Heading Home

Today, I bring you a guest post for the book blog tour of CJ Hitz, the co-author (along with his wife Shelley) of Forgiveness Formula: Finding Lasting Freedom in Christ...

I know, I know. Reverse polarity…what’s that? I wasn’t familiar with those words either, at least when they’re used together. I am now.

A few weeks ago Shelley & I came out of Panera Bread in Lancaster, PA, and prepared to leave when our Toyota RV wouldn’t start. Completely dead, not a peep when I turned the key. Fortunately, we also had our car with us which Shelley was driving.

“We’ll just use the car to jumpstart the RV battery,” I confidently told my wife.

I proceeded to put the cables on each of the batteries, looking to make sure the black cables were placed on the negative terminals and the red cables carefully placed on the positive terminals.

I should have gotten the hint when sparks flew upon attaching the cables to the RV battery but after a second or two, the sparks ceased. Seeing a black cover on one of the RV battery terminals, I assumed that was the negative. The other terminal didn’t have any cover. Did I mention it was 10:00 pm, rainy, and dark outside?

“Go ahead and start the car, Shelley.”

We let the car run for 30 minutes and prayed before attempting to start the RV again. Nothing. Zilch. Dead.

“Maybe we need new jumper cables,” I said, trying to sound like a man with a ‘sure fire’ back up plan.

Unfortunately, we just missed getting into the Wal-Mart next door before they closed. So we’d have to sleep in the Panera parking lot until they opened the next morning.

We awoke the next morning and grabbed some fresh Panera coffee and bagels before heading into Wal-Mart for those brand new cables which would surely do the trick. Again, I placed the cables on each battery as I had the night before…yes, some sparks flew. Hint not taken.

“Go ahead and start the car Shelley.”

We let the car run for 30 minutes and prayed before attempting to start the RV again. I slowly turned the key while pushing on the gas…

Crickets.

“That must be one dead battery,” I said. We decided upon a local towing company who also happened to have some excellent mechanical skills. They took the RV back to their shop and, upon inspection, we indeed realized the cables were backward on the RV battery. This is also referred to as…

Reverse Polarity.

Google these words and you’ll see anything from minor damage to your electrical system to frying the whole system and more. After looking everything over, the mechanics determined we were somewhere in the middle. We basically fried the alternator and needed it replaced along with some fuses.

The Worst Damage…

…occurred as I beat myself up over and over again in my mind for the next 24 hours. Isn’t the damage we inflict upon ourselves always some of the worst? Especially for those of us who have a tendency toward perfectionism.

Some of the thoughts I was chewing on included…

“You idiot, you can’t even jumpstart your own car correctly!”
“Because of my stupid mistake, we’re out $350 more than we should be.”
“We could be on the road to Florida by now, but you screwed that up, CJ!”
“Just another failure in a long line of them, huh?”
“Maybe this whole ‘living in an RV’ thing was a dumb idea.”

You can see how things could continue to spiral downward in a hurry. Thankfully, the Lord broke through and rescued me from that “stinkin’ thinkin’.” These thoughts aren’t the sum total of CJ Hitz but choosing to believe them put me into a temporary prison.

With the help of my wonderful wife, I was able to forgive myself for this costly blunder and move on. When you’re able to look back and get a good laugh, it’s a sign you’ve been able to let it go. In fact, I think Jesus got a chuckle out of the whole thing from the beginning. He was never mad at me for royally screwing up. It was simply a learning experience. A chance to let good triumph over evil within my mind.

And what else did you learn, CJ?

Confusing the positive with the negative can certainly create sparks.

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8 NLT)

~~I hope you’ll visit their book website to check out the full virtual book tour schedule and special gifts with purchase at The Forgiveness Formula.

Today, I present another sweet cyber-friend, Cecilia Marie Pulliam. I hope you’ll support Ceci and leave her a comment...

It wasn’t fair. How could they do this? (Fill in any situation – most would fit.) I was so angry I could barely wait to tell my bus mates and co-workers. I vented, I raved and I justified – until the next morning.

At 5:00 a.m., Jimmy Cricket extolled the virtues of When You Wish Upon A Star. I wasn't in the mood for a Pollyanna wake up call and wished I’d changed my alarm to something more like I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.

I rolled out of bed, shuffled out to the kitchen and made coffee. While it brewed, I stared out the window. Light was just showing in the eastern horizon. Clear sky, maybe we’d finally have a sunny, warm day.

The scene faded, receding behind a thin veil. I saw Jesus on the cross. As I watched, He transposed His face over my perceived enemy, for the second time, the first being right after my divorce. I was being reminded, once again, of God’s opinion of anger - even justified anger.

Justified. That was exactly what I had done - justified my action, my decisions, at the expense of another’s reputation. It didn’t matter that I had told the truth. It was wrong to broadcast the negative situation. My face reddened when I remembered a story I had recently told someone else.

A Christian missionary in China discovered a thief had stolen all of the mission’s blankets. The woman said nothing, demonstrated no outward anger, and went about her daily routine as if nothing had happened.

A Chinese solider staying with the missionaries questioned her behavior. “Why are you not angry with this thief?”

The woman replied, “First, God provided those blankets, and He will provide more when we need them. And secondly, the thief obviously needed them more than we did.”

Her words and behavior so impressed the solider he converted to Christianity, becoming a priest.

I sank to my knees, asking God to forgive my un-Christian-like behavior. I vowed to ask forgiveness from every person I had ranted to. Granted it would be hard to swallow my pride and admit I had been wrong, yet I had to somehow set the record straight.

My morning devotions confirmed my guilt. The Greatest Commandment was quoted in my first reading. “Love one another as I have loved you.” Remorse pounded my heart, crushing me into a black hole of shame.

The meditation continued with the gentle reminder that repentance, true repentance - coupled with the desire to change and not repeat the offense - wipes away our sin. There was no need to hang my head in shame or plot horrific punishments.

“He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
Psalm 103: 10-12 NKJV

Halleluiah. Amen.

~Be sure to visit Cecilia’s wonderful site, Out of the Closet into the Light.

With this post, I’m taking part in In Other Words of the site Writing Canvas, which is hosted today by Debbie on her blog Heart Choices. Here is the quote used for this post...

“I must make a conscious, deliberate,daily choice to sit at His feet,to listen to His Word, to receive His love,to let Him change me,and to pour out my heart’s devotion to Him.When I get into His presence,the whole world looks different."A Place of Quiet Rest by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

Oh, to be in the audience of the King of heaven and earth! To be in His presence to worship Him!

Do you cringe or smile when you think of sitting at the feet of the Creator of the universe?

Where do you go when your heart is aching, when the world comes crashing down on your shoulders, when storms hit and there isn’t much you can do? Do you immediately seek the advice of a friend, or do you seek the Best Friend of all?

If you seek the feet of Jesus, what will you find?

*at His feet...
...you are received, never rejected

*at His feet...
...you are renewed

*at His feet...
...you are respected

*at His feet...
...you are reassured

*at His feet...
...you are rejoiced over

*at His feet...
...you realize His forgiveness

*at His feet...
...you are rewarded with His presence

*at His feet...
...you reap more than you can imagine

*at His feet...
...you receive comfort in your pain and sorrow, peace in your unrest, provisions for your lack, and all the other answers to your prayers.

Are we willing to lay it all down at His feet? Will we be as the rich young ruler or as Abraham? Will we leave all our burdens with Him or pick them back up again?

When we sit at the feet of Jesus, do we...

*...praise Him for Who He is?
*...sit silently at His feet, just to be near Him?
*...tell Him of our unreserved confidence in Him that He will always fulfill His promises?
*...tell Him of our tender love for Him or continually question Him as to why things are happening?
*...follow after Him seeking something from Him as the multitudes did, or do we lean upon His breast as John the beloved did, just to be near Him?
*...sit at His feet to serve Him in worship by pouring out our thanks and our tears of joy as precious, fragrant oil upon His feet as the woman who came while Jesus reclined at the table?

Have we limped in our obedience to God? Staggered in our love? Halted in our service? Ceased our worship of Him in order to prostrate ourselves at the feet of something else?

Lots of questions to ponder, aren’t there?

The Still Small Voice has no destination if there is no listening ear! It only costs us our time to listen but it costs us our quality of life not to listen!

Those drawing near to the Redeemer’s feet will find His grace, acceptance, and sufficiency for their needs. Never turning us away, He will always accept us, just as we are.
“You will show me the way of life,granting me the joy of Your presenceand the pleasures of living with You forever.”(Ps. 16:11 NLT)

~~Lord, may I sit adoringly at Your precious feet just to be near You, to seek Your Presence rather than Your hand.~~



Writing Canvas

Sydney is a Blue Healer, maybe even a mix of sorts. Rather hard to tell. She has brown eyes and mostly black hair, some spots are mottled with white.

She likes to stay very near us, practically clinging to our feet when one of us goes into another room, even the bathroom.

Sydney is a good dog, actually very obedient. She does drive me nuts sometimes by trying to outsmart me and see if she can get a treat, acting like she wants to go out. Sometimes, she wants out just to come back in for a treat. You see, we give her a treat if she doesn’t bark. She doesn’t always get one!

But she has one bad habit...

...she loves to get in the garbage and tear up used tissues! I don’t think she eats them, just tears them up.

If we point to the tissues and ask her, “What’s this, Sydney?” or “Who did this?” we get a hilarious response...

...she turns her head to ignore her wrongdoing. She’ll turn completely around and look in the opposite direction, as if to say, “Who me? I don’t see anything!”

Oh, my! Don’t we behave the same way with God?

Obedient, yet sometimes, when the Lord points out some bad habit or wrongdoing, we turn the other way as if to say, “Who me? I didn’t do anything!”

Recognition

Because David desired to be rid of those sins prowling around in his heart that might escape his attention, he said to God, “But how can I ever know what sins are lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.” (Ps. 19:12 TLB)

Do we recognize our wrongdoing?

Remorse

After committing a sin, are we in anguish only that we got caught and now have to face the consequences or that we have wounded the heart of the Father?

Do we even blush? God said of the Israelites to Jeremiah, “Are they ashamed when they do these disgusting things? No, not at all—they don’t even blush!” (Jer. 6:15 NLT)

Do we say to the Father, “I am deeply sorry for what I have done” (Ps. 38:18 NLT)?

Repentance

So, how long does it take you to confess a sin? Thirty seconds? Thirty minutes? Thirty days? Or thirty years? The moment you know you have done something against God’s Word, do you confess it only to rush out the door to do it again? Where is repentance?

The proof of the pudding, so to speak, of repentance is, as Jesus said to the Pharisees, to “Bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance [let your lives prove your change of heart].” (Matt. 3:8 Amp)

Removal of Sin

It is by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross that “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Eph. 1:7a NKJV)

When God forgives our sins, He removes them “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us,” (Ps. 103:12 NKJV) tossing them “into the depths of the ocean,” (Micah 7:19b TLB) never to emerge.

He forgives and forgets our sins. The only memory of them is in our own minds, not God’s! God dumps our sins into the great abyss but we’re the ones with the fishing poles!

Repercussions

After we succumb to one of the enemy’s pretty packages of temptation, what is the aftermath? What do we forfeit? Our peace, our joy, our relationships with others, answers to our prayers, and even our fellowship with the Lord.

Consequences are attached to sin. God does not wave a magic wand over our sins to make the repercussions disappear. However, as Jesus took the punishment of sin for us, Paul said, “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” (Rom 5:20 NKJV)

Restoration Afterwards

God gives us a sure-fire-get-back-into-fellowship guarantee, “And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.” (Rom. 5:9 NLT)

Pursuing our own ways takes us on a detour away from Home. However, the Father always anxiously watches for our return and welcomes us back with open arms.

Rejoicing in Restoration

Isaiah said in the Old Testament, “I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For He has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.” (Is. 61:10 NLT)

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice for the forgiveness and cleansing of our sins, we rejoice and are able to say, “Thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 15:57 Amp) Amen!

Are you ignoring your sin or are you happy dancing in the victory of your forgiveness and restoration?



**This is part of Peter Pollock's One Word at a Time Blog Carnival

Standing at a distance, she gazed at the man’s crucified body, dying on a cross, as her heart pounded in agony. Deep sobs heaved her chest. Her knees began to buckle.

What brought her to the cross? A mother’s love. For this was Mary’s son, dying for the world.

John the disciple, who had leaned upon this Divine Man so many times, stood with Mary, in utter dismay.

What brought him to the cross? Genuine love and deep gratitude.

With John and Mary stood Mary Magdalene, trembling. Tears of grief streamed down her cheeks.

What brought her to the cross? Love, for the forgiveness of the sins in her life, for scripture says, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.” (Luke 7:47a NKJV)

Kneeling on the ground at the foot of this Man’s cross, the soldiers cast lots for His tunic.

What brought them to the cross? Their duty. And now their greed.

Two thieves hung on either side of this cross.

What brought them to the cross? Violation of the law.

Simon the Cyrenian was there.

What brought him to the cross? Bearing the burden of the cross to the hill of sacrifice.

The multitude gathered, murmuring to each other.

What brought them to the cross? Anger. Belittlement. Wonderment. Doubting.

The chief priests stood with the scribes, poised in pride and defiance.

What brought them to the cross? To mock Him, thinking it all utter foolishness.

What did all these have in common? They all needed the very thing for which this Man Jesus was dying on the cross: Salvation and the forgiveness of their sins.

Some accepted it; some rejected it. Paul later wrote to the Corinthians, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor. 1:18 NIV)

What brings you to the cross? Love? Gratitude? Grief? Duty? Violation of God’s Law? Bearing a burden? Anger? Belittlement? Wonderment? Doubt? Pride? Defiance? Mocking?

Do you come weeping in pain, sorrow, or loss? Emptied of hopes and dreams? Feeling lost in your circumstances?

Without the cross, there would be no Garden of Easter Gladness…to lift you up, to wipe away your tears, to remove your grave clothes of fear and depression.

Walk that trail from the cross to Easter’s Garden of resurrection. See your Saviour Jesus standing there, waiting for you.

He compassionately whispers your name and says, “Do not wear the grave-clothes stained with the tears of grief. Come into My garden of beauty and I will give you the robe of Easter’s resurrection gladness. Take My Hand and let Me lead you along the path to life everlasting. I will never leave you nor forsake you. I gave My life that you might live eternally with Me.”

Jesus always brings us hope of resurrection as on that first Easter morn. He says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 NKJV)

Do you believe this? If so, weep no more. May you experience the salvation and forgiveness of the cross, the power of the resurrection, and embrace the risen life in a new way this Easter season.

What brings you to the cross? May it be...Genuine Love.



~~This is part of FaithfulBloggers.com for their writing project The Death, Burial, and Resurrection.

“Forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.”(Matt. 6:12 Received Greek Text)

(This is the sixth segment in the The Model Prayer series.)

“Forgive me.” How many times have I asked the Lord that? Bazillions!

Forgive. In Greek, the word used here primarily means to send forth or away. Or to remit, being completely cancelled, and to let go, give up.

The Greek word for debts means that which is legally due, as sin as a debt demanding atonement, something owed, or a fault.

As means even as, like as, according as, or in the same manner as.

Debtors is defined as one who owes anything to another (primarily in regard to money), one held by some obligation, bound to some duty, or one who has not yet made amends to one whom he has injured.

When a violation of God’s Word occurs, an atonement is necessary. In the Old Testament, God appointed sacrifices to be offered to atone for a person’s sins, but it had to be an offering of the heart.

God said to Judah, “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me [unless they are the offering of the heart]?” (Is. 1:11 Amp) Whatever the gift, the heart had to accompany it; otherwise, God rejected the gift, “Who wants your sacrifices when you have no sorrow for your sins?...I want nothing more to do with them.” (Is. 1:12a,13b TLB)

The OT sacrifice was merely a temporary substitution until Jesus offered the ultimate and eternal sacrifice, paying the penalty for all sins. As Jesus told the disciples at the Last Supper, the wine represented His “blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matt. 26:28 NKJV)

This is eternal debt cancellation. However, cancellation does not mean consequences for our wrong decisions no longer exist. Discipline still remains in place.

Do we ask others to forgive us when we hurt them, not kept our word, or sinned against them in some other way? What of those who have done or do the same to us? Are we ready to forgive them? God forgives us in the same manner that we forgive others. Have you ever asked the Lord if there’s anyone whom you have forgotten to forgive?

Peter once asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered him, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matt. 18:21-22 NIV)

Then, Jesus told the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in which the servant who had begged forgiveness of his large debt from his master turned around and demanded payment from his fellow servant. The fellow servant begged forgiveness for his small amount but was unsuccessful. The servant refused and had his fellow servant thrown in jail.

When the master heard of what the servant had done, he “turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.” (Matt. 18:34 NIV)

And here’s the part we like to ignore: Jesus finished the parable by saying, “This is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matt. 18:35 NIV) Whoa!

Yes, some offenses against us are extremely difficult to forgive. Do you have any like that in your life? Are you willing to forgive? If not, have you asked the Lord to help you be willing to be willing to forgive? Do you want the Lord to forgive you? Then, you know what you have to do.

Besides asking forgiveness of our sins, we forget to seek forgiveness in one other area. Just as in the parable, we have financial debts, those things that are owed. As stewards of all the Lord allows in our lives, do we need to ask His forgiveness for mishandling it?

Though written to the Roman church, Paul’s words ring true for us today: “Pay all your debts except the debt of love for others - never finish paying that! For if you love them, you will be obeying all of God’s laws, fulfilling all His requirements.” (Rom. 13:8 TLB)

He also wrote to the Colossians, “Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” (Col. 3:12-13 NLT)

Lord, “Forgive us what we owe to You, as we have also forgiven those who owe anything to us.” (Phillips)

Forgive? How can I forgive the one who…

* sabotaged my husband’s business.
* introduced my child to drugs or alcohol.
* stole my identity, leaving me with a financial mess.
* abused me sexually as a child or did so to my child.
* kidnapped my child and sold him/her for sex trafficking.
* lured my teenager from the internet into running away.
* drove down the wrong side of the expressway at night in a drunken stupor and killed my whole family.

Maybe none of this has happened to you. So, do you forgive…

* your husband for having an affair?
* your best friend who lied about you?
* your mother-in-law who has never said a kind word to you or about you?

First and foremost, God forgives us…

The Word tells us that, in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Eph. 1:7a NKJV) That precious pouring out of His blood is as a veil of disappearance, leaving no trace of whatever we put under it.

When God forgives our sins, He removes them “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us,” (Ps. 103:12 NKJV) tossing them “into the depths of the ocean,” (Micah 7:19b TLB) never to emerge.

We forgive others…

We forget that forgiveness of others is not optional. No right relationship with God can prevail apart from forgiveness of others.

Jesus declared this in His Sermon on the Mount, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matt. 6:14-15 NLT)

He said that when one prays to first “forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” (Mark 11:25 NLT) Not forgiving or holding a grudge, as the saying goes, is like taking poison in the hope that the other person will die.

Forgiveness is a choice of the heart. So, if we don’t first forgive others, what are the consequences? If we do not forgive others, we destroy our flow of intimacy with the Lord and also hinder our prayers. The Bible says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” (Ps. 66:18 NKJV)

We ask others to forgive us…

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” (Matt. 5:23-24 NIV)

Leonardo daVinci learned a great lesson in forgiveness. While painting the Last Supper, daVinci had a bitter falling out with his assistant, who started it all because he had some burr under his saddle against daVinci. As daVinci painted the faces of the disciples, he came to the face of Judas and spitefully painted the face of his assistant.

When daVinci came to the last face to be painted, which was Jesus, he drew a blank. He could not put a face on Jesus. Then, God spoke to him and told him he must forgive his assistant. So daVinci went to him, crying and begging the man’s forgiveness. The assistant complied.

When daVinci removed the face of the assistant from Judas, he was then able to paint Jesus, for he clearly saw His face.

We forgive ourselves…

If God has forgiven us and forgotten our disobedience, then we cannot hang onto unforgiveness of ourselves. Since God keeps no catalog of past accounts, He has no eternal archive; therefore, we should not either. The only memory of it, then, is in our own minds, not God’s!

Do you have angry, old bones hidden away in the closet of your heart?

* How long does it take for you to forgive a hurt?
* How long will you be separated from the face of Jesus?
* How long does it take for you to ask another to forgive you?
* Do you cling to unforgiveness, victimizing myself as a form of self-abuse?
* Have you forgiven everyone of everything, or do you drag the unforgiveness of your past behind you in a little red wagon or maybe in a U-haul?

If our sins nailed Jesus’ hands and feet to the cross for our forgiveness, then why do we hold a grudge, offense, or unforgiveness in our hearts against our brother or sister, who has also been forgiven?

Lord, “forgive [me of my] sins, just as [I] have forgiven those who have sinned against [me].” (Matt. 6:12 NCV) And when I find it difficult to forgive, help me to be willing to forgive. As David said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart…See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Ps. 139:23a, 24 NIV)

Is forgiveness the choice of your heart?

~~Blessings, Lynn~~