I remember the story well.
5 years ago, a man walks into an Amish schoolhouse and shot 10 young girls.
Five of these girls passed away.
The Amish community was devastated and yet they offered up Christ-like forgiveness in the midst of tragedy.
The story did not end there.
A new article in the USA Today shares the story of Terri Roberts, the mother of the perpetrator of this heinous crime.
She has been quietly serving the victims of this crime for years. One girl in particular was left paralyzed and unable to speak. Terri Roberts visits this girl every Thursday and helps care for her, read to her, etc.
It's a beautiful story and I encourage you to read it:
Mother Cares for Son's Victims
Showing posts with label Forgiveness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Forgiveness. Show all posts
9/30/11
7/1/11
Walking Forgiveness - Just A Thought #47
I have been thinking about forgiveness a quite a bit lately. What does it look like? Am I living out my faith and forgiving those who I feel have wronged me? Am I following the commands of Jesus to forgive "seventy times seven?"
One thing I know for sure and that is, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace," (Ephesians 1:7)
If His blood can wash away my sins and He has shown me His amazing grace, how can I then judge others for the wrong they have done to me?
Jesus himself asked God to forgive those who were crucifying Him! "And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments." (Luke 23:34)
Of course I am not Jesus and I'll tell you what, it is hard to forgive someone who has burned you...sometimes more than once. I have struggled with forgiveness more than I care to remember. I can relate to Peter asking Jesus how often we should forgive someone...and in the past, found the response of Jesus hard to swallow. "Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven." (Matthew 18:21-22) Jesus makes it pretty clear here that there is no cap on forgiveness. He is still forgiving those who were never born when He was crucified!
Forgiveness is made even more clear to me when I see these verses in Mark: "And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses." [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses.] (Mark 11:25-26) This sounds like we shouldn't be holding grudges....it says if YOU have anything against anyone, FORGIVE!
Sometimes offering forgiveness means we actually have to humble ourselves and let go of our pride! The "I am in the right and justified" attitude just doesn't cut it. Neither does taking on the offense of others.
In this world we are going to get hurt, stepped on and abused! Do we let the enemy rob our joy or do we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and remember that He forgave us much, so how much more should we forgive others? I know, you've been hurt badly...so was Jesus. I know you were in the right...so was Jesus. You have every reason to be angry...so did Jesus.
Yet He chose to die so that you AND the person who hurt you could experience His forgiveness.
I'll leave you with 2 verses I am chewing on right now. May they speak to you as you think on this topic.
Romans 12:18, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all."
James 1:19, "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;"
Are you walking out forgiveness?
One thing I know for sure and that is, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace," (Ephesians 1:7)
If His blood can wash away my sins and He has shown me His amazing grace, how can I then judge others for the wrong they have done to me?
Jesus himself asked God to forgive those who were crucifying Him! "And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments." (Luke 23:34)
Of course I am not Jesus and I'll tell you what, it is hard to forgive someone who has burned you...sometimes more than once. I have struggled with forgiveness more than I care to remember. I can relate to Peter asking Jesus how often we should forgive someone...and in the past, found the response of Jesus hard to swallow. "Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven." (Matthew 18:21-22) Jesus makes it pretty clear here that there is no cap on forgiveness. He is still forgiving those who were never born when He was crucified!
Forgiveness is made even more clear to me when I see these verses in Mark: "And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses." [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses.] (Mark 11:25-26) This sounds like we shouldn't be holding grudges....it says if YOU have anything against anyone, FORGIVE!
Sometimes offering forgiveness means we actually have to humble ourselves and let go of our pride! The "I am in the right and justified" attitude just doesn't cut it. Neither does taking on the offense of others.
In this world we are going to get hurt, stepped on and abused! Do we let the enemy rob our joy or do we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and remember that He forgave us much, so how much more should we forgive others? I know, you've been hurt badly...so was Jesus. I know you were in the right...so was Jesus. You have every reason to be angry...so did Jesus.
Yet He chose to die so that you AND the person who hurt you could experience His forgiveness.
I'll leave you with 2 verses I am chewing on right now. May they speak to you as you think on this topic.
Romans 12:18, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all."
James 1:19, "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;"
Are you walking out forgiveness?
11/3/10
Justice for All, Mercy for Me!
I mess up.
There are times when I blow it and do not act the way I know God would have me to act. It seems I reflect Paul's struggle in Romans 7. It is times like this I have to call out for God's mercy and forgiveness.
I recognize my need for God's mercy. Without it I would be dead...literally! I want God, and others for that matter, to forgive me when I have done wrong.
Honestly...I don't always want God to extend that same grace to others.
I am ashamed to admit, I wish at times God would do a bit more smiting! I want vindication for those who are victims. I want the guilty party to receive the justice they deserve. Drop the hammer...or at least a lightening bolt or three!
Frankly, it boils down to justice for others and mercy for me!
I am reminded of Matthew 7:1-3 which says, "“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?"
Why is it that I want to hold others to a higher standard than I hold myself? Why do I want to hold the sins of others against them?
More to the point...who am I to play God?
It's a struggle.
I see lots of "guilty" people in my line of work. Drug addicts, abusers, sinners...yet they are all where I was once...lost.
My prayer is that each finds the same measure of mercy through the work of Jesus Christ that I did.
Forgiven...a name we all need.
There are times when I blow it and do not act the way I know God would have me to act. It seems I reflect Paul's struggle in Romans 7. It is times like this I have to call out for God's mercy and forgiveness.
I recognize my need for God's mercy. Without it I would be dead...literally! I want God, and others for that matter, to forgive me when I have done wrong.
Honestly...I don't always want God to extend that same grace to others.
I am ashamed to admit, I wish at times God would do a bit more smiting! I want vindication for those who are victims. I want the guilty party to receive the justice they deserve. Drop the hammer...or at least a lightening bolt or three!
Frankly, it boils down to justice for others and mercy for me!
I am reminded of Matthew 7:1-3 which says, "“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?"
Why is it that I want to hold others to a higher standard than I hold myself? Why do I want to hold the sins of others against them?
More to the point...who am I to play God?
It's a struggle.
I see lots of "guilty" people in my line of work. Drug addicts, abusers, sinners...yet they are all where I was once...lost.
My prayer is that each finds the same measure of mercy through the work of Jesus Christ that I did.
Forgiven...a name we all need.
9/2/10
Admission vs. Confession
While reading Anne Jackson's latest book, Permission to Speak Freely, she mentioned that there was a difference between admission and confession.
That got me thinking....so, I looked up admission and confession in a dictionary. This is what I found:
Admission: acknowledgment that a fact or statement is true
Confession: a written or oral acknowledgment of guilt by a party accused of an offense
There is a huge difference here. Especially when it comes to dealing with sin, hurt, fear, etc.
I can admit something is true and never deal with it. I can admit I struggled with porn in my past. Yet if all I ever did was admit it, well I am no better off and neither is my relationship with my wife or with God. No, I have to confess that I struggled with porn. Confession means I am guilty. It also means that I need to deal with my actions. I do that through repentance.
I can admit I struggle with fear. I can also confess my struggle. When I confess it I am saying that I am guilty of disobeying God's Word which tells us to Fear Not! I can then repent of my fear and allow my confession to draw me closer to God.
I can admit that I was hurt by someone in the past and move on. Confession means I have to deal with the hurt. I might have to forgive that person. I might have to repent of gossip. I might even need to seek reconciliation.
Admission requires nothing. We live in a world where people admit all kinds of things. Usually their admission is acknowledged and people are praised for their honesty...but nothing really happens.
Confession requires action. It requires us to admit wrong, or wrong done towards us. It might require repentance or forgiveness, restoration or reconciliation.
My prayer is that we, as God's children, practice confession. I would love to see us model James 5:16, That we confess our sins one to another and pray for one another. It won't be easy. It means through relationship we build trust with someone. Imagine though, imagine what would happen if we confess to one another and turn our hearts towards God! If we repent, restore and relate, not only will our hearts be transformed...but so will the world around us.
Boggles the mind.
That got me thinking....so, I looked up admission and confession in a dictionary. This is what I found:
Admission: acknowledgment that a fact or statement is true
Confession: a written or oral acknowledgment of guilt by a party accused of an offense
There is a huge difference here. Especially when it comes to dealing with sin, hurt, fear, etc.
I can admit something is true and never deal with it. I can admit I struggled with porn in my past. Yet if all I ever did was admit it, well I am no better off and neither is my relationship with my wife or with God. No, I have to confess that I struggled with porn. Confession means I am guilty. It also means that I need to deal with my actions. I do that through repentance.
I can admit I struggle with fear. I can also confess my struggle. When I confess it I am saying that I am guilty of disobeying God's Word which tells us to Fear Not! I can then repent of my fear and allow my confession to draw me closer to God.
I can admit that I was hurt by someone in the past and move on. Confession means I have to deal with the hurt. I might have to forgive that person. I might have to repent of gossip. I might even need to seek reconciliation.
Admission requires nothing. We live in a world where people admit all kinds of things. Usually their admission is acknowledged and people are praised for their honesty...but nothing really happens.
Confession requires action. It requires us to admit wrong, or wrong done towards us. It might require repentance or forgiveness, restoration or reconciliation.
My prayer is that we, as God's children, practice confession. I would love to see us model James 5:16, That we confess our sins one to another and pray for one another. It won't be easy. It means through relationship we build trust with someone. Imagine though, imagine what would happen if we confess to one another and turn our hearts towards God! If we repent, restore and relate, not only will our hearts be transformed...but so will the world around us.
Boggles the mind.
10/2/09
Pirate Hunter
Rarely will a fiction book make me evaluate my relationship with Jesus Christ. Most fiction books I read are more like brain-candy I use to kill an afternoon.This cannot be said about Tom Morrisey's latest book, Pirate Hunter. I have already reviewed Tom's writing once before. However, I find his latest book is firing on all cylinders from the opening paragraph until the last page.
The theme for this book is forgiveness. It is written in such a way that I had to step back and evaluate my own issues with forgiveness. I had to spend time actually working through this issue a bit and seeing if I had truly forgiven those who hurt me in the past. In at least one instance I realized I had not. I am currently working on that now.
That to me is a powerful fiction book. It drove me to the Word of God and into a season of prayer. Not only that, but it is an exceptionally well-written book that is actually 2 novels in one! An 18th Century pirate tale and a 21st Century treasure hunting story woven together into a mind blowing novel of romance and thrills.
If you are looking for a fiction story that is unique, exciting and challenging than pick up a copy of Pirate Hunter today. You will NOT be disappointed.
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