THANK YOU, LORD, TO THE MAX:
1. That our Names are in The Lamb's Book of Life;
2. That You blotted our our transgressions in Your Priceless Blood;
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3. That You separated us from our evil doings as far as the East is from the West;
4. That You threw them in the Sea of Forgetfulness--an awesome thing for an All Knowing God;
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5. That You set us up on YOUR ROCK, CHRIST JESUS;
6. That You're constructing an eternal abode for us WITH YOU!
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7. That You cherish us, Love us and Long for us to be more ever present, more fully present with You than we can imagine or understand.
Thank, You, Lord, that more than 2,000 years ago, you went into hell to set captives FREE and that IN YOU, we are FREE INDEED!
Thank you that Your Resurrection demonstrated that you have the keys to hell, death and the grave and that they have no hold on you, nor us IN you.
May You, Lord, this Good Friday, enliven us even more in the richness of Your Spirit; Your Eternal Resurrection Life; Your purposes and your goals for us in Your Kingdom and in our present earthly doings.
May we on this Good Friday willingly take our lesser preferences, waywardnesses, cussednesses, willfulnesses, gritches, grouches, gracelessness, lies to ourselves and others; arrogance, stubbornness, . . . all that exalts itself in us against Your Best, Oh, Lord--take it all to Your Cross and vigorously nail all such there by Your Grace, Spirit, Blood and help.
May we reckon ourselves dead and buried IN YOU, IN YOUR BLOOD, to rise again in Newness of Your Life.
May we take up today's cross for us and bear it in thankfulness that Your yoke is easy and Your burden light as we learn to nestle IN YOU vs wrestle against Your purposes for us.
May we persistently confess from our hearts that we forgive ALL against ALL because we want that level and depth and breadth of forgiveness from You and from DADDY. Let us not just mouth the words of Your prayer but pause at that point and contract eternal business on the FORGIVENESS score.
Then let us follow through with the phone call, the note, the visit, the confession to ANOTHER--ALL ANOTHERS fitting that we do forgive them utterly because Your forgive us utterly and require no less of us.
Let us leave our gifts at the altar and make it right first with ANOTHER as You have commanded.
Then, Lord, let us walk and skip and dance with You in Your newness of Life Everlasting; in Your strengthening Joy; in Your Peace, wholeness, provision, safe arms--IN YOU.
In Your Precious, Priceless Name, Oh, Lord. Amen.
Amen.
Could y’all be kind and loving to me today by praying for God to make His will known with regard to my employment?! I’ve received 3 tempting job offers in as many days...and I’m just agonizing.
Thanks, brothers and sisters.
A Joyous Easter to you and all of yours!
Something I found:
Some of us have deliberatly rejected kindness. When it comes to a showdown over some petty issue, kindness doesn’t strike us as forceful enough to hold our ground. It seems effeminate, weak, indulgent, even lenient. We appear to get more mileage from counter-attack, parry and thrust. So the fruit of the Spirit drops to the ground, victim to more “useful” tactics.
Our Father exhibits His eternal kindness toward us by a purposeful forbearance. We can keep our anger from canceling kindness. Not easily, but with a firm grasp on Christ’s power. New Testament kindness is not the laxness of an indulgent grandfather. Kindness is strength. “Better . . . a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city” (Prov. 16:32). We require the full strength of the Holy Spirit to control anger. Three Biblical strategies enables us to remain kind, even when angry.
Kind Confrontation
Kindness doesn’t rule out plain speech, confrontation, or rebuke. These are acts of Christian kindness. Jesus directs us to confront squarely a brother who sins (Lk. 17:3). Paul was anything but namby-pamby. He faced issues head on (Gal. 2:11ff; cf. 2 Tim. 4:2; Tit. 2:15). Yet his words of rebuke never aimed to injure, but to set right and heal (cf. 2 Cor. 2:2-4). For Paul, rebuke went hand in hand with “patience and kindness . . . weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left” (2 Cor. 6:6, 7).
Long-term kindness between imperfect family members is possible only through confrontation. To remain emotionally healthy we must acknowledge our anger, but we don’t have to give it free reign. Loving rebuke, when appropriate, keeps rising anger from turning ugly and blocking kindness altogether. “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another” (Eph. 4:31-32).
Active Forgiveness
Genuine forgiveness faces sin squarely, without either trying to excuse the sin or minimize the hurt. At the cross, God didn’t stretch the truth to lessen the pain. Christ bore the sin fully so He might forgive it completely. Forgiveness is the raw material of God’s kindness. His forbearance in the face of provocation is inconceivable without “forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Ex. 34:7). Real forgiveness is neither an excuse or a brave front. It is a deliberate faith choice, a refusal to hold this sin against him, against her. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Eph. 4:32). Excusing or trying to rationalize Hank’s cruel words can’t defuse anger. True forgiveness can.
Courtesy
Christian courtesy is vital kindness in tense times. Listening without interrupting. Refraining from namecalling. Allowing the other person to speak his piece. Common courtesy. The Bible challenges us “to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all men” (Tit. 2:2, RSV). If courtesy is required in public, how much more in our own families? Living by a rule of courtesy enables us to keep inevitable anger from overflowing into rage.
Kindness in the Face of Provocation
Anyone can return kindness with kindness. But kindness in the face of provocation, kindness in return for hostility—that is the Biblical fruit of the Spirit at its peak of ripeness. A word study of “kindness” in the New Testament yields a amazing discovery: where “kindness” is mentioned in hostile situations, God Himself is nearly always the author.
He personally demonstrates before His children this raw, unvarnished kindness—love in return for hostility. Paul lists a catalog of man at his worst: “foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved . . . We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.” Then comes the good news. “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us . . .” (Tit. 3:3-5).
God’s greatness is seen in His restraint. Even when fools “show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience”—count it as softness—yet He persists (Rom. 2:4).
Before a God who substitutes kindness for retaliation, our excuses evaporate. Provocation does not justify rudeness, “because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked” (Lk. 6:35). If our God can show kindness in the extremity of utter rebellion, how much more should we show kindness to our own families. With God’s example in sharp focus, we see that Christian kindness is no fair-weather option. Kindness is not based on merit of the recipient but on the character of the author. Kindness isn’t for weaklings. It is the guts and gears of the gospel in action. The ooey-gooey of a honeymoon couple is charming but less than convincing to a cynical world. The really compelling witness before our tragically fragmented culture is this: a Christian marriage which demonstrates kindness in spite of conflict. “All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another” (Jn. 13:35).