"Be quick to forgive..."

     We all know that is easier said than done.  "Be quick to forgive so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes." 2 Corinthians 2:11 This is a tricky subject for us to understand.  Offense deals with emotions and they are messy to say the least.  I myself am an extremely sensitive person - and it has two sides. When I am offended it cuts much deeper (or so it seems) than a person who seems to let offenses roll off like water.  I am always amazed at people who can acknowledge an offense with a moment of ponder, then go pleasantly to the next thing. I have not found myself to be one of those people.  There is a positive side to the predicament in which I find myself and it has everything to do with others.  When someone is treated offensively by someone else (other than myself) I am quick to feel their pain; and if I am walking in the spirit I can respond with Christ's love and the truth of His word. If I am not walking in the spirit, however, I will only add to the hurt by being offended with them.  Jesus does in fact feel our crushing pain yet He is not destroyed and neither are we and it can be very hard to see this when we are hurting, or when we have hurt someone unintentionally.  What we must learn to understand is the feeling of insult to injury is but half of the equation.  What we learn to do with it is the other half and it has everything to do with being transformed into the image of Christ. "Be quick to forgive..."  forgive, not pretend you never felt the offense.  We must learn to deal with the good, the bad, and the ugly in a healthy way and I truly believe this journey is not instantaneous for anyone.  Either there are many who have mastered affliction or there are many suppressors ( ones who have mastered ignoring hurt so they do not have to feel the hurt of the offense.)  "Go to your adversaries quickly..." not ignore it and pretend it didn't happen.  Both the ones who are hurt and can't get past it and ones who shove it away are both in harm's way. We all need to face reality with God's truth. The 'reed' tool is one method I have found very helpful when I am faced with adversity. r. e. e. d. stands for Recognize the hurt (admit it to yourself), Express your hurt to God, Evaluate it with the truth of His word (renew your mind continually), and Decide to stand on the truth of His word. I have found when I do this I experience healing and forgiveness of others in my heart.  I have also found if I need forgiveness and someone is not willing to forgive me I find healing through my Father "for only God can discern the heart."  Apologies are not for our comfort as much as they are for the healing of the offender; the offender's repentance.  If we can be genuine in our acceptance and forgiveness Christ is alive and well, living through us in His comfort of others.  It would be great if we instantly felt that genuine forgiveness but we must understand God's word about forgiveness, it must be so rational to us spiritually that we live it continually. This is not a quick learn and here is why:  We have a body of flesh in which we dwell and it takes determination of mind to practice the presence of God.  In this spirit of busyness in which we live it is certain we will get tripped up and quite often until we are sick and tired of falling down into the hurt and mess of our emotions.  Think of it like batting practice, we strike out what seems to us all of the time at first. Then to our surprise comes the home run, and the feeling of this home run keeps us going even when we strike out again.  The joy of walking with God is truly knowing what it feels like to genuinely forgive.  Don't be discouraged when your feelings still hurt when you forgive, mean it, do it out of love for your Father, do it because you know He knows you love Him and He knows your heart despite the pain you may feel at the moment. Then we will understand "... and the greatest of these is Love."  God rejoices in our hitting home runs and we all must experience striking out to know the true joy of a home run so when we taste the joy of victory we will determine to press on for the gold. "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18

Heretic rebel a thing to flout

They drew a circle and shut me out

But love I had the wit to win

I drew a circle and took them in.

Heavenly Father  let us see our identity in Christ, knowing full well we face offenses personally as believers, and our strength and comfort is in You alone.  Let us forgive with Christ love those who offend us and forgive us our shortcomings as well, knowing Your comfort is not of this world but of the Holy Spirit transforming us into the image of Christ. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

"... and He will yet deliver us."

     "Children get older, I'm getting older too." Stevie Nicks Landslide
Many of us are living in what society has dubbed the 'sandwich generation'; and it may surprise you when I say what a blessing it is if you happen to be in it as well. We are the ones who are faced with children and aging parents, and time is the enemy for our love-torn hearts. We truly desire to be in two places at once, with many needs on both ends. We try to keep all the balls up in the air but most of us are not very good jugglers; and we live with regrets and depression creeps in. One way to avoid dealing with it is to stay so busy we do not have time to think about it; but like avoiding reality with alcohol, it is still there when we sober up!
OK, where is the blessing? The blessing is in surrender! "And He shall direct our paths." This sandwich generation did not happen by accident and there is so much to be learned if we are willing to let go of ourselves. "I can pass on a curse or a blessing to those I will never know." Sarah Groves.  Ever stop to think that our grown children are watching what we do concerning our time and how we react to the many growing needs of family? A curse or a blessing, do we actually see we are deliberately choosing one? We are still teaching our children even when they are grown by the way we react and respond to life. My father is now in a nursing home and it is quite heartbreaking to say the least. A stroke has robbed him and his family of a life we all treasured and were so blessed to have. This has been reality for the past seven years. "...and He will yet deliver us." 1Corinthians 1:10 When life is turned inside out God's word is even more sought after, and isn't that what God intended? For us to desire Him above all else? 1Corinthians 1:9 "indeed we had the sentence of death within ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead." We will indeed long to be in two places at once in this sandwich generation but the miracle of the blessing for those who are listening is God's voice calling "Come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give thee rest." Do we really believe God is in control? Do our children and parents see this in us? If we find ourselves in this sandwich generation, we are blessed in our difficulties, hardships, and trials to have an opportunity to be living examples of lives surrendered unto God. Let's give our loved ones the joy of seeing us living a surrendered life rejoicing in all things, especially the hard things!

Heavenly Father I pray we may surrender all, for all to You we owe and may we indeed pass on a life lived in faith for others to see. A blessing to those we will never know. In Jesus Your Son's name I pray Amen.
Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)