Tagged: forgiveness

for Sarah, and all whose bag is too heavy to carry. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  Matthew 26:28   Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders. Deuteronomy 33:12   There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fail; God will help her at break of day. Psalm 46:4-5 Forgiveness is like a suitcase too heavy to carry. There once was a little girl who had to take a long journey. Her father saw… Read More

If anyone sins unintentionally in any of the Lord’s commandments about things not to be done, and does any one of them…he shall be forgiven. Leviticus 4:2, 31 Dear Child, You looked so handsome today as your face peered at me over the many miles that separate us. You are a man now, boy of mine. I love the familiar way your brows knit together like a wooly worm and your eyes look to the right as you think hard on the big life decisions you are facing. I have seen that look many times before. Like the time you took the vacuum cleaner completely apart and described to me your plans to turn it into a jet-car. Or the spring you made the decision… Read More

Run and tell his disciples, even Peter, that he is risen.Mark 16:7 Even Peter. How curious that the angel sitting in the empty tomb on the Morning of all mornings would emphasize the disciple who denied Jesus in his darkest hour. The angel was a servant messenger of the Most High God, and he was doing just what the Master had instructed. His words conveyed Jesus’ heart. Do not forget Peter especially. He needs to know He is still loved. Times of fear and panic cause people to act in ways contrary to their deepest beliefs. Patriots abandon the battle. Mothers walk away from their babies. Fathers leave their families. Disciples deny their Lord. Jesus knows and understands. He loved us before we loved Him… Read More

for Susan Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe (Psalm 107:2). “You stopped before telling me the story. Go back and tell me the story!” Her request rang against the slap, slap, slap of our footsteps on the pavement as we ran in the early morning sunlight. My friend Susan had been listening intently as I shared a painful betrayal, a celebration stopped short by another person’s hurtful words.  I had recently rallied the courage to include others in a celebration of a hard-earned accomplishment, only to be criticized and gossiped about by a person who I thought was a friend. The incident sent my mind into a tailspin of humiliation. I was flooded with… Read More

@audreycfrank I was minding my own business when God’s Word took me by surprise, threw its handcuffs on me and placed me under arrest. As part of my research for a new book, I was studying Psalm 51 because it is one of the many Biblical passages about being clean and pure. I am fascinated by the offer of a holy, pure God to make His followers clean. Dirtiness comes from many sources. Sin is the most obvious, and the most nebulous category, sort of allowing us to toss our little selfishnesses into it like an ambiguous garbage can without taking a close look. However, as I dug into the Hebrew of verse 10, I could not avoid the piercing examination of my own heart… Read More

The critic stood on a ridgeline, high above the dusty road where King David and his mighty men walked. Foam gathered in the corners of his mouth as he shouted down curses in the name of the Lord on the king. With cracked and calloused hands, the critic grabbed the nearest rocks and pummeled David and all his men with stones. "Get out! Get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel!” (2 Samuel 16:7, NIV) The Bible tells us that all the troops and the special guard were assembled, marching on David’s right and left. This did not deter Shimei. Angry and vindictive, he continued running and shouting curses wildly as he went. And somehow David continued to walk through flaming criticism without losing his… Read More