Love you all, praying for you,
I love patterns. A sequence of steps that bring a result. Some patterns bring good results, some patterns bring bad results. Life is patterns. Success is patterns... Whether the making of a McDonald's Cheeseburger, the release of a software product or phone app, the Super-Bowl winning touchdown play, the changing of a diaper, or the green, yellow, red pattern of a traffic light. I’m thankful for those. Patterns bring success or failure. Here’s an important one. The pattern of forgiveness. Something really bothered me recently. I was in my food pantry on my hands and knees, (uncomfortable to begin with) filling nail holes on recently installed baseboards, so they can be painted. Not as agile as I used to be, the lowest handing shelf frame – a metal head-crusher, refused to move when my head scraped against it. On my head in particular, being follicularly challenged, I don’t have a lot of protection, so the experience was quite painful, and before I could even process the pain response, a word came out of my mouth - that is inappropriate for use, unbecoming, incongruent with a follower of Christ. My wife was offended and left the room, I was disappointed, but there was nothing I could do to retrieve it. All I did was try to complete the project without making the same mistake. I later apologized to my wife, but now several days later, God is prompting me of a better response. There is a pattern that is critical in life and relationships. First with God, then with others. It’s the pattern of forgiveness - Truth, Confession, Repentance, Forgiveness, Restoration. As with all patterns, the sequence is important. Anytime you do something that’s wrong, it’s called sin, falling short of God’s nature, His character, His expectation, His requirement of holiness for those who belong to Him, and carry His Name. Sin damages relationships – it causes separation. And to remedy that separation a pattern is needed, a certain series of steps in order, the pattern of forgiveness. It starts with truth. Without truth confession cannot happen, without confession there can be no forgiveness and without forgiveness there can be no restoration to bring the relationship back to a healthy and growing state. What is truth? Conformity to fact or reality, veracity, purity from falsehood, correct opinion, honesty, the real state of things. I could deny that I did it. "I said ‘dangit’," or I could make excuses or justify it. Well anyone would do that if it happened to them, or it’s not that bad, many people do worse, or that so rarely happens, I hardly ever… All of these are natural, but not truth. Without accepting the truth in your heart, you won’t confess... what you did, and that what you did was wrong. Wrong choices always bring harm to God, to people, and relationships. You will either hide your sin or confess and forsake it. The truth is - I did do it, and God said blessing and cursing should not come out of the same mouth, how can this be? That action was inconsistent with my position, redeemed and righteous in Christ. Only by recognizing truth, can confession follow. Then, confession is needed! Without confession there can be no forgiveness. Praying that you will review the PRISM Topic Forgive – the life-changing Word of God. The first person whose forgiveness I need is God’s, then my wife, and perhaps any others who heard me. I don’t necessarily need to tell the whole world, but certainly those affected by my wrong choice and action. To Confess is to own, to acknowledge a fault, and to verbally declare what you did, and that it is wrong... and perhaps acknowledge the damage it caused, and the hurtful effect on another. Without truth and confession, you cannot receive forgiveness, and the restoration of the relationship cannot begin. So I went back and in truth and humility, confessed my offense before God and asked His forgiveness, then I went back to my wife, and followed the full pattern, not an excuse or avoidance, or an attempt to move past it, but a full ownership and confession. So while I can’t change the past, I can fully obey God, make it right, as best as I can. What the other person does, is up to them, but as far as it depends on me – I want to do what is right - before God and others. Praying that first your hair will remain, so you scrape your head less, but that no matter what happens in your life, you will always humble yourself, that you would live in truth, confess your sins - completely, and forsake them, seek forgiveness, and work towards restoration in your relationship with God, and others. That means what you did, you don't do again, you change your pattern of behavior so you honor God, and others, not fail them and disappoint them. So that God’s healing can come, so that His Name is made great in you, and His Grace can help you overcome the next time you have an opportunity to fail. Praise God. If we will confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sin, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness - That is one of my favorite patterns ever! Love you all, dad
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