The Choice to Forgive!

Matthew 18:21-22: (21) Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? (22) Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."

         When someone hurts me or my family, my first intial responce is to hurt them back. I know that is not the way Jesus would respond but it is the honest first thing that comes to my mind.
          So what do we do then? What is the proper responce? Forgive and forget.
          That is exactly what Jesus did when Peter denied knowing him. Not only did Peter deny knowing Jesus, but he did it three times. Jesus predicited he would do this. (Luke 22:34) It was actually three days later, after Jesus died and rose again, that Jesus reconciled himself to Peter. (John 21:15-19)
          And Jesus forgives Peter with such ease. Jesus never mentions Peter's denying him. Not one time.
I can't say the same when someone hurts me. It is so easy with my sinful nature to bring up past accusations.
I have a boxing buddy who is a very close friend of mine. I have ran out of fingers and toes to count how many times he has hurt me. There were times that he hurt me so bad, that he could never hurt like that in the ring. Trust me when I say that being hurt and betrayed emotionally, hurts more than physical. But I have forgiven him each time. That's what I'm suppsoed to do. See Matthew 18:21-22 again.
        The important thing  is that I have learned through the love that Jesus showed for me by dying on the cross for my sins how important it is to forgive someone who hurts me. This is something that I always have to keep in the front of my mind,especially if I make the mistake of hurting someone else.
        The question I have for you is this...Is there someone out there that is looking for your forgiveness, or vice versa?
        I pray that God will heal all friendship and relationships that are in need of healing. I know that is a pretty big prayer,but God can do anything.
        God Bless everyone.
        
      
 

Betrayal

Luke 22:47-48
47While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him.48But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss ?"
Betrayal-to disappoint the hopes or expectations of;be disloyal to;to betray one's friends.-Dictionary.com      To betray someone's trust is a hurtful thing. So hurtful that one might not ever recover from the pain caused. I have been the victim of betrayal more than a few times, and I have betrayed people close to me on more than a few occasions. It is not something that I am proud of.       Jesus faced the ultimate betrayal from his disciples-Judas and Peter in particular.      Judas' betrayal led to Jesus dying on the cross for all mankind.Luke 22:34- Jesus answered,"I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me."     After Jesus was arrested at the hands of Judas, his prediction of Peter's denial came true. Then Peter remembered what Jesus said about him denying knowing him and (Luke 22:62) "he went outside and wept bitterly."   I remember those that I have hurt.    I remember the pain that I caused them.   I remember seeing the tears that they cried and the anger that they showed me.   And most of all, I remember the pain that I felt after realizing the extent of the hurt that I caused them.   I went to those people and asked for forgiveness. Some forgave. Some refused. I also sought GOD's forgiveness.   I am so thankful and greatful that GOD forgives me when I make mistakes or when I have hurt people.  I do my very best not to hurt people but treat everyone the way I would want to be treated.  I've made a lot of mistakes and I do my best to learn from them.  Thank you, God for your grace and mercy that you show me each and everyday.
  
      

Where Have I Been?

Where have I been?
It has been over 2 months since my last blog post.
What have I been up to in that time?
I have gone on a Family Mission trip with the church to New Orleans, began teaching 5th and 6th graders on Wednesday nights and have taken up the challenge of mentoring my family, which has proven to be a real challenge.
  The question that I need to stop and ask is Where is Jesus in all of this?
   A couple other questions come to my mind as well:
   1)Is Jesus the one that motivates all that i do?
   2)Is Jesus the driving force in my life?
  Paul says in Philippians 2:5 that "your attitude should be that of Christ Jesus. I look  back at some of the things that God has had me going through  and check to see if my attitudes have matched those of Jesus.
Sometimes I think they are and sometimes i know they are not anything close to that of Jesus.
  In Matthew 11:29, Jesus says to "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
  I am learning that if I look to Jesus for direction that if I "ask where the good way is, and walk in it, then I will find rest for my soul"-Jeremiah 6:16.
 I also know that when I don't follow Jesus, when I don't focus all that I am, that is when things start to fall apart.