Forgiveness is the key which unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness. The forgiveness of Jesus not only takes away our sins, it makes them as if they had never been.
~Corrie ten Boom 

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
~ The Encourager, in Hebrews 12

Oh beloved, it is true.

There is one thing that us formerly lost boys can never afford. Oh, His grace is amazing! He can (and has) pull(ed) us out of messes that were so thick, we can barely tell the story. But, there is something that is worse than the stuff we used to drink, or smoke, or put into our eyes or veins.

Bitterness.

And no, I am not talking about the pain that may come from hard work, or from the loss of a friend (and oh G_d!, we have been losing too many of those.). I am not talking about the disappointment from coming up short in a tough competition. Nor am I talking about all the other things that can hurt us in life.

Bitterness is a different thing altogether, and much more dangerous.

Bitterness is the rage we let grow when someone wrongs us, rather than turning the other cheek.

Bitterness is the web of fear we weave within our own souls, when G_d has forbade such a behavior.

Bitterness is the permission we seek to give ourselves to give into a dangerous behavior, even when we know it is going to kill us.

Bitterness is allowing ourselves to stay in our own hurt, so we can keep trying to fix our own problems.

Bitterness is the chains of unforgiveness we bind about our own heart.

Bitterness is the unwillingness to believe that Jesus will take us through the darkest of spaces.

Can we see it?

Bitterness is not something that happens to us. Bitterness is something that I grow within myself. And, it cannot grow unless I tend the noxious weed. This is why we see the need for what is called for at the beginning of Hebrews 12. The Solution is clear. I must (absolutely must) look away from the waves of my circumstances, and the pain within my flesh. I must (absolutely must) look to Jesus for any of this to work.

Yes, my life might be swinging around like crazy. But the undulations of my cycles of failure will only get worse if I keep spinning around myself and other people. However, in looking to Jesus and attaching my hope to Him, He becomes an anchor to the pendulum of my life…. So, even if things get really crazy (and they will), I will always come back to center on Him.

So, are you enduring the painful discipline of life? G_d is not trying to hurt you. He is trying to prove that you can make it through ever more difficult trials. But it will only work if you refuse the bitterness that will always grow within, and look to Him.

Tonight is your night, beloved. Time to look outside yourself and refuse that temptation to bitterness.

Written by Makala Doulos: Makala Doulos is a child of G_d, a husband to his wife, a father to his children, and a teacher to his students. But mostly, he is a prisoner set free by Jesus. Love has invaded his life, crushed it, and made it new. Now, G_d’s Love is what constrains him to live in full surrender to the freedom The Father and Son and Holy Spirit have bought for us all. Grace and Peace to you all.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 131-133| You can download our 2017 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Daily Quote: There is one source of power that is stronger than every disappointment, bitterness or ingrained mistrust, and that power is Jesus Christ, who brought forgiveness and reconciliation to the world.
~Karol Józef Wojtyła

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7

 

“For most of us, the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them.”  ~ Ortberg

Consider when most trouble comes… is it not when we are distracted or our guard is down? A rising cause of injury is people distracted by their phones… have you seen the stories of those walking into things, falling in stairways or holes, or getting into accidents all becomes they were distracted?

Sometimes our problem is not that we are distracted, but that we are focused on too many things. Seneca writes, “To be everywhere is to be nowhere.”  We cannot ‘effectively’ focus on multiple fronts. Or, how about focusing on the wrong things? When we choose to allow our focus to be on things of minor, or of no importance, we make a choice to miss the mark of the principle objective and purpose of our lives.

Jesus tells the story of several young ladies waiting for the coming of the bridegroom; five were focused on their objective and prepared for the wait by having appropriate supplies. The other five, distracted by lesser things, did not make good choices. At midnight when the Bridegroom arrived, those who had prepared by making wise choices were ready and where chosen, while the foolish young ladies were anxiously grasping for provisions for the trip and missed out.

Even in his naturalistic mindset, Aristotle referred to mans finding contentment as Eudemian which focused on virtue as the way to man reaching his purpose. The cardinal virtues by which this was achieved are discernment, self control, justice, and courage.  The basic principle necessary for these virtues to function is wisdom, or more simply, by what standard do you discern what is right and how to control yourself. You cannot just make these up, they must be principles that are consistent with reality and life’s design… or you will find yourself frustrated because you were focused on the wrong things. It doesn’t matter how just or courageous you are if you are operating by the wrong standard that is against design. The outcome of your choice, just like the foolish young ladies, will be chaos and loss.

Paul tells us… if you want to know a peace and contentment (eudemian) that surpasses all comprehension, and will guard your heart and mind, then focus on, “…whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].” (Phil 4:8)

Being distracted by lesser things is what breeds troubles. Aligning yourself with what is true, or that which corresponds with reality, and what is right… regardless of its consequences, will always end in peace, contentment, and the joy found in the presence of our Heavenly Father, and His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Choose wisely…

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

(Philippians 4:7)

Praying U choose Christ today

Written by David Brown: David Brown is a husband, father, and grandfather with a Masters of Religious Studies and a Professor of Philosophy and Comparative Religions. Dave is a member of Pemberton’s First Baptist Church.

The Daily Bible Reading: Ezra 6-10| You can download our 2017 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Daily Quote: “A man is hindered and distracted in proportion as he draws outward things to himself.” – Thomas a Kempis

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7

 

Good morning on this new week of Freedom Fighter blogs. We are so thankful that you are tracking with us.

I have shared things with you from Dr. Paul David Tripp’s devotional, NEW MORNING MERCIES. This was just too good to pass up. I DID NOT WRITE THIS!!!

One of the themes of this devotional is that biblical faith never requires that you deny reality. If you have to turn your back on what is real and true in order to have some temporary personal peace, you may feel better, but what you’re exercising is not the faith of the Bible. This realism applies to the sin that still remains in you and is being progressively eradicated by God’s powerful grace.

There is a great temptation to deny or at least to minimize our sin. However, you are never moving in a productive spiritual direction when, by self-atoning arguments, you make your sin look less like sin. You don’t protect the message of the gospel by denying your own spiritual struggles, and God surely doesn’t need you to defend his reputation by faking it.

This is not to say you should make your sin the focus of your meditation. It is simply a denial of the amazing grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ to treat yourself as an unworthy, impure, and incapable spiritual worm.

 You must not meditate on the judgment of God. You must not squirm at the thought of his presence. You must not allow yourself to wonder if he loves you. You must not see yourself as unworthy of his care. You must not work to measure up in his sight. You must not think that he acts more favorably to you when you are obedient than when you sin. You must not beat yourself up when you fail. You must not give yourself to acts of payment and penance after you have messed up in God’s eyes.

You must not envy the worthiness of the person next to you, as if he or she is more accepted by God because he or she is more spiritually mature than you. You must never run from God in fear as you think of the empirical evidence of remaining sin that you give every day.

What you and I must meditate on every day is the absolute perfection and completeness of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was perfect in his life, perfect in his death, and perfect in his resurrection. There is nothing we could ever think, desire, say, or do that could in any way add to the forgiveness and acceptance that we have received from God based on Christ’s work. You are perfect in the eyes of God because the perfect righteousness of Jesus has been attributed to your spiritual account. You are righteous before God even in those moments when what you are doing is not righteous.

You measure up in his eyes even on those days when you don’t measure up, because Jesus measured up on your behalf. Yes, you should acknowledge the sad reality of remaining sin, but you must not make that sin your meditation. Meditate on and celebrate the amazing grace that has completely changed your identity, potential, and destiny.

Wow! I trust this will encourage your heart today.

Rejoice, Pray! Give thanks!

Bill Welte
President/CEO of America’s Keswick

Written by Bill Welte, President/CEO of America’s Keswick: Bill has been married to his child sweetheart for 40+ years and has four married kids and 11 amazing grand kids. He loves music and is an avid reader.

The Daily Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 20-22| You can download our 2017 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Think About This: “While sin is still a sad and ever-present reality in each of our lives, it is simply no match for the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul David Tripp

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7