2026-03-13
Colossians 3:13 NKJV
When you study the lives of those who were greatly used by God in the Bible, you see that they were not spared from hurt, disappointment, or even betrayal. The truth is, if you live long enough, you’ll be wronged by someone. The question is, how will you react? The apostle Paul tells us how we should react: “Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”
The story is told of two friends who were walking through the desert when they got into an argument. One friend slapped the other in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt. But without saying anything, he wrote in the sand, “Today my best friend slapped me in the face.” They kept walking until they found an oasis. Since they were thirsty, they stopped for water. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire, fell in, and started to drown. His friend then reached out and saved him. That night, he etched this in a stone: “Today my best friend saved my life.”
The friend who had first slapped him and then saved him asked, “After I hurt you, you wrote in sand. And now you write on a stone. Why?” He replied: “When someone hurts us, we should write it in sand, where the winds of forgiveness can blow and erase it. But when someone does something good for us, we should engrave it in stone where it will be long remembered.” Mercy forgets wrongs and remembers rights!
Soul food: 2 Ki 24-25; Luke 16:19-31; Ps 24; Prov 7:24-25
2025-05-15
Luke 23:34 KJV
Some societies in history punished those who committed adultery by making them wear a big scarlet letter A, publicly identifying with their behaviour. And if you were caught stealing, they made you drag a ball and chain around. Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, they deserved it.” Really?
Jesus said if you simply lust after someone, you have committed adultery in your heart (See Matthew 5:28). Then He went on to say the standard of judgment you impose on others is the same standard you will be judged by (See Matthew 7:1-2). God is not soft on sin; notice two things: (1) He won’t just overlook your sin. “The Lord disciplines the one he loves” (Hebrews 12:6 NIV). (2) He won’t turn His back on you. Nothing can separate us from the love of God (See Romans 8:38-39). We don’t use scarlet letters or balls and chains today, but we use computers.
So, when someone hurts you, God says we must forgive them and delete it! Otherwise, it will influence the way we think, act, and talk. Plus, it will keep us tied to old, painful memories. “But forgiving them is hard,” you say. That’s why Jesus said to pray for those who mistreat you (See Matthew 5:44). Forgiving someone begins with praying for them. You say, “But I need to understand why they did it.” Wise people do foolish stuff, good people do bad stuff, and misguided people don’t know what they’re doing. Jesus prayed for those who crucified Him, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Someday you may understand what motivated your offender. But even if you don’t, forgive them and delete it.
Soul food: 1 Ki 1-2; Mark 7:14-23; Ps 88:9b-18; Prov 11:27-29
2025-03-27
Ephesians 4:32 NKJV
In 1982, John Hinckley Jr. attempted to take the life of President Ronald Reagan by shooting him with a handgun. Reagan’s daughter, Patti, later recounted what she learned from her father when he was in hospital: “My father said he knew his physical healing was directly dependent on his ability to forgive John Hinckley… It showed me that forgiveness is the key to everything… He gave me an example of Christ-like thinking.”
Sometimes the wounds that others inflict on us are unintentional, and other times they are deliberate. But in both cases the Scriptures give us a clear standard concerning the wrongs we experience. You are to forgive those who hurt you, “even as God in Christ forgave you.” That’s a high standard, but it’s one that brings healing for our deepest wounds.
Sometimes we dispense forgiveness like a soft drink from a vending machine – mechanically, and with no feelings attached. But the Bible says two attitudes should accompany forgiveness: kindness, which is expressed in our actions, and tenderheartedness, which is expressed in our attitudes. Why? Because that’s the way God forgives us. Throughout Scripture we find emotions such as kindness, gentleness, compassion, and tenderness – in word or by action – ascribed to God. We also find examples of it in the lives of those God used to fulfill His plans and purposes. Joseph was one of them, when he forgave his brothers who betrayed him. And He calls on us to do the same. This kind of forgiveness is as much an act of the heart as it is an act of the will.
Soul food: 2 Thes 1-3; Luke 20:9-19; Ps 18:30-50; Prov 8:32-33
2024-11-10
Psalm 37:8 AMPC
Small offenses can be forgiven easily. But when someone hurts us badly and seems to be getting away with it, forgiveness is a real challenge. Until you forgive the offense and let it go, you will constantly feel the weight of it weighing you down. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to forgiving is thinking that if your feelings don’t immediately change toward someone, you haven’t really forgiven them. No, forgiveness is a decision. It’s an act of your will. You may continue to struggle with feelings of hurt and resentment. That doesn’t invalidate your decision to forgive; it just means healing takes time. And your healing begins the moment you decide to forgive.
The Bible says, “Let all bitterness… be put away from you… And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32 NKJV). Once you have done your part, which is to forgive, trust God to do His part, which is to heal your emotions and restore your peace and joy. You have the power to make the decision to forgive, but only God has the power to change your feelings toward the person who hurt you. So, trust God to change your heart. Eventually, your feelings will follow and line up with your decisions.
In the meantime: “Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself – it tends only to evildoing” (Psalm 37:7-8 AMPC).
Soul food: Job 1; Job 2:7-10; Job 40:1-5; Job 42:7-17
2024-08-05
Romans 2:4 NKJV
Do you remember the woman who took an alabaster box of fragrant oil and anointed Jesus with it? The Bible says: “Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, ‘This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner'” (Luke 7:39 NKJV). Man-made religion condemned this woman because of her past, but Jesus cleansed her and made her whole. “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” (v. 47 NKJV). Jesus knew what this woman had done, but He also knew what she could become when His grace touched her life.
The more you realize that you have been forgiven much, actually, of all your sins, the more you will love the Lord. God’s forgiveness does not lead to a sinful lifestyle; it leads to a life of glorifying the Lord Jesus. “The goodness of God leads you to repentance.” The word “repentance” means to turn around and do the opposite. Condemnation does not produce righteous living, but the knowledge of God’s grace and goodness toward us does.
Simon the Pharisee thought that his acceptance by God was based on his performance; hence he became self-righteous. But Jesus set him straight: “To whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” When you realize how much and how often God has forgiven you, you fall in love with Him and desire to please Him in all you do.
Soul food: 1 John 3:11-5:21; Luke 11:1-13; Ps 78:40-55; Prov 20:4-6
