Abundantly Pardoned

I hope that people can learn from my mistakes, not only so my mistakes will not have been in vain, but mostly because I want people to walk close to Christ and center their lives and relationships and marriages around Him. And so I present to you what I have learned through divorce and why I don’t recommend or condone divorce. I can’t go back through time and change the mistakes I made, but maybe I can help someone else by sharing what I learned because of my mistakes: 1) Be sure your marriage is Christ-centered and strengthened with daily prayer and Bible study; 2) If at all possible, attend church together; 3) Remember that your husband is like your co-workers in that you must learn to adapt to his quirks and annoying habits (and remember that we all have those things). Be sure to pray that you’ll gain understanding and strength—especially when he makes snorting noises or cleans his ears with toothpicks or loudly hoots and hollers while watching ballgames or car races. 4) Support your husband’s dreams. If his dreams are out there beyond reality (i.e., he wants to build his own space station, open a restaurant there and retire on a small planet), just smile. Don’t say anything. 5) If your husband succumbs to temptation and engages in sins such as drugs, alcohol, gambling, extra-marital sex, etc., please help him. What he has done is called sin, and you can bet that Satan has had a hand in initiating what your husband has done or is doing. If you can’t forgive him, seek God’s help, allowing Christ to help you. Communication is vital. Don’t turn a blind eye and pretend that he is doing nothing wrong while you’re secretly seething inside. You must discuss it with him, encouraging him to seek forgiveness, give up his sins and seek help. Tell him you love him, but you don’t approve of what he’s doing—and neither does the Lord. Discuss going for Christian marriage counseling together. Remember that you are not perfect just as he is not perfect. You could fall into the clutches of sin tomorrow. That is why individually and as a couple you must stay strong in Christ and in the Word.

6) Divorce is not an option when your husband is neck-deep in sin and desperately needing spiritual guidance. Please fight for the soul of your man! When a couple marries, it truly is “for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health ‘til death do us part.” Society and the governmental law has made it way too easy to divorce someone. That’s because society and the government aren’t looking at marriage through the eyes of God. That is what we must do—BEFORE we marry someone and THEREAFTER. Don’t let the devil has his way with your marriage. Turn it over to God. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Seek help, seek help, seek help!

I believe one of the most difficult things in this world to do is to forgive someone who has abused you, no matter if it’s physical abuse, emotional abuse, mental abuse or all of the above. We cannot have a full, loving, joyful relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ until we forgive our abuser. As long as we harbor hatred in our hearts, that hatred will fester and cause a spiritual infection that spreads throughout our being until it changes us into emotionally and spiritually diseased women who will become lifetime cripples. It is difficult to forgive an abuser, and it takes time, and the only way we can forgive them is to allow Jesus Christ to forgive and love them through us. Colossians 3:13 says, “Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Think of the abuse our Lord Jesus suffered from mankind: he was laughed at, slapped, beaten, flogged, spit on, had a crown of thorns beaten into his scalp and nails driven through His precious hands and feet. As He hung dying on the cross, He prayed, “Forgive them, Father….” Whoa! Everytime I think of that, it literally blows me away! Would I be able to pray for the person who nailed me to a cross as he stood at the bottom laughing at me, taunting me and gambling for my clothes? Oh, sweet Jesus, remove any unforgiveness in my heart so that I can be in a full, loving, joyful relationship with You. I want my life to be sweet, Lord. I want it to be sweet. In the name of my precious, precious Jesus, Amen.

Though you are forgiven by our Lord God Almighty, and you are washed clean and a brand new person, there will be people who will continue to judge you and point fingers at you. Pray for those people, for they will be judged in the same way they are judging you. (Matthew 7:1). In Matthew 5:44 Jesus tells us to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” When you are a woman forgiven by our Lord God Almighty, and people won’t let go of your past, that is a form of persecution. Turn to our dear Jesus in those times when your heart is aching and you feel like the world will never forgive you. How the world judges does not matter—only how the Lord judges. The Lord loves you!

My life hasn’t been a perfect one, mostly because I’ve not been a perfect person.  In fact, I’ve been far from perfect, and a person unwilling to change or a person blind to their own faults is a person on a rocky path.  Loose rocks can and usually do cause an avalanche when a person is standing high and lofty in a precarious place.  That’s why it’s so important to stay in the Lord’s house and in a close relationship with Him.  Without our Heavenly Father involved in all aspects of our lives, our lives are disasters waiting to happen, snowballs waiting to roll into huge, destructive walls of snow.  Submission to the Father should be because we love Him so much, and we want to be obedient to Him.  When you fall head-over-heels in love with Jesus Christ, you’ll WANT Him involved in every aspect of your life.  You’ll WANT to listen to what He has to say to you.  The Lord knows you better than you know yourself.  He knows your thoughts before you think them.  He knows your feelings before you feel them.  He responded to the thoughts of the Pharisees in order to open their eyes to their own weaknesses and failings, but they preferred to remain blind.  After all, to live in darkness is to hide the dust and cobwebs of our sinful lives.  To let Jesus Christ shine His light reveals things that we’d rather keep hidden. Jesus knows those things are there in the dark.  Why try to hide them?  We need to confess our sins to Him so we can come out of the darkness and into the light.  Born again.  Washed clean.  Shining for all to see.  Hallelujah!

“…nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.” (John 4:11 NIV) The well of life is deep and dark, and if you have nothing to draw with, the water seems far away. Even when you take a drink, you remain thirsty. What are you using to draw the water? The water I’m speaking of is the Living Water—Jesus Christ, and only He quenches our spiritual thirst. In John 4:1-42 we read of a woman who was spiritually parched, who went to the well during the hottest part of the day so that she would not be ignored or belittled by other women who came to draw water. Everyone knew she was a sinner. She knew she was a sinner. Why do we run when we are pursued by Jesus? Why do we run from His wonderful love and grace? Why do we choose to carry a heavy pot of water during the hottest part of the day? Why don’t we turn around and allow Him to carry our load? Oh, sweet Jesus, precious King of Glory! If you are tired of running, please let Him know. If you are tired of being spiritually thirsty, tell Him. If you want Him to carry the load for you, give it to Him. He wants to be your Savior. He wants a beautiful, loving relationship with you, a relationship that surpasses any human relationship you have known or will ever know. He will never forsake you. He will never mistreat you. He will never turn His back on you. Yes, the well of life is deep and dark, but Jesus is the Living Water you need. Come quench your spiritual thirst at the well that is Jesus!

(this piece was inspired by John 4:1-42, Luke 7:36-50 and me—a woman who greatly loves Jesus!) I was the woman at the well. I am the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus. I freely admit my imperfections. I admit my sinful past. I rejoice in the grace God has given me. I rejoice in my spiritual freedom. My spirit daily dances, and my heart sings forever. I was the woman at the well. That is why I look for ways to anoint the feet of my Jesus. He has shown me that I anoint His feet when I anoint the feet of His people. Daily I went to the well. I had nothing to draw with, and the well was deep. I was thirsty, even after drinking, not knowing I craved the Living Water. Daily I fell short of what I should have been. Daily Jesus pursued me, and I turned away, taking my water pot with me. Now I pursue Him, but He does not run. I anoint His feet with my tears of joy and my gifts of gladness. I wipe His feet with the newness of my soul. At His feet I find healing. At His feet I find life. At His feet my thirst is always quenched, for He is the Living Water. I was the woman at the well, the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus, and I am the woman who has been redeemed. I am the woman who greatly loves Him.

“…beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” (Isaiah 61:3 NIV) That is what God wants for you!

Oh, precious gift! Oh grace divine! Unworthy wretch am I! Forgiveness for the life I’ve led, God’s will to satisfy. That You would clean this dirty soul And make it born again; That You would take this deed-stained life And wash away this sin; That You would give Your life for mine And shed Your blood for me; That You would take each sin of mine And nail it to the tree; My Lord, I cannot comprehend,I cannot fathom how You bore the pain and suffering That gracious God allowed. And even though You died for me, For me You rose again! You brought me to the blood-stained cross Where daily life begins. Oh, wondrous gift! Oh, grace divine That purged a dying soul! My life was saved upon that cross Where God’s blood freely flowed. Oh, precious gift! Oh, grace divine! This captive was set free To walk the earth and speak of grace And make a heartfelt plea: Accept this gift of grace divine, Accept God’s love so sweet; Allow the Savior to forgive And make your life complete.

The Lord has paid sweet freedom’s fee…You are forgiven…The deaf can hear, the blind can see…It’s true, you are forgiven…The one you were no longer lives…You are forgiven…The heart so dark now greatly gives…Dear child, you are forgiven…Bound up in sin, the lock is gone…You are forgiven…The darkness now has changed to dawn…Come see how you’re forgiven…Mercy casts translucent glow…Because you are forgiven…The gift is here, untie the bow…Oh, yes, you are forgiven…Forgive yourself, you’re born again…You are forgiven…Christ’s blood has washed away the sin…God’s child, you are forgiven.