Learning the art of forgiveness

750 years after the law for humanity was established Jesus said, “ I haven’t come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. (Matthew 5:17)

 The law couldn’t be abolished or set aside until it had been fulfilled, and its full effect and intent were realized - showing that humanity can't please God in our won effort, the law was given to show the sinfulness of man and that God's holiness is unattainable without a suitable bridge between man and God.  

 Only after these lessons were learned and their importance realized was grace able to be introduced. The effect of the law would no longer be necessary but the love of Gods heart and his desire for reconciliation for us could be introduced through Jesus and his atonement. 

 I have a family member living in my home that brings an ungodly sense of anger and bitterness that unsettles my home daily. There are eruptions that take place that enrage my heart. I am learning forgiveness doesn’t make room for offense or feelings. Forgiveness is not predicated on season nor on condition but on sheer obedience to the command to forgive because I have been forgiven. I don’t like it and it doesn’t make me happy nor do I look forward to it but I do recognize the importance of forgiveness. Oh and when Peter comes to Jesus asking:  “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times? My brother and sister are not of the same family in Christ but the very person next to me. Jesus tells Peter his generous idea of seven times is a bit off center, Jesus's teaching on forgiveness here is unlimited times for the same offense within the same day. That is the concept of forgiving your brother seventy times seven times.

 So what does learning the art of forgiveness look like? Is it just biting your tongue and controlling an outburst of your own (sometimes justified) anger? No, forgiveness has to be heart felt and starts way before that person or people get under your skin. That is why I label this “The art of forgiveness”.  This is forgiveness that has to be nurtured, even cultivated, a yielding that has to be practiced and empowered by the working of the Holy Spirit. Like anything else birthed through conviction and transformation buy the Spirit, we need to keep in step with the Spirit so we don’t fulfill the deeds of the flesh. Hmmm… like outbursts of anger? It’s not about not being mad or not taking the opportunity to put someone in their place but it is about dying to self and the application of obedience in the small things that lead up to the big things. Believe me if we don’t work out our own salvation… the whole living in obedience and dying to myself daily thing… we won’t do the Godly thing when the biggies come knocking at our door.

 Like the practice of medicine, godliness is also something that needs to become a practice and has to be applied every day to be successful at it.

 I’m praying for you, as my Christina brothers and sisters just as I am praying for me to continue in obedience in the practice of godliness being right isn’t always the same as being righteous in his sight.

The Things Hero's Are Made Of

Hero’s are misplaced characters today. Regardless if they want the title or not, sports figures become the go to hero’s of young people and adults alike. With the lack of leadership in our culture, hero’s are in high demand.

 A hero is defined as a person who is admired for achievements and noble qualities, someone who shows great courage.

 I like a hero as much as the next person, like everyone I’ve been let down by people I’ve looked up to. Today my focus is more on biblical characters that God has raised up as role models and heroes.

 I want to tell you about one of my biblical hero’s named Benaniah. This guy has a lot of qualities I would love to emulate; by God’s grace I hope some of them are a part of who I am.

 Benaiah was in charge of King David’s guard. He was one of what was known as David’s “Mighty Men of Valor”. So David chose to put him in charge of his bodyguards. He needed a good man for this task. Saul was after David so he needed someone he could trust to have his back. Then David’s son Absalom tried to kill him. Not on Benaiah’s watch!

 Benaiah was also the commander of David’s mercenary forces, the non-Jewish guys who fought for David.

 Benaiah was also the son of a priest. He was a PK! He grew up knowing the value of worshipping God! He was a lover of God and a lover of the things of God. I like this guy a lot! His dad, Jehoida was one of the priests who gathered 3,700 men who supported David when he was crowned King. See 1 Ch. 12:21.

 2 Samuel 23:23 and 1 Ch. 11:23 tell us that his grand father was a valiant man from Kabzeel. He has a great family line who are lovers of God and studs, don’t’ mess with these guys they mean business!

  One of the coolest things Benaiah did, a little crazy but really cool! He came face to face with a lion on a snowy day. The lion started to chase him, he ran past a pit, but the lion didn’t make it, he fell into the pit. Benaiah stops running, goes back to look into the pit, then he jumps in and kills the lion! Wait, who does something like that? God’s man, who is raised up for God's own purpose who would later be put in charge of protecting a man after God's own heart, that’s who. You can find this in 2 Samuel 23:20 and 1 Ch. 11:22. Right before he kills the lion, Benaiah killed two Moabite heroes. Our English version of the Bible refers to the Moabite hero’s as the two sons of Ariel of Moab. The KJV makes this idea take on more of an interesting meaning it actually translates Ariel as “Loin Like Men.” Benaiah was a mighty man who killed to heroes from Moab that were as strong and as brave as lions! Then he kills an actual lion!

 Bemaiah also killed an Egyptian giant. This Egyptian was about seven feet tall. His spear was the size of a weavers beam; ok that's a spear was about 2-2 ½ inches round! Benaniah takes his spear and kills him with it! This guy is a beast!

 He also has his hand in making sure Solomon becomes king of Israel. Solomon’ half brother, Adonijah, declares himself king while David is still alive. We know Solomon is God’s man to lead Israel after his dad. Benaiah is loyal to King David and fully backs Solomon. (Kings 1:36) His mercenary army parades Solomon to his coronation. Benaiah is also the guy who kills the guys who are against Solomon. (1Kings 2:24-46) Including Joab, the trader who was the commander of David’s army. So Solomon the wisest man on earth makes Benaiah the commander of his army. Smart move king!

 Benaiah loved God; he loved his king and devoted his entire life to each in every way that honored God. These are the things to be admired in a person's life. The things that make up true heroes.

Research by Jeffery Kranz

Quiet Enough to Hear the Heart Beat of God

There is an anechoic chamber where I work.
 The construction consists of a mesh cloth floor suspended 5 feet above a concrete floor. The walls are concrete and have 15 inches of insulation with 6 inches of dead space between the concrete and insulation, then a cloth mesh 6 inches away from the insulation. The concrete walls are in the shape of an octagon creating a room designed to completely absorb reflections of sound. They also insulate from any exterior sources of sound. The chamber is completely sound proof and used for testing the true sound of instruments with no outside interference. There is one light inside the room that is turned off during testing operations so there is no sound made by electricity moving through the elements inside the light bulb.

 One day I was asked to perform some repairs inside the chamber. After the repairs were complete I was asked if I wanted to experience complete silence. I jumped at the opportunity. I laid in the middle of the room suspended 5 feet above the floor. The door was closed and the light was turned off. It was really relaxing. After about ten  minutes and the absolute silence became deafening. I began to hear my own heartbeat, soft at first then to my surprise the longer I remained still the sound of my heart became really loud.

 While I was praying tonight I remembered that day. I thought about what it was like for John to lay his head on the chest of Jesus at the last supper. Did he hear the heart beat of God in his ear? I find my self with an increasing desire, to hear the heart of God. What does he think? What can I do to please him? Amos 3:7 says: Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. And John 16:13 tells us: But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. Prophetic revelation is a gift from the father’s heart to us. When I read that we can come boldly before the throne of grace and find healing and restoration for our souls in Hebrews 4:16, this is not mechanics for church life, it is our Father's personal invitation for each one of us to come to him and spend time with him. I want his heartbeat in my ears to be so clear and steady that it drowns out the influence of the world that draw me away from his desire for my time.

 The invitation is real, it is clear and it’s the cry of the heart of our loving Father. Come to me! In my presence you will find wholeness. I want to show you great and wonderful things that i offer from my creation. I want to show you the greatness of my Kingdom, the greatness of my Spirit, things you don’t know about yet; things to come. I want more for you then the brokenness and poverty the world offers. Things you never imagined or dreamed of. He cries out to us - Come boldly before my throne of grace. So much is waiting for us in his presence.

Damage of the Day

 Damage of the day

As time goes on I have the tendency to look at things differently. I believe the Holy Spirit is transforming my thoughts and ideas as he reveals God’s truth to me. As we read, study and obey the words of God there is a transfer of knowledge that takes place from the head to the heart. It is my deepest desire that this is the process taking place in me over the past few years.

 We all have a favorite TV show. Tonight Janice and I enjoyed watching our favorite one together. In the show there was a scene where a lady walked into a police station to complain about her husband hitting her, the lady was drunk and apparently had an on going drinking problem. Her visit wasn’t the first. Not a hard scenario to figure out.

The longer I watched the story unfold I found my thoughts drifting to an incident that took place when I was about five years old. All the sudden I felt an overwhelming sense of heaviness.  My dad was what I call “a hitter” with a drinking problem. Mom was usually the unfortunate recipient on the wrong side of dad’s exercise after being out with his buddies at the bar. I remember the fear and feeling of wanting to hide when dad came home late from work because we never knew if he would be drunk or not. One Friday night dad came home late, mom had a friend at the house and things turned bad pretty fast. Mom’s friend took us to her house to spend the night. The next day we found ourselves at the hospital visiting mom. For the next few months my brother and I would fix her soup for dinner that she would drink through a straw because dad broke her jaw and one of her hands. I remember the damage of the day changed the way we looked at everything and everyone. Life shifted and the three of us became the suspicious survivors from that Friday night. The actions of my dad were the result of a man who was caught up not so much in his dependency of alcohol but in the pain buried in the darkness of what led him to medicate what he was trying to escape. Even if for a short period of time, my dad created for himself an environment of control and numbness as an escape from his pain and fears. That numbness affected the lives of my mom, my brother and me, for the rest of our lives.

 Now as an adult I sat with my wife watching this show on TV where an actress went to the police looking for protection from her abuser, the memory of the abuse my dad inflicted on my mom that night was as vivid as the night it happened, a night I'll never forget. Instead of being filled with fear and anger, now I was filled with compassion. My thoughts and feelings were ones of burden for my dad and for all of us who haven’t found freedom from our days of damage. Pain that creates the need for protection. Unfortunately that protection comes in the form of transferring our pain and insecurity onto other people. Damaged people continue to damage people. 

 The reality is that dad; mom, my brother and me were captive in a dark place dark separated from God’s truth, freedom and hope. We all try to compensate as we search to escape from the misunderstanding of damage sin creates. In the darkness it is natural for humanity to grasp for anything that might comfort us, even temporarily, regardless of the damage created in the path of escape and the uncertainty of our future.

 The fall of mankind is real and it has caused immeasurable damage and the destruction of countless lives in its wake. The evil habits and appetites formed in us are from our separation from God and his perfect design for our fullness. We hunger and strive for wholeness found only when we are connected in relationship with God himself.

  My thankfulness for God’s invasion into my darkness can never be stated adequately because I can’t express the gratefulness I feel toward Him, He rescued my me! The depths of salvation are more than I can understand, the healing from the damage caused by my past choices is very real and has created abundance for my life today. The tangible way I give thanks to God is by actively looking for ways to please him.

  I couldn’t see the results of my life separated from Christ because I was in the dark unable to see what I was doing, not concerning myself with the damage I was causing others around me. Not until I was drawn out of that darkness and I began the journey of relinquishing the control I thought I had to Him. I created a lot of pain trying to protect myself because of the damage and the feelings of abandonment in my life. I had to make the choice to stop resisting God’s love and allow him to teach me the difference between demanding control of my life and learning how to find my escape by giving control of my life to Him. The thing I didn’t understand is that God’s love for me is greater than my pain and his plan was to put me in a place of peace and joy that I desperately wanted but had no clue of how to find it.

 The damage of the day hasn’t been removed from my memory but it has become part of my story, not the pain or fear but the rescue; release and the understanding of how the damage actually started in Eden with Adam and Eve, and how it was transferred to me and every person throughout human history as part of our DNA.

 Transformation, healing and release through the work of the Holy Spirit continues to take place in my life. The fantastic thing is that the same path of transformation and release is available for anyone who will accept it from God on his terms. Even after we believe.

 The most important part of my story and the story of every person is that our future can be changed because of the promise God provided for us through the sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ.

Stop The Pain

Several years ago a friend said to me “hurt people, hurt people.”

 A simple but profound statement that describes the perpetual pain we inflict on one another because we carry the pain infected on us from someone else. This type of pain that is passed from one person to the next can only be removed through the healing touch of the Holy Spirit.

 There is a story in the Bible recorded in the 8^th chapter of Mark about some guys who brought their blind friend to Jesus asking him to heal him. Jesus took the man out of town away from the faithless hearts of those around him in order to heal the guy. Jesus is a peculiar person, most likely because he always does things that don’t make sense to us. He spit on the mans eyes, rubbed them, then asked him what do you see?” Really? I’m thinking I’d have to ask “what do you think you are you doing?” But I'm not blind. The guy says “I see people walking around who look like trees.” So Jesus goes back in and rubs his eyes a second time, then the man sees clearly.

 Why did Jesus need to touch him a second time? Did he lack the power to heal or was his faith weak? No. Jesus is God; he doesn’t lack power or faith. He’s the embodiment of power and faith. Colossians 2:9 says “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” So why was there a second touch before the man was healed? I believe Jesus wanted to teach his disciples and us an important lesson.

Mark chapter eight opens with Jesus feeding 4000 people with 7 loaves of bread. Sound familiar? That’s because He also fed 5000 people in somewhat the same manner.

 Here as he feeds the 4000 then the disciples collect 7 basketful's of left overs after everyone ate until full. They leave the area and some Pharisees find him, testing him they ask for a sign from Heaven. He says, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? No I won’t give a sign.” Jesus and the 12 get back into the boat to return to the Galilean area. While in the boat Jesus warns them, “Be careful, watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod.” They thought He was talking about them not bringing any bread with them.

 Ok here’s why Jesus double clutched when healing the blind man. Ready? Jesus said to them: “really guys?” did you actually think I was taking about your lack of planning? Don’t you get it? Are you so dull and your hearts so hard that you don’t understand? Don’t you remember? When I broke 5 loaves and fed 5000, how many basketful's of pieces did you pick up? “12” they said. And when I broke the 7 loaves how many basketful's did you pick up? “7” they answered. He looks at them and asks, “SOOOOO? Don’t you get it?”  Then He heals the blind man and makes the choice to touch him twice before the healing is complete.

When the 12 were with him they understood very little of what he did and taught, Not until after he was crucified, had risen then ascended to the Father did they begin to understand fully what he was doing and teaching, because the Holy Spirit began to teach them and reveal the words Jesus to them.

 They knew Jesus and experienced his teachings and the things he did first hand but didn’t understand them fully. The Holy Spirit was given as a gift to them and us to illuminate the words Jesus taught and they understood. Colossians 2:9 says for in Christ all the fullness of Deity lives in bodily form.” He was all God in every aspect in human form. In John 14:6 Jesus promised them “I will ask and the Father will send another advocate to help you and he will be with you forever.” The word “another” used here is Greek New Testament meaning word meaning “one exactly alike.”

Jesus touched the blind man the second time because he couldn’t see clearly the first time. The 12 didn’t fully understand his teachings until the Holy Spirit enlightened their minds revealing the  words of Jesus to them with a more intimate touch that involved their hearts.

Our application involves the phrase my friend told me: “hurt people hurt people.”

 I’ve experienced the painful situation of being pushed out of a group. It came from 2 separate people in the same gathering, at first not understanding until I made the choice to not be offended but asking the Lord why. People who have been pushed out of what I will call a tribe then being accepted, those same people have a tendency to inflict the same pain of rejection they received onto other people who are on the outside, but not people who already belonged to an existing tribe then come into the new tribe as if making a tribe change. This pain of rejection even after being accepted is inflicted on other rejected people, as if to say I paid my dues, now its your turn before you get into our tribe.

Wow how is the connection made between Mark 8 and my friend’s phrase? I’m Glad you asked. We like the 12 we spend time with Jesus but often don’t fully understand everything he is saying to us until we actually allow his words to probe the deep areas inside our hearts, the ones we protect , that no other person is allowed to see. When we honestly, willfully expose the painful things inflicted on us, trusting him and dropping our guard, he will heal us, but it can’t stop there. We have to make the choice to also reject the feelings of empowerment from our new freedom and make the conscious choice to humbly continue to make him Lord over everything, even freedom from rejection or freedom from any other pain. We have not actually experienced freedom only escape from our experiences that caused us pain if we continue to inflict pain and rejection on other hurting people. There is a difference and that difference is how we treat others who suffer in the pain we lived in, especially when no one else is looking.

 Jesus double clutches more times than not because he wants us to be made whole not just for the pain to stop. He will continue to return until he has completed what he has started in us.