As a new believer, the forgiveness message was the first thing I had to grapple with. It was like walking into a corral full of kicking and biting donkeys. I'm talking Christendom. Not outright jabs. Mainly the rejection and despising deal of Isaiah 53 that Jesus endured. That's painful, especially when you grew up feeling like a worm in the first place.
I honestly thought that we were finally going to have some real friends...a family setting, all reading from the same page, in one accord with Jesus as our Leader! I was horrified to find out that that wasn't going to happen! There were a few others who caught that vision but because the way 'church' is done, no fruit would ever come to maturity.
When we first started going to church, I played a song called 'I Love You' from the movie 'A Time to Run', and was hoping the fire this song instilled in us would catch hold with the 'church'. Zip, nada, zero, belly up. This really threw us a left curve. Where was God, where was the Spirit. What a let down. There on forward we simply 'endured church', hoping that maybe it would change. The rejection continued by pastors concerning our ministry. I spent 27 years with this question 'what's wrong with me, what's wrong with me?' The worm syndrome.
After about 27 years of abuse, God brought it home to me in a powerful way.....'Forgive them all'! Then he did a twist with it.
He told me to call everyone I could that slam dunked me and cold shouldered me and ask them to forgive me for holding a grudge about it. How's that for a twist?
I even wrote a letter to my dad who had been dead since '74 and asked him to forgive me. Of course he couldn't read it but I got it out of my system. God did a miracle in me. That root of bitterness was pulled out of me.
Sad thing is that everyone I called didnt receive it very well. They didn't get it.
So forgiveness is something you better have on tap daily. If you 'dare to surrender all', you're gonna need it! Your're gonna get your caboose kicked. All part of His greater plan!
For those of you who have a sloppy 'christianity', you won't get hit as hard. In fact you'll probably be one of the 'kickers'!
'he who (really) departs from evil, makes himself a target.' Isaiah 59:15
Is that where you are at or are you going 'Huh?'
I honestly thought that we were finally going to have some real friends...a family setting, all reading from the same page, in one accord with Jesus as our Leader! I was horrified to find out that that wasn't going to happen! There were a few others who caught that vision but because the way 'church' is done, no fruit would ever come to maturity.
When we first started going to church, I played a song called 'I Love You' from the movie 'A Time to Run', and was hoping the fire this song instilled in us would catch hold with the 'church'. Zip, nada, zero, belly up. This really threw us a left curve. Where was God, where was the Spirit. What a let down. There on forward we simply 'endured church', hoping that maybe it would change. The rejection continued by pastors concerning our ministry. I spent 27 years with this question 'what's wrong with me, what's wrong with me?' The worm syndrome.
After about 27 years of abuse, God brought it home to me in a powerful way.....'Forgive them all'! Then he did a twist with it.
He told me to call everyone I could that slam dunked me and cold shouldered me and ask them to forgive me for holding a grudge about it. How's that for a twist?
I even wrote a letter to my dad who had been dead since '74 and asked him to forgive me. Of course he couldn't read it but I got it out of my system. God did a miracle in me. That root of bitterness was pulled out of me.
Sad thing is that everyone I called didnt receive it very well. They didn't get it.
So forgiveness is something you better have on tap daily. If you 'dare to surrender all', you're gonna need it! Your're gonna get your caboose kicked. All part of His greater plan!
For those of you who have a sloppy 'christianity', you won't get hit as hard. In fact you'll probably be one of the 'kickers'!
'he who (really) departs from evil, makes himself a target.' Isaiah 59:15
Is that where you are at or are you going 'Huh?'