our lives begin anew. Yet, so many realize they have a 'need' in their lives, but simply turn their back on the forgiveness they so desperately need and desire. Why? They think it will 'cost too much' to serve a generous and gracious God. It will cost them their 'freedom' to do what they want - the same 'freedom' that makes them feel guilty and shameful at times. It will cost them their 'freedom' to make their own choices - the same choices that land them in pickles galore and feeling like there is no way out anytime too soon. Gotta ask...how is it some value their perceived freedom more than what could be their ACTUAL freedom?

God is 'ready' and 'willing' to extend grace in the form of total (complete, unending, continual) forgiveness. Not as a buy-one-get-one-free deal, but as a 'pay nothing - get everything' deal. We say a loud 'yes' to his goodness and graciousness and the freedom begins. At first, our appetites are veracious for this grace - we can't get enough of it and we want as much of it as we can get right now. In time, it is like we walk in the 'rhythm of grace', sensing it, taking it in, relishing it, knowing the depth of its work in our lives. What began as a ravenous hunger becomes a consistent 'contentment'. I think that pretty much describes real 'freedom', my friends. We don't buy grace and get more of it. We receive grace and just keep on receiving it! Just sayin!

In a dark place?

Been looking a little down lately? Maybe it is because you are hanging your head in shame, or perhaps you are just tired. Regardless of the reason, there is something that is suggestive by our present 'look' - something isn't quite right with us. In moments of rebellion, there comes a time of realization - the moment in time when we realize just how far we have drifted from what God would have wanted for our lives. In that moment, we often look up - simply because we have come to realize there is just no help found in looking down! If we looked down - we'd only see our problem, our shame, our tiredness, and our helplessness! When we look up - we see our hope for deliverance, renewal, freedom, and joy!

I was as far down as a body can go, and the gates were slamming shut behind me forever—Yet you pulled me up from that grave alive, O God, my God! When my life was slipping away, I remembered God, and my prayer got through to you, made it all the way to your Holy Temple. Those who worship hollow gods, god-frauds, walk away from their only true love. But I'm worshiping you, God, calling out in thanksgiving! And I'll do what I promised I'd do! Salvation belongs to God! (Jonah 2:6-10)

As far as we can go - what an apt description of the distance we have placed between God's direction in our lives and our obedience to that direction! Doors slamming shut forever - or so it seems in our finite understanding of the place we find ourselves dwelling emotionally, physically, or relationally. Yet...in the midst of our despair...God is never far from us - despite the distance created by our disobedience, he never is all that far away. It is indeed a shame for us to get to the place where our "lives are slipping away from us" before realizing how much our disobedience has actually cost us. Jonah is an example to us of the possibilities of redemption - grace where it is least deserved given without reservation. In the place of rebellion, we don't realize how much of "life" is slipping away from us. It may not be our literal "life", but it is indeed our spiritual, emotional, or relational life. We don't sense the loss associated at the points between God's direction and our continual resistance to his will. Yet, this "drift" is real - and it has a way of "distancing" us from God.

Jonah was in such a place. I have no idea what type of fish swallowed him up - nor am I going to speculate on this one, or debate anyone on the possibilities of this being a literal fish that swallowed him. I do know scripture says God prepared a place for him - a place for him to come to the realization of his need and the actual distance he has allowed to be created between himself and his Lord. This is God's way! He knows the exact point of our turning and he prepares the exact place for the "dawning" of our awareness of our intense need for restoration. We may not get swallowed by a big fish, but I am sure we have all experienced some "big fish" moments - those 'lowest of low' places in life! The "stuff" we are experiencing in that place just isn't all that pleasant - it smells awful, it makes us feel awful, and it gives us a sense of darkness which just envelopes us on all sides. No wonder we are looking down!

The "big fish" moment may be what some refer to as "coming to an end of our rope" or "reaching rock bottom". Whatever the expression, the need is the same - deliverance, freedom, grace given without measure! David finds himself in the misery of covering up his sin with Bathsheba, torn apart by his having compounded it with the murder of her husband. His bones ache, his mood is foul, and he has no joy in all the luxuries he is surrounded with as King of Israel. Sin has this effect - it robs us of the pleasures we once took so much for granted. I want us to consider that it is even God's mercy that allows for us to get to the place of "rock bottom". He also provides a way for us to get on solid ground again!  "Then God spoke to the fish, and it vomited up Jonah on the seashore." Out of darkness, God brought sound footing again! Look at when God does this, though. It is not when Jonah first goes overboard - there has been a passage of time in which Jonah comes to a place of realizing he has been running from the very thing God desired for him. David had this same "span" between his disobedience and God's sending Nathan to him to tell him the story of his sin and the hope for his deliverance.

We often need this "span" in order to come to a place of submission because our rebellion is so deep. We just don't recognize our misery until it has become our undoing. Truly, this is a sad reality, but one we see played out in life after life - including our own. Yet, there is hope beyond our imagining! In the moment of "rock bottom", God is prepared with the next move! In the moment of our cry for help, his actions are swift on our behalf. This is the God we serve - merciful, moved by compassion, and swift to provide for his children. It is far better to never reach the place of distancing ourselves from God - but if we have, we can rest in the assurance of his grace! I don't know what "whale" has swallowed you whole, but I do know the seashore of God's deliverance awaits! All it takes is a cry for forgiveness! He does the rest! Just sayin!

My size? GRACE!

When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she'd know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate. Immediately the two of them did "see what's really going on"—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves. (Genesis 3:6-7)

How are you doing with this 'blame' thing? Maybe hit the snooze button one too many times because of a rough night, then blame your tardiness at work on being "caught in traffic"...really, who was to blame? Perhaps a deadline passed without your work being finished, while your online shopping is all complete, and you excuse it away with just how "busy" you have been...really, who was to blame? It is silly how we try to "cover up" our little "missed steps" with all kinds of make-shift things that are really a 'cover-up', isn't it? As I was reading the story of Adam and Eve being tempted by the serpent this morning, I had the revelation of this "cover up" concept being a pretty OLD way of dealing with our short-coming! Truth is...we have been playing this 'blame game' for a long, long time!

Our "cover-ups" are nothing better than "makeshift clothes" - "cover-ups" that really don't hide all that well, aren't they? At best, they provide a "flimsy" excuse - a little 'covering' to let us have a few moments to regroup, get our stories straight, and then craft one excuse after another. Think about it - Adam and Eve had to likely remake their quickly made 'cover-ups' time and time again because leaves just don't last! Neither do our excuses! Any time we try to cover up our failures, we are trying to "make do" with our short-comings. We "improvise" - or as some may say - we try to jury-rig our "fix". I found myself suggesting the use of silicone tape to cover over something that I couldn't quite figure out how to fix the right way. This may not seem like much to you, but if you know anything about the right way to fix a leaky pipe, that isn't it! The proper "fix" would be to totally dig up the sprinkler pipe to find out where the leak was occurring and then to get the replacement parts to glue it together properly.

Healing only begins when we submit our failures to the one who can do something about them - he does way more than apply a little 'quick heal tape'. Healing began when Adam and Eve finally admitted their "naked" condition to God - explaining WHY they felt the need to cover-up. We do all kinds of things to cover our "naked" condition of soul that sin leaves us with - yet nothing adorns us in the same way as grace! Why does grace "fit" us so well as a "cover" for our sinfulness? Simply because grace is "formed" on the frame of all Christ did at the Cross. If you have ever sewed, or watched a seamstress in their craft, you will know the purpose of the "form" they use to pattern a dress. The "form" helps them provide an end-product which is beautifully "form-fitting" and uniquely designed for the individual. The Lord "form-fits" grace using the form of Christ as the "model" by which grace is made a specific 'fit' to our need! Every time I have asked God to "outfit" me with his grace, I feel so well-adorned, like it just "fits" me like a glove! When he sees me, he sees Christ. I don't know how this all works, but I do trust him to "outfit" me with the best for my life - and the "outfitting" begins whenever I stop trying to "outfit" myself with my makeshift excuse of a "covering" for my misguided responses to life's issues!

How about you? Have you considered how you are adorned today? If you have been 'settling' for the makeshift coverings that you can somehow 'craft' yourself, you may want to consider the one God has designed on the form of Christ - the one marked "MY grace is sufficient for YOUR need"! You'll love the fit! Just sayin!

Adrift

If you have ever just drifted on an inner tube on what you think is just 'still water', you probably realize that even the stillness of those waters had some type of 'under-current' that caused you to drift slowly away from where you began. Just because something looks 'still' doesn't mean it won't cause drift. I have learned to stay away from raging waves because the under-tow is totally evident - I would likely get carried away, sucked under, and have a hard time getting free. I haven't quite learned that same lesson about the 'still waters' I think will not be of any harm to me in life. In fact, I forget just how much 'drift' can occur when I just settle in and lose focus! There you are on that inner tube, waters are seemingly still, then you open your eyes and see just how far away from the shoreline you really are! Lose focus for even a while and drift is likely to impact your life in big ways.

Give me back the joy that comes from being saved by you. Give me a spirit that obeys you so that I will keep going. (Psalm 51:12)

David wrote the 51st Psalm as a prayer of repentance - because he had lost focus. He didn't realize how small compromises amounted to even bigger ones until he noticed how far he had 'drifted from shore'. Too many times we allow subtle compromises into our lives and believe it or not, the small under-current of those compromises begins to pull us further and further away from 'shore' - from solid anchor in our lives. The joy we once experienced by being firmly anchored in Christ begins to fade, our spirit begins to shrivel up from not being infused afresh with the life-giving presence of God. Our choices begin to show the lack of connection - they are slowly changing from what we know to be right and good toward what we know could one day bring us harm.

David finds himself in that awkward place of having drifted just a bit too far from shore. Compromise has moved from the 'small things' to the 'bigger things'. His choices have not been wise - his actions have not only hurt him, but others, as well. Fully aware of where he finds himself, he does what each of us may have also done at one time or another - he compounds his drift by panicking! He panics because his sin is 'discoverable' and now he needs to cover it up, so he compounds his sin with an even bigger one. To his adultery he adds murder! Panic leads to many a wrong decision, just in case you were wondering. Panic in the middle of the lake on that inner tube and you might just find yourself capsized and swimming for safety once again!

The moment David realizes just how far he was from 'shore' in his life, he turns toward shore and begins to cry out. He doesn't attempt to make for shore all on his own accord. He calls out for help. There is a lesson in his response to finding just how far away he had gotten from 'safe anchor' in his life - the lesson of repentance. He cries out for forgiveness - he knows there is nothing he can do to deliver himself from this 'drift' - he needs God's rescue. If you have never read this Psalm, take a moment to look at how he moves from admitting how much he has drifted, how his whole life seems to be turned upside down, and how much he realizes just how much grace he needs in order to find shore again. To this he adds an acknowledgement that his joy is gone - that he realizes the joy of the Lord in his life is directly linked to the spirit that is submitted in total obedience to God. 

The drift happened. It was too late to 'take back' his sin. All he could do was cry out for help. He knew where he needed to be - back in the arms of Jesus. He knew he could not 'swim for it' on his own. He needed God's help for restoration of 'anchorage' in his life. None of us will always be perfectly anchored in life, but whenever we find our anchorage has slackened and we have allowed a little drift to occur, there is but one response to the drift - we cry out for deliverance. Just sayin!

Nameless, unremembered acts of kindness

The best portion of a good man's life is his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love.(William Wordsworth)

Take a moment today to just think of one kind act you can do for someone in your life. Who knows, it may even be someone you don't know, like the person with a flat tire stranded on the side of the road. Don't just do that kind deed because you may get something back in return - that doesn't make it a kind deed - it makes it a selfish one. The moment you do that kind deed, take notice of how it makes you feel. There is something like a feeling that the love of God in your life just multiplied. You know what - it isn't that his love multiplied in your life - it is that your sense of his presence did. You put yourself aside for a moment and allowed him to shine. 

Last of all, you must share the same thoughts and the same feelings. Love each other with a kind heart and with a mind that has no pride. (I Peter 3:8)

There is a definite difference between the 'nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love' and those we do because we want the attention, or desire something in return. As I was listening to the remade intro to Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, I recall the scene of introducing a new friend - a man who was very badly messed up by life's ugliness, leaving him angry and unable to forgive people in his life. Ephesians 4:32 reminds us that we are to forgive others as Christ forgave us. If you consider the ultimate act of kindness, the forgiveness of our sins would rank at the very top, wouldn't it? If you consider the ultimate act of kindness you might be called to extend today, it could be that someone in your life desires and needs the gift of your forgiveness.

Forgiveness is the ultimate act of kindness - it certainly requires we put ourselves aside and allow God to shine through us, doesn't it? Pride has absolutely no room where it comes to forgiveness. In fact, pride enters in anytime we desire to hold someone in a position of being 'in debt' to us - allowing bitterness to enter in and bring right along with it rage, anger, feelings of agony. We stay trapped in the bitterness - chained to the past. Not only does it chain us to the past, it anchors us to be unable to move on into the future. We only heal as we let go of the thing we are holding onto so tightly because we feel we will lose something we are owed if we let it go.

Loving each other with a kind heart and with a mind that has no pride - the ultimate act of kindness and love being that of forgiveness. It can be a nameless, unremembered act, can it not? Letting go of the hurt, releasing the debt, getting free of the chains that have you so badly bound - an act of kindness and love indeed. Who needs this "action" in your life today? What thing have you been holding onto so tightly because you think there is something 'owed to you'? If you resist, you will shut-down and your kindness will be superficial. If you submit, you will find that your world opens up to you in bright new ways. Just sayin!

A stone for a wall or a path?

While most mistakes we make are not those that result in a permanent riff in a relationship with another, there is a tendency for us to recall the past ones made when the individual keeps making the same ones, isn't there? Most of the time, we do our best to not make the same mistake again, but if you have ever made the same one more than once, you know just how frightfully hard it can be to seek forgiveness, much less give it! Rarely do we look as mistakes as 'permanent' because we allow 'do-overs' in life. Wasn't the key labeled backspace on the keyboard really a way of allowing us to retype those misspelled words, or completely eliminate a thought we did not want to continue with in those written words? We all have those 'backspace' moments - those times when we know we have made mistakes, but we need to the grace of God to wipe them out so we can start over again.

Love forgets mistakes; nagging about them parts the best of friends. (Proverbs 17:9)

A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance. (Proverbs 28:13)

Olympic downhill skiers don't learn their skill playing video games any more than we learn the 'art of forgiveness' from just saying we will forgive someone. Forgiveness is a skill best learned by active participation. How much more do my actions convey when I not only forgive, but also come alongside to embrace and help that other with their 'do-over' in life? Or to get just a little closer to home...when they embrace us and help us with our much needed 'do-over'? Life isn't easy and choices are made that sometimes don't always end up the way we want. Rather than seeing these mistakes as 'discards' in life, wouldn't it be wonderful if our mistakes could actually become the building blocks by which a thing of beauty could spring forth? By God's grace no mistake is ever wasted!

According to Webster, a mistake is a 'blunder in choice'. It carries the idea of a wrong act of judgment. We all suffer from impaired judgment at times, but we need never reject those moments of impaired judgment as stepping stones to help us take steps in the right direction. Admit the misstep and incorporate the lesson learned by it so you don't make it again! At that point, it isn't wasted - it becomes foundational to not making the same one again. Yes, you may make a similar one, but it won't be exactly the same. Yes, you may have a few stones laid before you realize they weren't leading you down the right path, but you can redirect any path! Path changes often come because we are reconciled by love - the love of Christ, then the love of those who befriend us on this earth. 

We are received by God without barrier - don't let mistakes become a barrier that keeps you away from being received by each other. We are the ones who take those mistakes and use them to either build walls that separate us, or turn them into paths that pave the way to newness in the relationship. Just sayin!

Count on it

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. Romans 8:35,37 NLT  Nope! If just means we live in a fallen world, capable of and actively engaged in all manner of sinful activities. Since we are in this world, we run the chance of being exposed to disease, getting in a car wreck, or having our roof torn away by high winds of a summer storm. It isn't because God's love for us has faltered - it is just that we live in an imperfect world. In case you didn't realize what God says about this world system we live in, you need to understand it is the domain of Satan and his brood of demons. Remember: At one time you were dead because of your sins. You followed the sinful ways of the world and obeyed the leader of the power of darkness. He is the devil who is now working in the people who do not obey God. At one time all of us lived to please our old selves. We gave in to what our bodies and minds wanted. We were sinful from birth like all other people and would suffer from the anger of God. (Ephesians 2:1-2) At one time, we all lived so as to please self and we listened to the god of this age - Satan. Now, we listen to a clearer, purer voice - God himself.

Can anything separate those who follow hard after Christ from the love and protection of Christ? The good news is that NOTHING - no thing - can separate us from his love. We might have calamity and trouble, but that doesn't mean he loves us any less, or that he is angry with us. In fact, God's nature is to forgive even before we ask. When we have said "yes" to Jesus, accepting the finished work of the Cross in our lives, his blood made what is called 'atonement' for our sins (past, present, and future). We might "do" wrong at some point, but it doesn't mean God loves us less - it just means we aren't perfect in our decisions and actions yet! So, don't be too hard on yourself - Satan would like nothing more than to have us believe the lie that we CAN be separated from the love of God!

We are imperfect in our actions because we listen to influences that lead us into imperfect decision points. Those decision points are sometimes referred to as 'temptation' - the little carrots that are dangled to get us to do or say something we know better than to, but that seem to exert a huge influence over our lives. It isn't that Satan made us do it, but I think he probably lines up, cheering us on whenever he sees we are even considering the action! It is as though he is saying to Jesus at that moment, "See, she doesn't mean what she says - her promise to be obedient was meaningless." But...what Jesus hears instead is, "Jesus, I did it again! I must ask your forgiveness and I seek your help." And...his response in turn: "Yup, you got it, can count on it, and it will always be there for you!"

We don't get it right all the time. We don't always rise above those influences. We sometimes reap the outcome of a fallen world. We might not want to deal with the torn apart roof, but in his love, he provides a means for the repair, sees that we are well cared for until it is completed, and bolsters our faith by his constant inflow of love into our lives. We didn't avoid the temptation moment with great success, but his constant inflow of grace into our lives is there each time we don't. We might not recognize his love when it comes, nor do we always understand his grace when it is given, but we can count on it! Nothing separates us from that love! Just sayin!

Don't steam in it any longer!

"Count yourself lucky." We use this phrase, "I am so lucky", often without realizing what it means to be "lucky". It means that we are "favored" - to find a special space or focus of attention where all is going well. We should count ourselves as specifically favored by God - an object of his special focus! Being the special object of his favor should produce within each of us a sense of awe - tremendous wonder at how the God of the universe could have favor on us. His care for each of us begins with a specific action of his love - he forgives us - giving us a fresh start. The slate has been wiped clean! How many times do we say, "I wish I could get a fresh start"? Well, we can as many times as we need that 'fresh start' - God's footstool is the place of fresh starts. Fresh starts are characterized by being able to leave all the mess of our past exactly where it is and moving on beyond that place of 'messiness'. Not only is this possible - it is a reality as we cry out to our God - an assurance his kids can count on all the time.

Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be—you get a fresh start, your slate's wiped clean.  Count yourself lucky—God holds nothing against you and you're holding nothing back from him. When I kept it all inside, my bones turned to powder, my words became daylong groans. The pressure never let up; all the juices of my life dried up. Then I let it all out; I said, "I'll make a clean breast of my failures to God." Suddenly the pressure was gone—my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared. (Psalm 32:1-5 MSG)

Sin has a way of getting us into places where we just yearn for a breakthrough. I probably don't have to point out the misery of spirit, mind, and body that becomes the "mire" of our lives when we remain in our sinful condition, wallowing in our failures. It weighs heavy on us - bringing disease, sickness, depression, and even something scripture refers to as a "dryness". Living in the desert, I understand the effects of heat - the tremendous drying effect of the hot air and blazing sun. I have seen the sun literally turn a body that is otherwise healthy into a mess of dehydration, electrolytes totally out of balance, and the ensuing weakness absolutely destroying internal organs. Where there is "dryness", it is impossible to maintain life! The issue isn't that lack of moisture - it is that the 'heat' isn't something we are equipped to deal with!

Why is it that we live like we are inside pressure cookers? We let all the pressures of life build up, then at the point of absolute explosive capacity, we let it all out - sometimes not very well and usually making a big mess when we do! We remain in our place of absolute misery - unaware of what tremendous grace and peace lays just on the other side of our pressure cooker - and stew in our misery! When he finally "let it all out", the pressure is gone. That was not recorded for all time in the Word simply because it sounded good - God knows all too well our tendency to keep it all inside and attempt to deal with life's failures on our own terms. He also knows how messed up we can become when we do! I have a pressure cooker and when I release the steam that has built up, I have to wait a couple minutes longer to actually release the lid. Why? There is unrecognized pressure still in there long past the time I think the pressure has been released - pressure that is still capable of hurting me. I need to let the pot rest a little to ensure it is not going to bring me harm. Sometimes we need to just rest after God has relieved the initial pressure of our sinful state, not because we aren't feeling release, but because we need to allow the release to finalize!

Today, if you have been keeping it all wrapped up inside - afraid to let it go - allowing the very juices of your joy to be dried up - it is time to let it all out! Not in ways that will bring you or others harm, but under the guidance of the knowing hand and eye of the God that knows us all too well. God is not stunned by our guilt - he already has made provision for that. God is not shamed by our failures - he already has provided a way back from those failures and out of that shame. He is not intimidated by the mess of our lives - he has already made a plan for restoring the disorder of our past with the perfect peace of the present and the joyful anticipation of the future. Whatever it is that is robbing you of your joy, keeping you bound in your failures, let it out! God stands ready to relieve you of that pressure today! Not just for a little while, but for good! Just sayin!

Catch up, please!

O Lord, you are so good and kind, so ready to forgive, so full of mercy for all who ask your aid. (Psalm 86:5 TLB)

I wanted to take just a few moments to remind each of us of the importance of forgiveness. It isn't that we need forgiveness sometimes as much as we need to forgive ourselves for some misguided step we took. We somehow understand that God forgives us - by our asking / seeking his forgiveness. We have some level of understanding that the forgiveness we receive is based solely upon the actions of another on our behalf - Christ's actions on the cross. We get that we don't deserve it, but that it is freely given. We also comprehend to some degree that it is no longer an offense remembered by God - he wipes the slate clean. Yet, somehow we don't always believe we should forgive ourselves and move on. We get anchored to our failure and spend a great deal of time just kicking ourselves in the seat of our pants because we made those unwise choices! One question - if God isn't kicking us, what makes us think we should be?

Memory is often the hardest part of forgiveness - because we remember what we did and sometimes we even have the insight into 'why' we did it. The mystery of grace is that what matters is that we are restored to the 'condition' of heart that is as if we had never done the misdeed in the first place. The mystery of the memory is that we have a hard time changing the memory that is anchored to that misdeed. Perhaps what we need is for God to help us apply grace to our thoughts, as well! If we are fortunate enough to have insight into 'why' we took the steps in the wrong direction, then we also know how to create safeguards to ensure we don't take those same steps again. Handrails are on stairways because missed steps can bring catastrophic results! 

Forgiveness is to involve both the actions of Christ on our behalf - grace - and our part is in the willingness to let go of the guilt or shame associated with that action deep within our minds. Guilt and shame are not 'things' - they are emotions and emotions get 'tied' to every action we taken or that is taken against us in life. Guilt is one of those emotions we can take to the extreme. We find it harder and harder to escape that which we take to the extreme! Stretch a rubber band to the limits of the band's strength and what happens? It snaps! Stretch our emotions to the point of the extreme and we just get snagged in the repeated memories of those emotions.

If God is full of mercy and 'at the ready' to forgive when we ask, why are we stopping short of just having the 'sin' wiped away? Why aren't we asking God for the grace to move beyond the painful memory of guilt and shame, as well? Why aren't we asking him to help us recount his goodness and faithfulness to forgive, shutting down every thought that tells us we aren't good enough to be forgiven? I think it is because we count on our emotions to 'guide' us more than we believe we do! We want to 'feel' better, but there is a negative feeling associated with guilt and shame - a 'feeling' we sense we cannot easily escape. Maybe we begin by asking God to help us not count on the 'feeling' as much as we count on the 'fact' of his forgiveness. In time, feelings catch up with what faith believes! Just sayin!