I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. (Psalm 40:1–2) When I mention the name […]
Read MoreCategory Archives: Forgiveness
Mutual Concern
“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three […]
Read MoreContradictory Truths, Part One
Tom Landry, the late head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, was once quoted as saying something like this: “I have a job to do that is not very complicated, but it is often difficult: to get a group of men to do what they don’t want to do so they can achieve the one thing they have wanted all their lives.” Coach Landry, in that seemingly contradictory statement, described what discipline is all about . . .
Read MoreThe Fine Art of Blowing It
It happens to every one of us. Teachers as well as students. Cops as well as criminals. Bosses as well as secretaries. Parents as well as kids. The diligent as well as the lazy. Not even presidents are immune. Or corporation heads who earn six-figure salaries. The same is true of well-meaning architects and hard-working builders and clear-thinking engineers . . . not to mention pro ball players, politicians, and preachers.
Read MoreDetermination
I love the apostle Paul’s attitude revealed in his words: “I press on toward the goal” (Philippians 3:14). Those men and women who refuse to get bogged down in and anchored to the past are those who pursue the objectives of the future.
Read MoreResentment
Leo Held was a paragon of respectability. He was a middle-aged, hard-working lab technician who had worked at the same Pennsylvania paper mill for nineteen years. Having been a Boy Scout leader, an affectionate father, a member of the local fire brigade, and a regular church-goer, he was admired as a model in his community. Until . . .
Read MoreThe Pain of Resentment
LEONARD WAS A PARAGON OF RESPECTABILITY. The middle-aged, hardworking lab technician had worked at the same Pennsylvania paper mill for nineteen years. Having been a Boy Scout leader, an affectionate father, a member of the local fire brigade, and a regular churchgoer, he was admired as a model in his community. Until Leonard decided to mount a one-man revolt against the world he inwardly resented.
Read MoreTwo Questions
Comparing the acts of forgiving and forgetting, I think forgetting is the tougher assignment. Why? Because forgetting is something shared with no other person. It’s a solo flight.
Read MoreWhen God Forgives
TRUTH BE TOLD, it’s God’s forgiveness of us that makes it possible for us to forgive others. Jesus Christ paid in full the penalty for our sin. God’s wrath was expressed against Him—the One who took our place. God was therefore satisfied in His Son’s sacrifice . . . allowing all who would turn, in faith, to the Savior to be totally forgiven. Christ’s blood washed away our sin.
Read MoreThe Power of Forgiveness
LATE ONE SPRING AARON, a seminary student, was asking God for a position at a church or at a Christian organization. When nothing happened, Aaron took a job driving a bus in a dangerous section of Chicago. Soon Aaron realized just how dangerous. A group of tough kids began to take advantage of the young driver.
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