Category Archives: Christian Living

2018, Christian Living, Ephesians, Forgiveness, Gospel of Matthew, Guests, Romans

In A Word

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Reading time: Approximately  3 minutes.

One word for the year.
One word to guide the year.
One word to direct my focus for 365 days.
Could one word do all that?
In a word.
Yes! 
But how do you pick that one word? In two words. You Don’t. You receive that word from The GOD who loves you. Okay. That was more than a word. :)

I like my friend, Leah Adams‘ word for 2018. Here’s a link. Check it out! 

I believe my guiding word for 2018 is forgiveness. It’s my word to receive, to give, to pray for, to live. Forgiveness heals. Forgiveness revives. Forgiveness restores. Forgiveness gives life to body, soul and spirit. Forgiveness sets a soul on the path to wholeness. And wholeness is my plea; for myself, for family, for friends, for strangers near and far.

A year of forgiveness, what will that be? I would say not easy but naturally speaking it is more than not easy. It. Is. Impossible!  Unless! 

Matthew 19:26  (YLT) 26 And Jesus having earnestly beheld, said to them, `With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.‘  source

This year when I forgive will I be saying the offense is any less offensive? Will I be saying it’s okay? Will I be saying it didn’t hurt? Will I be denying the awfulness of it? Nope! Not at all. Will I be saying they deserve forgiveness? Do any of us?

I just know this, when I give forgiveness it sets me free. Free to love again. Free to trust GOD again. Free to live again. Forgiveness lets me take my rightful place. Forgiveness takes ME off the throne of my life and gives that place to He who deserves it. The One and Only JESUS.

Forgiveness takes my hands off the control button and with trust, faith and love yields justice to GOD’s Perfection alone.
Forgiveness says I love JESUS too much to hate you (the offender).
Forgiveness says, GOD, I trust You to do what’s right by me with this one who has offended me. It’s, I give way to You, My Heavenly Papa, to treat me right in the way You treat my offender.

In a word, forgiveness is me (and you) trusting GOD. Trusting that He has done right and He will always do right.  This is forgiveness whether we are receiving it or giving it. 

Again I say, it’s impossible for natural people! But we who have said yes to JESUS in salvation are no longer just natural people. We have the SPIRIT of the LIVING GOD residing within and we can forgive – all year-long!  (Romans 8:9)

How many times this year must I exercise this gift of forgiveness? 

Matthew 18: 21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Master, how often shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”  22 Yeshua said to him, “No, not up to seven times, I tell you, but seventy times seven!  source. 

If we find ourselves doing the math, I think we’ve missed His point. 

Ephesians 4:32(KJV)  32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. source

Forgiveness.
In a word, it will make me whole and a whole lot more Christ-like. 

Selah ~ ~ ~ Kathie
Christian Living, Guests, Jeremiah

A Poem 

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I’m reading again. And today I’d like to share a poem from the book, Waiting For A Miracle by Jan Markell.

Nobody Else Will Listen, Lord

I had a monumental need today, Lord.
I needed someone to talk to.
I needed a conversation that went beyond
     my neighbor’s rose bushes, or 
      last night’s election results.
Such a paradox it seems,
     to be surrounded by people,
     to have their voices vibrating through me,
     to be numb from shaking hands,
     to hurt from smiling . . . 
     and yet to feel alone.
Alone because conversations
     center on things of insignificance for eternity.
Because conversations focus on
    the high cost of living
    and not on the Giver of Life.

Yes, alone in a crowd,
But never alone, Lord,
     for You listen
     even if I ramble and make little sense,
     or if I can’t quite explain myself,
     or if I am redundant
     and never get to the point.
Thank You, Father,
     for being my Companion,
          Confidant,
           and Counselor,
And for listening, when all the world
Is caught up with the fun and games of life,
Too busy with yesterday’s sports results
To listen to a needy soul. 
                                                      Amen.   (found on pages 50 and 51)

Jeremiah 33:3 (TLV) 3 “Call to Me, and I will answer you— I will tell you great and hidden things, which you do not know.”  source 

Chazaq!