Forgiveness vs. Trust- John 8:10-11

When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?"11She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." John 8:10-11

Once I hurt my wife’s feelings really badly. Now I am not talking about an everyday “ouch”; I hurt her to the depths of her heart and soul.  I betrayed her trust and hurt her emotionally like no one else could (just so I am clear and people do not speculate I did not cheat on my wife nor did I hit her); it shook the foundation of our marriage.  I broke down in tears with deep regret once I realized how I had emotionally hurt her, and ask for her forgiveness.  She seeing my remorse quickly forgave me, but it took a long time before she could trust me concerning that matter.  There is a difference between forgiveness and trust. 

Forgiveness is a gift; the price for it is paid for by another.  Forgiveness is the laying aside of all debts and forms of restitution and punishment as no longer owed; the slate is wiped clean.  When true forgiveness is offered and accepted it is a new beginning.

Trust on the other hand is something that must be earned.  When trust is broken it must be won back over time with true vigilance, honesty and integrity.  Trust is not built over night (though it can be destroyed that way).  To be trusted (esp. after losing trust) you must go through the fire, being patient and using every moment to prove yourself worthy. It can be a painstaking process but trust is not something to be taken lightly.

To help you better understand the difference between forgiveness and trust I will leave you with this example that was shared with me: If my brother steals money from me I will forgive him. However, the next time he comes to my house I will not leave my wallet on the table.   Forgiveness is free to the receiver; trust must be diligently earned.

Have you broken trust? Are you truly repentant? Accept forgiveness and then seek to earn the trust back again. It will take time; be patient and diligent. Always remember that as a child of God will use our mistakes that we turn over to Him for good, no matter the severity of the sin (Rom. 8:28). 

Talking to a Friend- Exodus 33:11a

So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Exodus 33:11a (NKJV)

Often we treat God as if He is far away.  We feel like when we talk to Him we need to make sure we say the correct words and talk in the right manner.  While it is true we need to show God reverence, we need to remember that we are also to give our earthly fathers similar reverential respect. God does not want us to be cold in our prayers; He wants us to be forthcoming and intimate. We should remember that we are talking to our Father, and He is our friend.

When discussing prayer I often encourage people to talk to God like they would talk to their earthly best friend. Let your guard down, open your heart and be brutally honest.  If you are mad a God you might as well tell Him; He already knows.  Holding that in will only cause you to harbor those feelings in your heart, which can lead to hatred and spite. If you are honest with God, it opens the conversation for Him to be honest with you.  He is always right and you will have to eat some crow, but getting it in the open is the first step to fixing the issue.

God loves you with a fatherly passion that surpasses our capacity to love: unconditionally.  Just like a good earthly father, He desires to hear from you often.  God knows what is going on and He knows the thoughts and dealings of your heart, but He would really like to hear it from you.  He desires a close personal relationship with you, and He cares about you.  So do not be afraid to talk to Him, if you are off key with your conversation I assure you He will let you know. If you try to hide feelings and thoughts from God you will only stop Him from being able to fix the problem and cause your relationship to suffer. 

If you will read in the Bible you will find that the people who were the closest to God, were the ones who were the most honest with Him; if they hurt they told Him, if they did not like His way they told Him, if they thought He was being unfair they told Him, etc. They held nothing back in their relationship with God. 

I urge you to pour out your heart to God today. If you have been holding back hurt, anger, or anything else, get it out in the open with God. Tell Him exactly how you feel; do not be afraid, for He loves you. 

Praying Together – Acts 21:5

When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed. Acts 21:5

I love this verse; it describes such a beautiful picture of Christian love and fellowship.  They all followed them to the shore where they would depart, and they prayed together.  Not because of obligation or an empty “going through the motions”, but a true deep care and concern for one another. What a powerful example of fellowship and prayer.

In life we face many trials and it is easy to become discouraged.  There are few things as encouraging as having a fellow believer pray with you. It can be an overwhelming experience when you know that someone is lifting you up, right then and there to the almighty God of Heaven.  It is an even more moving when several people gather together in love and fellowship to pray for you and your ministry in Christ.

We know that as believers God hears our prayers and is moved with compassion toward us and our petitions; when we agree in prayer, mountains will be moved and lives changed forever. If we will humble ourselves, lay down our sins and pray, I firmly believe we will see “impossible” prayers answered. Many things are impossible with man, but with God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26). Prayer is simply direct communication with God; just remember it is a conversation, not a monologue: speak and listen!

When is the last time you stopped and prayed with someone?  There are few gifts as great as a personal prayer; you will find it will strengthen both the giver and receiver.  I challenge you to pray with someone today!

Step Away from the Line- James 1:14-15

14But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.15Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.  James 1:14-15 (NKJV)

My daughter has begun to test her limits. When I tell her not to touch something she will inch as close as she can without touching it.  Often enough the scenario ends with her getting into trouble; when you get that close to the line, you are bound to give in to the temptation.

Most of the time our sins start in the same way; we do not plan on sinning.  We know that sin is pleasurable (howbeit for a season; Heb. 11:25); so we get as close to it as we can in an attempt to reap part of its pleasure without the punishment. After all as long as we do not cross the line, we have not really done wrong. Right? We start to tease the line and before we know it we have crossed it; we usually end up neck deep in the sin by the time the pleasure starts to wear off and guilt and shame start to shine through.

Most people do not plan on having an affair; it usually starts with something innocent and progresses closer and closer to the line, until in the heat of passion: sin rears its ugly face as the line is crossed.  We err when we believe we are strong enough to get face-to-face with sin’s power of temptation, and then turn away.  We are a weak and we have within us a sin nature; we must stray as far as we can from sin, or we will certainly be snared by its trap.

How much sin could we avoid if we simply stopped trying to edge closer to the line? What if when we saw sin coming, we ran the other way?  We must realize that sin is not a toy or a game; sin is devastating and destructive.  Sin when fully matured will always bring forth one thing: death.

Will you stop teasing the line of sin?  Will you admit you are to weak to victoriously face sin?  Will you instead retreat to the arms of Christ?  We should never try to overcome temptation, we should run from it!