Forgive and Live

 

Probably my all-time favorite TV program has to be “The Twilight Zone” written, and most of the time directed, by Rod Serling. A lot of the outdoor scenes were shot in Upstate New York around the Finger Lakes area and the south shores of Lake Ontario. Home base was Ithaca, New York. Nevertheless, Rod Serling had a rather astute view of the human mind and its probable reaction to all kinds of situations. He was also obsessed with the unknown, especially that of extraterrestrial contact. In one episode, “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street,” the power goes out in a neighborhood. One of the homeowners suggests the possibility that it could be the work of aliens and that one family, new to the area and with some “peculiar” family traits, is in cahoots with the invaders. As the fear escalates all of a sudden the lights come on in one house as the power seemingly is restored; then another; then another. Lights are going on and off in houses throughout the neighborhood. Accusations start flying and the gathering crowd turns into a violent mob - pointing fingers, placing blame, and attacking one another.

In less than a year one perpetrated act of propaganda riding on the heels of a so-called world-wide pandemic has pitted all sorts of ethnic groups against each other with unfounded and ridiculous accusations. It seems nobody is an American anymore without a prefix attached. The United States of America has turned into one giant sandbox fight because everybody is wanting to control the activity of play while they’re in the box. It seems nobody wants to play by the rules any longer; i.e. The Constitution of these United States, and the proper procedures of government laid down by our founding fathers. The ungodly, monstrous desire for fame, fortune and suppressive control over others is going to be the destruction of this free and prosperous land. “We the People” are giving away our rights because we’re too busy pointing fingers and accusing others.

[Proverbs 14:12] “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” At the end of every Twilight Zone episode, Rod Serling draws a conclusion on what was observed during the story. At the end of “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street” he had this to say: “The tools of conquest do not necessarily come from bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices… to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill… and suspicion can destroy… and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own – for the children and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone.” Our greatest enemy in life is our selfish self. Forgiveness seems to have faded in our society. What is right in the middle of “forgiveness”? The word - “give.” To “give” is to provide someone with something. To forgive is to provide someone with pardon. Forgiving is one of the greatest ways of giving. The New Testament words translated “forgive” are indeed graphic. * “And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). Here the word forgive means, “to send away.” * “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). Here the word “forgiving” means, “to bestow a favor unconditionally.” * “Judge not and you will not be judged. Condemn not and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37). Here the word forgive means, “to release” or “to dismiss.” Send it away! Bestow a favor unconditionally! Release it! Dismiss it! What greater gift can you give to others and to yourself? Give forgiveness! Forgive and live (Romans 2:1-11).

Examining My Daily Ways

 

In these trying days, I think we all need to examine our daily ways. “Before You Talk or Text Today” by Nell Pollard… “A pick, a poke, a controversy; Hit and run, a verbal grenade; We may see it as clever, though without mercy; And own it like an accolade. But are we making people think; When what and how we say it scars? If it causes a stir, a strife, a stink; Instead of edifying it maligns and mars? People should be thinking anyway; And what they think should be of good report; Let’s meditate on what we say; Not load up on sarcastic, sardonic retort. The world already knows that tactic; and uses it at drop of scarf and hat; It brightens no story, dress up no didactic; But stokes the fire and escalates the spat. Here’s something requiring greater skill; You won’t find it in general practice; Restraint and kindness, grace and good will; Be a rose in a field of cactus. When entering today the public sphere; And the marketplace of varied ideas; Let the Jesus in you shine bright and clear; So they can look at you and see that He is!”

[Galatians 5:22-26] “Think On These Things” by Derrick Coble… “It’s quiet. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. Much of the world is still asleep. The day is coming. In a few moments, the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of the solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met. For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now that I must make a choice. And so, I choose LOVE: No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today, I will love God and what God loves. I choose JOY: I will choose God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical, the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God. I choose PEACE: I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live. I choose PATIENCE: I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Rather than complaining that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clenching my fist at the new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage. I choose KINDNESS: I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone; kind to the rich, for they are afraid; and kind to the unkind, for such is how God treated me. I choose GOODNESS: I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will see the good in others when it is hard to find. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose FAITHFULNESS: Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will come home. I choose GENTLENESS: Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice, may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself. I choose SELF-CONTROL: I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS and SELF-CONTROL… these are the fruit of the spirit. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek God’s face. And, then, when day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.” 

Oh, I wish I could say my days were perfect because I practice all this perfectly. But we all fall short of the mark every day; I seek God’s help.

Showing Up For Work

 

A man was enjoying a relaxing day in the park walking his dog when he noticed two workers. One of the workers was furiously digging holes one after another. The other worker would come along after the first and just as furiously fill them back in. The man stared in disbelief wondering what was going on. Curiosity got the best of the man and he walked up to the workers while they were on break. He asked them why they were doing something so worthless. “Worthless?” the first worker quipped. “If anybody on this crew is worthless, it’s the guy who plants the trees! He didn’t even show up for work this morning!” I can see this totally happening in the world today considering the work ethics being observed by our younger generations.

When one reads the label on bottles of liquid hand wash, you know, the ones that kill germs, they often read, “Kills 98% of all germs.” Now that sounds great and should be comforting, right? But then, we begin to wonder about the other 2%. What if they are the worst of all germs? What if, of all the germs on your hands, they were the meanest of all germs? What if that two percent was some new horrible illness? What could one do? I suppose we could wash our hands twice; like wearing double masks. Maybe ….

[Ecclesiastes 1:9] “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” The practice of desensitization saturation is a very common one. Just take a moment and look back in your life and compare your past to what is allowed and permitted in our culture today. I understand that there is nothing new under the sun and the sin we deal with today is the same that we, and even Solomon, dealt with in the past. But there is an all-out effort to desensitize our minds in the areas of morality. Television, movies, music, and the internet are all deep into the “saturation mode” and they are very good at what they do. The homosexual agenda is in full swing. Satanism is growing rapidly along with other spiritual cults. The level of violence “needed” in a major action movie defies description. And sex? There’s not one part of our culture that violence and sex is not a part of. The world says, “Take it, and enjoy.” God says, “You shall not...” “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6). Eve had been saturated with evil propaganda which convinced her to disobey God’s command. What does all this mean for the Christian? For one thing, we should recognize what the proven result of saturation actually is. It results in an unstable desire for more. Lust gratified leads to more lust. It’s called addiction. A person starts down a road just “a little” and hears the promise that it will never go very far. Satan has been making addicts out of folks since the beginning. When we keep going back for samples from the immoral buffet, we’re eating the same garbage as that fellow that we wag our heads at who brought the “all you can eat” deal. And this fare is expressly made to keep you coming back for more. And it does. So, stop eating the garbage! We don’t have to eat it, you know? We don’t have to see the latest movie. Our kids don’t have to listen to the newest wave of “music.” And we don’t have to listen to old trash either! We don’t have to watch homosexuals make fun of moral standards on the most popular sitcoms. We don’t have to watch anything, if there’s nothing worth watching, do we? Let’s try re-sensitizing by dehydration. Let’s take out the garbage! Show up to work - for God.

Jesus Had No Obituary

 

Many of us often make it a habit of reading the obituaries to see which one of our classmates, co-workers, friends, and family have gone on to meet their re­ward. Obituaries tell us about where a person was born, lived, one’s immediate family history, one’s occupation, hobbies, and many other things, as well as times of the funeral and burial location. These notices of death are a daily reminder that our life on earth is not permanent. Obitu­aries have finality to them; they become a permanent record and reminder that a loved one is not present with us in this life any more.

As one reads the Bible it becomes very clear that Jesus never had an obitu­ary. We read about His birth in Bethlehem (Matthew 1:18 – 2:6). We can learn about His family (Matthew 1:1-17). We can learn about much of His life and ministry in the Gospel writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We can also learn about the events leading up to His death and His actual death upon the cross in these same passages of the Bible. But the one thing no one can find in the Bible is Jesus’ obituary.

[1 Corinthians 15:1-4] “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also…”

In 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 Paul continues to teach, “…Christ indeed has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all died, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the first-fruits; the, when he comes, those who belong to him.” Because Jesus, by the power of God, was raised from the dead, His death was not the end. The Bible also makes it clear that not only did Jesus raise from the dead but all people will be raised at Jesus’ second coming, some to a resurrection of life; others to the res­urrection of condemnation (John 5:24-29). Those who obey Jesus’ doctrine which “reenacts” the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ through faith, re­pentance, and baptism (Acts 2:38-40; Romans 6:1-4, 17) are cleansed from their sins, and those who continue to be faithful to Christ, have the hope of being raised at His second coming to be with Christ forever in heaven (1 Thessa­lonians 4:13-17).  Jesus’ death was not permanent; His grave was not final; the tomb was not Jesus’ final resting place. Jesus does not have an obituary because Jesus did not remain in the grave. Jesus death, burial, and resurrection is the “good news” of the Bible. Jesus does not have an obituary. He came not to have an ending but bring a new beginning. What will your obituary say? Will it tell how you lived because you followed the One who arose from the grave and never had an obituary? Have you been saved? Where does your hope in life stand? Before the court of the Sanhedrin, Paul said, “…I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead” (Acts 23:6). Could you be accused of awaiting the resurrection in the hope of being with Jesus forever? No hope – No life. God wants you to be with Him for eternity (2 Peter 3:9-16).