Strive for Progress, Not Perfection

Kingdom International Ministries ^ | 1/20/2011 | Kingdom International Ministries

[Dallas59]

----- Forwarded Message ---- From: GODS VOICE Sent: Thu, January 20, 2011 12:41:50 PM Subject: Strive for Progress, Not Perfection

... It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you... Philippians 3:1NIV

Have you any idea how often the people you admire got it wrong, half right, almost right, before they got it right? Making mistakes is the unenjoyable, unavoidable part of making progress. That's why Paul said, '... It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.'(Philippians 3:1 NIV) He understood that you have to keep hearing and doing it in order to get it right.

Stop comparing yourself with others. The Bible says, '... When they measure themselves by themselves... they are not wise' (2 Corinthians 10:12 NIV). Some of us are given five talents, some two, and some one. Your talents, not your wishes, determine your potential. One-talent people who make the most of what they've been given receive the same 'well done' as five-talent people. The person who gets into trouble is the one who's afraid to take the risk; their biggest mistake is their unwillingness to make a mistake! Dr. John Maxwell says, 'Your performance depends on your commitment to practice. Consistently good practice leads to consistently good play. It sharpens you. Wise people understand this, and develop the discipline to do it.' If you want to sum up what lifts most successful individuals above the crowd, you could do it in these four words: a little bit more. Successful people do what's expected of them-plus a little bit more. So, the word for you today is-strive for progress, not perfection!

[Dallas59]

I get these in email from Facebook. Thought I would share.

[Carpe Cerevisi]

Matthew 5:48

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

[Dallas59]

How Can I Be Forgiven and Feel Forgiven?

" Forgive and forget" is how the old saying goes. But is it that simple? A boy who was dumped by his girlfriend, "She really hurt my feelings. How can I ever forgive her for what she did to me?" A girl whose father sexually abused her for years asks, "Why should I forgive him for that?"

The drug dealer who wants to turn his life around wonders, "Will God really forgive me for all I have done?"

A child whose mother gave him up for adoption as a child asks...Why would I ever forgive her for abandoning me? A person whose is grown but parents have said some things to them in their past asks, "They dont even know me, I hate what they have done to me why should I forgive them?"

A child whose parents called them stupid, dumb or says you will never amount to anything..asks..why should I forgive them or even talk to them? A woman who was in an abusive relationship asks.. that man used to beat me and hit me daily, how could I even begin to forgive him?

You put your question in here... for what you have not forgiven someone about.....

How do we forgive others who have wronged us? How do we accept God's forgiveness?

* The Real Need for Forgivenes

God hates sin; He cannot stand to look at its ugliness. Therefore un-confessed sin in our lives comes between us and damages our relationship with the Lord.

"Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, or his ear too dull to hear, but your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that He will not hear." Isaiah 59:1-2



Not only does unforgiveness come between us and God, it also breaks our relationship with others.

"He who covers over an offense promotes loves, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends." Proverbs 17:9

The reason why you need to begin to think about how and why you should forgive someone who has wronged you is not for that person but it is to free yourself. You are holding this grudge against a persn who may or may not even know what they have done to you. That person may have moved on with their life but you are here upset and angry with the choices that they have made.

You speak about it daily, when you see them or different things it triggers that anger. But who are you hurting? Are you hurting them or are you hurting yourself? God has so much in store for you and He wants to have a relationship with you but He can not because you are keeping yourself separated from him with your unforgiveness..

I know its not an easy tasks but I want you to think about it.. as I continue in tomorrows devotion..... --

The Results of Forgiveness

The Bible promises the following benefits of God's forgiveness:

* Happiness. When we know God's forgiveness, we are blessed (happy).

"Blessed (happy) is he whose transgressions are forgiven, who sins are covered. Blessed (happy) is the man whose sin the Lord doesn't count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit." Psalm 32:1,2

* God chooses not to hold our sins against us. Another result of forgiveness is that God doesn't keep a record of our sins, He does not hold them against us. Because the blood of Christ covered our sins, God chooses to put them out of His mind.

"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." Isaiah 43:25

§ God removes our sin from us. "It is possible for the Lord to look at us without seeing our sins because when he forgave us, he removed our sins as far as the east is from the west" Psalm 103:12

§ We can forgive ourselves. When we are forgiven, we can forgive ourselves and go on with our lives. "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14

- In His Service, Pastor M. Kingdom International Ministries