Forgiveness

First I want to remind you, and me, that sin separates us from a righteous and holy God and that is what the creator of the Universe is.  

It says this in Isaiah 59:1-3:

“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened,

That it cannot save;

Nor His ear heavy,

That it cannot hear.

But your iniquities have separated you from your God;

And your sins have hidden His face from you,

So that He will not hear.

For your hands are defiled with blood,

And your fingers with iniquity;

Your lips have spoken lies,

Your tongue has muttered perversity.”

When the Jewish people sinned, they separated themselves from their God and so do we in our day.  When God’s people sin it should make them feel miserable, but it seems like some of us instead of taking responsibility for our sin, we make excuses for it instead of taking them to God right away and confessing them.  You may be saying to yourself that is in the Old Testament and that was for the Jews, and you would be right but think of this, God is just as holy today as He was then and He still hates sin.

The Word says this in Hebrews 13:8:

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

These words were spoken in the New Testament.  Think about David when he sinned with Bathsheba and had her husband killed, he was miserable.

It says this in Psalms 51:1-17:

“Have mercy upon me, O God,

According to Your lovingkindness;

According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,

Blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

And cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions,

And my sin is always before me.

Against You, You only, have I sinned,

And done this evil in Your sight—

That You may be found just when You speak,

And blameless when You judge.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

And in sin my mother conceived me.

Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,

And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me hear joy and gladness,

That the bones You have broken may rejoice.

Hide Your face from my sins,

And blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presence,

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,

And sinners shall be converted to You.

Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,

The God of my salvation,

And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.

O Lord, open my lips,

And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.

For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;

You do not delight in burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,

A broken and a contrite heart—

These, O God, You will not despise.”

Now think about Peter in the New Testament, it says this in Luke 22:55-62: “Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, ‘This man was also with Him.’

But he denied Him, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know Him.’

And after a little while another saw him and said, ‘You also are of them.’

But Peter said, ‘Man, I am not!’

Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, ‘Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.’

But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are saying!’

Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’ So Peter went out and wept bitterly.”

There is hope for us when we sin if we have the right attitude, which is a humble and contrite heart.  We can thank the Lord for these words in 1 John 1:9:

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Then, if we repent, confessing our sins, they are forgiven and we are cleansed and reunited again, with no separation between us and our God, praise the Lord!!

And there is hope for the non-believer as well, it says this in Isaiah 55:1-11:

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts,

Come to the waters;

And you who have no money,

Come, buy and eat.

Yes, come, buy wine and milk

Without money and without price.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

And your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

And let your soul delight itself in abundance.

Incline your ear, and come to Me.

Hear, and your soul shall live;

And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—

The sure mercies of David.

Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people,

A leader and commander for the people.

Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,

And nations who do not know you shall run to you,

Because of the Lord your God,

And the Holy One of Israel;

For He has glorified you.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found,

Call upon Him while He is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way,

And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

Let him return to the Lord,

And He will have mercy on him;

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon.

‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord.

‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

‘For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,

And do not return there,

But water the earth,

And make it bring forth and bud,

That it may give seed to the sower

And bread to the eater,

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void,

But it shall accomplish what I please,

And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.’”

Just like God spoke to His people, the Jews, then, He also invites you today to come to Him with your sinful, broken lives.  It says this to the Jews in Isaiah 57:15-18:

“For thus says the High and Lofty One

Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

‘I dwell in the high and holy place,

With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,

To revive the spirit of the humble,

And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

For I will not contend forever,

Nor will I always be angry;

For the spirit would fail before Me,

And the souls which I have made.

For the iniquity of his covetousness

I was angry and struck him;

I hid and was angry,

And he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.

I have seen his ways, and will heal him;

I will also lead him,

And restore comforts to him

And to his mourners.’”

I believe if you truly repent He will do the same for you.  Something to think about!  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!

Bread

Today I thought I would talk about the bread of life.  Bread, as everyone knows, is food that will sustain the body and the same was true in Jesus’ day when He walked the earth.  When Jesus fed the 4,ooo and 5,ooo plus women and children, what did He feed them?  He fed them fish and bread and they ate and were filled.  This was a good thing, but it was also where a problem began and this was the problem, because Jesus fed them they were looking for more food, or what you might call a hand out.  Jesus wasn’t happy with these people because they were seeking a physical fulfillment instead of a spiritual fulfillment.

It says this in John 6:25-26, “And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, ‘Rabbi, when did You come here?’ Jesus answered them and said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.’”

After saying these things to the people, Jesus went on and said this about Himself in John 6:27-40, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.

Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’

Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’

Therefore they said to Him, ‘What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’

Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’

Then they said to Him, ‘Lord, give us this bread always.’

And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.’”

Jesus was truly the bread that came down from heaven and, like I said, bread gives physical life but the bread from heaven gives spiritual life and that only comes through Jesus, God’s only begotten Son.  John said this about Jesus in John 1:1-4, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

Then, while Jesus was teaching them He said some things that they would not accept, in John 6:53-60, “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.’

These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can understand it?’”

It seems that these people may have been blinded to spiritual truths.  Jesus was not saying this about His personal body and blood, but that His life and theirs, would have to become one, as in a personal relationship. 

Later Paul spoke of the body and blood in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”

After Jesus said these things a sad thing happened, it says this in John 6:66, “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.”

It is a sad thing when people hear some things they don’t like or they don’t understand about Jesus so they decide to forsake Him and walk away, which still happens today.  Instead of seeking the truth and finding it and being set free, they continue in their un-belief and never experience real true freedom.  If you are a skeptic and you are reading this, don’t walk away discouraged, seek the answers you need to hear.  Get your hands on the Word of God and start in the New Testament with the book of John and before you finish that book, you will find the truth which is Jesus and if you will let Him, He will set you free.  Seek Him with all your heart and you will find Him.  Something to think about!  God bless and may you have a super day!!  PS don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord!!

Opportunity

If you are reading this you have a great opportunity that you may have never considered before.  Many people may live their lives never asking this question; why am I here?  With so many mixed messages today and so many opportunities to make whatever choices you choose, it is a difficult task to know which the best choice is.

When I was much younger I asked myself this question wondering what was the purpose of life, why and how did I become who I am?  At that time there were many theories just as there are today, so many voices trying to pull you into their way of thinking.  When I was a young boy my mom told me that someday the lion would lie down with the lamb and it seemed to stick in my mind and I never forgot it.  Today I realize it doesn’t say it exactly that way in the Word, but at the time I couldn’t get it out of my mind being an animal lover and it sounded so great.  We didn’t go to church and we were not a religious family but my mom did go to church at one time.

This is what the Word really says about this subject, it is found in Isaiah 11:6-9:

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,

The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;

And a little child shall lead them.

The cow and the bear shall graze;

Their young ones shall lie down together;

And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,

And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord

As the waters cover the sea.”

I think that was my first experience with the Word of God.  As I think about it now, maybe a seed was planted in me at that time even though it would be many years later that that seed would fully start to grow and I would be completely dedicated and committed to the Lord.  I was a young boy with many messed up feelings and emotions along with many fears.  I could share many of the ways I bowed down at the altar of the evil one but I have done that in other Tidbits so in this Tidbit I want to focus on the Lord and His amazing grace.  I will say this, the evil one had me bound for many years, but praise the Lord He has set me free, my chains are gone and I have been washed and cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus and I can’t thank and praise Him enough for that.  

I wish I could somehow convince you, and the whole world, that the Lord is the answer, but only He can do that, but I can tell you some of the things that I have experienced, like the time many years ago when the Lord touched me and all my guilt was gone and a beautiful peace came over me and I felt so light from the burdens being taken from me that I felt like I could jump to the top of my house from the ground.  I have been blessed with a beautiful wife who has a sweet and gentle spirit, great kids and also grandkids and a super daughter-in-law and some super son-in-laws, plus a nice home that I thought I would never have plus having my needs met and also some of my wants.

God’s Word says this in Psalms 37:3-6:

“Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

Delight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,

And your justice as the noonday.”

The Lord has always met our needs.  The Psalmist said this in 37:23-31:

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,

And He delights in his way.

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;

For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

I have been young, and now am old;

Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,

Nor his descendants begging bread.

He is ever merciful, and lends;

And his descendants are blessed.

Depart from evil, and do good;

And dwell forevermore.

For the Lord loves justice,

And does not forsake His saints;

They are preserved forever,

But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.

The righteous shall inherit the land,

And dwell in it forever.

The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,

And his tongue talks of justice.

The law of his God is in his heart;

None of his steps shall slide.”

The Lord has always provided so that we have never lacked what we needed and He did it in some very unusual ways.  Has it always been easy?  No, I have had many struggles but like I said the Lord has always been faithful.  The Lord never said we would never struggle and I know we have an enemy that always tries to get God’s people to give up but God is able and faithful to His children and no one can snatch you out of His hand.  The Lord has been totally trustworthy and hasn’t forsaken us and like I said He has set me free from many vices that held me captive and I have been set free for many years and I owe it all to Him.

It says this in John 8:31-36, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’

They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?’

Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’”

There are many other things I could mention but it would be a very long Tidbit and it may not be read because of it, but I will mention a miraculous healing I had while praying about ten years ago of asthma which I had suffered with for many, many years.  Since that time I ran close to fifteen miles which I could never have done before without my inhaler and I ran many miles outside through the winter which would have been impossible before the healing.  It has been close to ten years now and I have seen many doctors during that period of time and not once has anyone told me I had asthma.  I was also set free of depression which I had for at least 12 years.

I have said all this so that you may consider Christianity and a belief in the Lord.  Just give Him a try, taste and see if He is good.  In other words give Him a chance, you will never be truly regret it if you mean business.  He loves you!  He laid down His life to give you the opportunity to be His child, what an amazing privilege, don’t pass it up!  He is coming back very soon; please don’t let Him leave without you when He comes for His children.  Cry out to Him today, repent of your sins and tell Him you want Him to be your Lord and Savior.  Spend some time with Him, if you can, don’t try to rush through this process, tarry awhile and let His peace, love and joy fill your heart and walk away feeling like a free man.  If you are tired of your sin and guilt, try the Lord, He alone can set you free.  He did it for me, why won’t He do it for you?  Something to think about, may the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!                        

Discernment

There is something that seems to be pretty universal, something I think most people struggle with, in and out of the church, something Jesus taught that people shouldn‘t do.  This particular thing can take place the minute you see someone, even before you talk to them or get to know them.  You can do this when talking to someone on the computer, the phone or just by texting.  I have done this many times and my guess is you have done this also, more times than you want to admit and, like I said, so have I.  There is only One that can do this and never sin regardless of how many times He does it, and that is the Lord because He knows all things, even the thoughts and intents of the heart.  Can you guess what I am talking about

I am talking about judging other people and criticizing them.  You might say, “I have the gift of discernment,” and that is good thing, it would be good if every believer had that gift, but even with that gift you need to use it wisely with the right intent in mind.  I think I have said this before in other Tidbits that I have written; even if you may be telling the truth about the person, if you say it in a negative way, it can, and many times will, hurt that person’s reputation so it is better left unsaid.  Some people judge by skin color or nationality or by the way people dress or the length of their hair or the tattoos they have or how people talk or many other reasons and it needs to stop.

Jesus said it this way in Matthew 7:1-5, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

I think reaping what you sow comes into play here, which is a universal problem for most all of us also.  Is Jesus saying we should never judge anyone?  I don’t think so; I think it was our critical, judgmental attitudes Jesus was concerned with.  Many times we use our judgmental attitudes to tear people down so that we can make ourselves look better in people’s eyes.  This is the opposite of building people up, which we should be doing.  We should examine our own motives for the reason we are standing in judgment of someone else.  Did you ever think that the reason you may judge someone else is because they are a lot like you and you don’t like it?  

It has taken me a long time to learn this lesson, along with a lot of repentance and I am still working on it, hoping someday I will never be guilty of it again.  Have you ever heard this saying, “don’t judge the book by the cover?”  That is what we do far too often.  This reminds me of how many of the people judged Moses and complained and criticized him when things didn’t go the way they thought they should.  

If you don’t have it, you may want to pray for the gift of discernment, but if you receive the gift use the gift with the right intent in mind and flee all the negative judging and criticizing, and let the one who can judge fairly, take care of the judging.  Something to think about!  May you have a great day and may the good Lord bless you and yours!!