All posts by ljmonson

Devotions, Forgiveness, Life, Parable, Personal, Ramblings

Forgive and forget

Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

———————————

The electricity was out for a while this early morning.  No coffee, no heat, no internet, and no TV. When it came back on I heard the wistful and melodious words of my wife, “Thank God.” Emotions pointed at the supplier of our power were not that good when all went black.  But the moment it returned, attitudes changed. All was forgiven.

Why does God care so much as to forgive me for all the dumb decisions, willful acts, nurtured bad habits, and purposeful neglect? Why would the personified perfection of God desire to have such a flawed, imperfect person like me be a part of His family? Why would God want to call me “beloved”, “child”, or even “heir”? We are saved to save. WE ARE FORGIVEN TO FORGIVE. It is the greatest Godly act we can do. Forgiveness is love acting out. It is not keeping records of wrongs. Forgiveness is being kind when wronged. Forgiveness does not dishonor. Forgiveness is not self-seeking. It is love.

#

Devotions, Life, Mercy, Ministry, Personal

Concern

Acts 7:59-60 “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.”

———————————

As the stones of unrighteous indignation were being thrown, Stephen knew that Christ was the Judge and not the crowd of hurlers. He knew that in just moments he would be standing in Christ’s presence. His prayer was not, “forgive me for the life I have lived” but “Forgive those who sin against me.” Stephen did not ask for forgiveness for himself. He was not thinking about the judgment that he was going to meet so soon. Stephen was forgiven before the first stone hit his brow. He had no fear about judgment for himself, and so when the last stone struck, the desire of his heart and mind was for those who were hurtling stones and breaking his body. Without hesitancy, Steven’s focus was not on the stones and pain, but on his persecutors. I am closer than most to my earthly end, but I do not fret about it. Like Steven, I am now more concerned about you.

Assurance, Devotions, Parable, Ramblings

All I needed was already there!

February 17: Psalm 51:1 “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.”

——————————-

It was a family decision to take the old 4WD International Scout up the mountain to cut a fresh Christmas tree. Up with seemingly hundreds of others, we pushed through the snow-covered roads to the designated place. We cut the tree and tied it to the roof and set off home. Then the right front wheel fell off! It seems all the nuts holding it on had become loose and finally, the last one gave up and we came to an abrupt stop. I needed help, I needed abundant mercy, and I needed at least four undamaged lug nuts. I tried to solicit other travelers on that road to give up one of these valuable restraining nuts. Finally, a mechanic stopped and simply encouraged me to take one nut off each of my other tires. What a concept!

In the early church, the saved encouraged others to show compassion, to daily inspire others to love one another and to forgive one another. By the way, if you have a spare lug nut, share it with one who needs it.

Culture, Devotions, Forgiveness, Justice

Who will remember in ten years?

2 Corinthians 2:5-8 “If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.”

————————————–

There must be some point in a broken relationship where it is enough. A place and a time where healing is more important than grief. A place and time to make amends, a place where we can be set free from the tyranny of past mistakes. To perceive a time as an opportunity to learn. No one is immune to hurts inflicted. They are a part of you, but not meant to torment you. If I have hurt you, I need your forgiveness. You may judge and pass on continual condemnation and that is your problem. I will grow from my mistakes. Those bound by the lack of forgiveness for others are not healed but are eaten by their own attitudes. I will keep on keeping on. I will take the lessons of forgiveness to heart, not the hurt. Ten years from now it will hardly matter, and few will remember it anyway.

Devotions, Life, Mercy, Motivation

Between the signposts!

Ephesians 3:19 “To know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

———————————–

Idaho was once called my home. Orofino small town just big enough to have two grocery stores and one stop light. It was not the end of the world but if you looked hard enough, you could see it from there. It was once a place of prosperity and zest.  Timber was the primary resource of commerce. But the trees were harder and harder to extract because the easy stuff was gone.

Our spiritual journeys may well be described in the same manner. Our earthly Christian life begins with forgiveness and a new life and will end when we move out of our earthly world. Boom and eventually an end. A rich and full life is available to all who believe. Forgiveness for that which has gone behind provides for a Godly life. God desires to give us a marvelous beginning with forgiveness and salvation and a great ending in Glory. And for now, in this new life, I am discovering a new abundant life in between the two signposts.

Devotions, Life, Ramblings

Enough for today!

Matthew 6:23 “Jesus said. ‘Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself, each day has enough trouble of its own.’”

————————————

There is nothing wrong with planning for the future. Looking forward to a new experience, and planning a task list for today and for tomorrow are both good things. But there is a danger if we are worrying so much about a coming rainy day to miss the good weather. There are only two days to savor each week. Two days fill my heart with joy and expectation. The first of these days is tomorrow because it has not yet come and is filled with hope and anticipation. The second of these days is today because it is the only day we have to in. I will live in it by making every moment count and forgiving and moving on. All the rest of the days are already gone. There is nothing we can do but live in the grace and mercy of our Lord. The Lord is in my today and that is good enough.

Devotions, Justice, Life, Motivation, Preaching

Parable of the Rock

Colossians 1:13-14 “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

——————————————————-

I cannot change the past. It is a stone that is simply too large to move. It is the immovable object trailing along behind held by ropes to my inner well-being. It constrains my self-image. It impedes whatever progress I think I am making in all my relationships. I scratch and pull and yank and sometimes I simply try to ignore the weight constantly restricting me. I get so tired of the strain, I stop and think, “my place, my current position good enough”. But the weight continually increases until the shadow of that immense rock shades everything I do. I toil in a tethered country of struggle. The stone becomes the hallmark of the dominion in which I live. But there is a solution to the darkness, to the weight that so easily restrains my progress. A solution that does not include darkness, struggle, or immobility. The solution is forgiveness and the severing of the bonds that would impede my headway. The solution which opens to me a new kingdom. Bliss and progress are now my paths.

Devotions, Life, Mercy, Motivation, Personal, Theology

No looking back

1 John 1:9  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

————————————

Occasionally I receive remarks and comments on my writing.  Not too long ago, I was called up short by a comment on the harshness of God’s view of man. God does see his creation as flawed and corrupted, and this willfulness on our part separates us from Him. Further, I understand how God has interacted with and often tested his people.  The result of this testing has been mostly repeated failures.  It is terrible to fall into an angry God’s hands.  It is a terrible state of mind to only think of yourself as constantly unworthy. Conviction of my state is the first step to understanding my need to be forgiven. A need to experience God’s mercy and grace. Everyone, including me, has corrupted the image of God in which we were created. This feeling of being less than expected or even unworthy should point to something more than dwelling in the slough of self-loathing.

I am saved by grace.  I am forgiven of my multitude of flaws.  I have felt the mercy of God upon my face.  I walk boldly in the calm, sweet, renewed path set before me, and I don’t look back.

Bible, Bible Study, Devotions

Fellow miners

2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

—————————————-

No more shortcuts to the decisions of my life. I will do my best to understand the weighty matters of my world.  It is my job to understand.  I must make well-thought-out and knowledgeable assessments of what is before me every day. My daily life starts with coffee and writing.  Sometimes, this combination results in deep and provocative ideas.  At other times it is just stating the obvious.

Most of my epistles are from my daily research of God’s Word and come with the satisfaction of personal understanding. The Bible has been studied, dissected, clarified, commented on, taught, defended, and remarked upon by smarter Saints than I. With the availability of so much information, it is easier to accept someone else’s opinion or conclusion than to make my own. The desperate need today is not for more intelligence or more of the gifted. I do not need those who would speak and write with great eloquence to make my case for me.  I need to write what is revealed to me. I will not be satisfied by the status quo or take anything at face value. I dig deep that I am not ashamed. I dig deep so that I may handle God’s revelation might be imprinted upon my heart. Please don’t take my word for it, don’t let others tell you the code of scripture, dig for yourself.

Church, Culture, Devotions

Change is not always comfortable

Romans 12:2 “Don’t be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your very being, and that will prove the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.”

—————————————–

The church has been a large part of my life for over 50 years. The perfected sameness of three hymns, an offering, and forty minutes of Bible-centered preaching all concluding with an opportunity to find peace was the formula of the Church. But that idealistic church has changed.

The change in climate in the church has slowly and almost imperceptibly shifted itself into something different. Can you feel it? Much like a grand ship not going fast enough in a headwind, the church seems to be drifting. In response to the secular, the church is no longer a place of forgiveness for sinful people, but a place of feeling good about ourselves. Instead of being a place where grace and mercy were to be found, it has slowly, imperceptibly, and almost without notice, drifted by culture.  It has changed from changing people to meet God’s expectations to “can’t we just get along.” The church I knew was a place of commitment, resilience, and sacrifice. It was a place of finding the will of God and following that will.  It has become a place of social gathering in the hope some of the holy stuff may rub off on them. Social justice is not Biblical justice.

Then again it might be my age. Yet I find myself humming the song, “Give me that old-time religion.”