God Reminds Us About Forgiveness

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Then Peter asked Him, “Lord, how many times must I forgive the offenses of my brother or sister? Seven times?” Jesus answered, “No, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” – Matthew 18:21-22

I posted about forgiveness before.

Tackling more about God’s great capacity to forgive.

And yet, I don’t think I’m the best person to be talking about this.

Because, yes, I still struggle with it.

And this may ruin my credibility to preach about this virtue.

But today, it haunts me…

Catches my attention…

Telling me that it’s the right thing to do.

As I read the passages in Matthew, God again reminds me that one’s ability to forgive must be without limit.

God used the term seventy-seven times.

And it must never be about seeking revenge.

Because, really, where will revenge take us?

Well, most certainly not in heaven.

Because it would be difficult for us to allow God inside our hearts if we harbor hate.

Hate is definitely NOT God.

If it would be all about hate, then God wouldn’t send His Son, Jesus, to be nailed on the cross to save us, sinners.

But perhaps God knows that we are only human.

And He knows very well our limits.

And that we won’t be able to follow His words 100% of the time.

So He encourages us not to give up on practicing this virtue…

The way He never gave up on us and on our salvation, no matter how much we sinned against Him.

Let’s practice what we learned from the Bible today.

The way that God encourages us to do.

Take care and God bless! :-)

On Loving God

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I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me. – Proverbs 8:17

Conditions that make it easy for us to tell God we love Him:

- when we are happy.

- when we are not suffering.

- when everything seems perfect.

What if things were the other way around…

And we are any of the following:

- we are lonely.

- we are experiencing suffering.

- we feel that life is unfair.

Would we still have the strength to tell God that we love Him?

Would we even feel love for God in the first place?

I find this to be an important challenge in my relationship with God.

From time to time, I am faced with moments where I find it difficult to pray.

On those moments I would either be:

- in distress, or

- lazy.

And both are lame reasons because:

- sometimes distress clouds our judgment,

- and laziness is NEVER a good excuse.

Laziness is just enough proof that there’s not enough love for God.

And times of distress should be the reason for us to cling to Him more…

To ask for His enlightenment…

And to pray for strength to overcome life’s trials.

Sharing with you this prayer I got from facebook:

Dear Lord, I am calling upon You today for Your Divine guidance and help. I am in crisis and need a supporting hand to keep me on the right and just path. My heart is troubled but I will strive to keep it set on You, as Your infinite wisdom will show me the right way to a just and right resolution. Thank You for hearing my prayer and for staying by my side. Amen.

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments. – Deuteronomy 7:9

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In The Image And Likeness Of God

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This is the written account of Adam’s line. When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. – Genesis 5:1

I always find myself constantly battling with my inner critic.

It seems as if it’s a battle that will never cease to exist.

Day in and day out, I always found reasons to point out what I lack and what I did wrong.

It is always there to remind me that what I am is not enough.

That I am not good enough.

It even makes the situation worse because it convinces me to look for an external reference in the form of other people…

What I seemed to lack becomes magnified when I compare myself to other people.

And then I end up wallowing in self-pity, thinking how unfortunate I was.

And how life is so unfair.

But then I stop and think that there is this Someone who accepts me for who I am.

Someone who loves me just as much despite my shortcomings.

Someone who sees me as beautiful despite all my imperfections.

Someone who doesn’t focus on my mistakes to make me worthy of His love…

GOD.

And when I am reminded of Him, I am reminded of the truth that I was created in His own image.

Created in the image and likeness of a Great God.

An absolute Truth.

Therefore, I truly am beautiful.

And what I am is not inadequate.

Who I am is enough for Him.

My looks, even if I do not meet the standards of the world.

My intellect, even if I am not as brilliant as the other people my age.

My achievements, even if I don’t seem to be at par with my peers.

And what He wishes for me to do is to learn to love myself.

Love and accept everything about myself.

Love and accept this person, who happens to be myself, who came from God Himself, created in His own image and likeness.

But that love should just be enough…

Not too much so as to be conceited.

And not too little so as to be insecure.

Self-love…

Do you love yourself enough? I’d love to hear…

Take care and God bless! :-)

So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. – Genesis 1:27

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The Act Of Forgiveness

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And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. – Mark 11:25

It still amazes me how God is able to forgive our sins so easily.

And why His love for us never wanes even if we’ve hurt Him so many times because of our sins.

And why He even sent His Son, Jesus to suffer bloody torture and be crucified on the cross just to save us from our sins.

What a magnificent God He is, isn’t He?

He is the omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient God and yet He is so humble.

I cannot imagine any human being able to forgive when his son is tortured to death.

I would only be able to hear that person’s cry for justice and sometimes, even vengeance.

But our Father in Heaven has such a great capacity to forgive.

He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” – Luke 24:46-47

It made me think of my shortcomings when it comes to applying this Christian virtue to myself.

You see, I am not the best person to be tackling about forgiveness because I fall short too many times.

I sometimes lose my temper over petty things.

And I have past hurts in my heart that I still refused to let go up to now.

So what right do I have to be talking about forgiveness when I am still in the process of learning it?

What I wish to do is to remind myself not to give up practicing this Christian virtue.

Even if it’s hard.

Even if it means getting hurt and then forgiving all over again.

Being human, we are not without limitations.

And when we have to experience pain over and over again, it can be emotionally taxing.

But this is where God’s strength comes in.

This is where we should ask Him to give us strength in our weaknesses and limitations.

This is a reminder that in order for us to truly forgive another person, we should work hand in hand with God.

Make God our leader.

And emulate the example of being able to infinitely forgive that He has shown us through His Son, Jesus.

Do you have any advice on forgiveness that you would like to share?

Take care and God bless! :-)

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. – Matthew 5:44-45

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The Acceptance Of God’s Will

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This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” – Isaiah 48:17

Most of the time, I am governed by my own choices—my free will.

I make my own plans.

I structure my day just the way I want it to be.

Then suddenly, an unforeseen incident changes my routine…

And believe it or not, it would easily get me frustrated.

Irritated.

Even if they were only minor changes.

And yes, this made me realize something…

If I can’t handle the slight modification in my routine…

How much more one major life shift that could possibly happen unexpectedly.

Control…

I suppose that’s the main reason why we religiously create lists of to-do activities and keep a daily planner.

A strategy deemed necessary in order to take charge of the future.

But…

Are the events that would take place tomorrow really in our hands?

And can we actually predict what would happen in the future?

Or even a few hours or five minutes later?

I suppose not…

Because we are only humans and only God is able to do that.

We can only do so much—plans, preparations—to design our lives the way we want them to be.

But only God has eyes for the future…

And only He can control everything.

So if things don’t go according to plan (or even if they do), it is best to surrender to God’s will and no one else’s, not even our own.

Have you submitted yourself to God’s Holy plan for your life? I’d love to hear…

Take care and God bless! :-)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. – Proverbs 3:5-6

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