Abundantly Pardoned

"I bear on my body the marks of Jesus." (Galatians 6:17 NIV) Paul had physical scars on his body as a result of following Christ and doing His work. In 2 Corinthians chapter 11 Paul lists some of the causes of his scars, including floggings, rod beatings, lashes and many other things. You may not have the physical scars that Paul had from following Christ, but you may have scars in your heart. Sometimes people can be cruel, because they don't understand your passion for Jesus. They may have broken your heart multiple times, but as Isaiah 53:5 tells us, "by His wounds we are healed." Healing of our sins, healing of our hearts. Isaiah 61 tells us, "He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted." Amen, dear Jesus, amen!

"Though we are slaves, our God has not deserted us in our bondage." (Ezra 9:9 NIV) Do you have an addiction? Any kind of addiction? Drugs? Alcohol? Sex? Gossip? T.V.? Food? There are many kinds of addictions, and those who have an addiction are slaves in bondage to their bad habits. But there is hope! God hasn't deserted you! There may be people in your life who have deserted you because of your bondage, but God is still with you. He wants you to lean on Him and draw strength from Him. He wants to enable you to overcome your addictions. Oh, won't you let Him help you?

"I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children." "So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and He answered our prayer." (Ezra 8:21; 23 NIV) Oh, that we took prayer as seriously as did Ezra. Imagine how pleased God would be and the amazing things that would happen. We wouldn't have to just fast from food. We could fast from t.v. or desserts or whatever takes up a lot of our time. What are other ways we can humble ourselves before our God?

As the tragic death of the 5-year-old daughter of Stephen Curtis Chapman has been on mine and everyone's hearts today, I'd like to spend this devotional time focusing on what we can learn from everything that's happened in his life recently, starting with what he learned BEFORE it was too late. As you probably know by his beautiful song "Cinderella," he learned that spending time with his little girls was more important than work or anything else. He wrote, "I'll dance with Cinderella while she is here in my arms." He danced with his little Cinderella before she left the ball. He didn't wait until it was too late. We all need to re-arrange our priorities and enjoy our loved ones while we still have a chance. Nobody knows when the ball will end and our loved ones will be taken home. Please pray for the Chapman family. God bless you!

In the movie "The Goodbye Girl," the "heroine" cries a lot because the married man she was living with walked out on her and her little girl. She and another man then move in together, and she lives in fear of him walking out on her. In fact, she tries to end the relationship before he dumps her. As in most movies, there is a happy ending and the couple lives happily ever after. We can't sin without it catching up with us at some point. A relationship without Christ at the center will, most likely, be a rocky one and one filled with fear. Christ strengthens everyone and all things. "O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to You, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens." (Ezra 9:6 NIV)

When someone laughs at your beliefs, that's disrespect. When a husband oggles another woman when he's with his wife, that's disrepect. When someone talks back to his or her parents, that's disrepect. When an employee goes against his or her employer's wishes, lies to his/her employer or takes extended breaks, that's disrepect. Disrespect isn't Christlike, and it's insulting. "Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt. We have endured much ridicule from the proud, much contempt from the arrogant." (Psalm 123:3-4 NIV)

On Sunday evenings, when you drive through the rural small towns and the countryside, a peacefulness reigns that usually isn't there during the week. It's as if God's hand is upon the earth, stilling all creatures into quietness. Philippians 4:7 tells us that "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Like that peace that reigns throughout the countryside and towns on Sunday evenings, that peace that is beyond our understanding will reign in our hearts and minds---if Jesus is our Savior.

For the past few weeks I've been battling an otitis externa ear infection. That's why I've been so quiet lately. Today I went to an ear specialist who used a metal, needle-nosed nozzle to literally vacuum the infection from my ear. I immediately felt much better and could hear again! The Word of God tells us in John 10:15, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." We are made clean when we accept Christ as our Savior. No matter what our past, no one should ever call us impure as long as we're walking with Jesus and obeying Him and never go back to our old, evil ways. One time I received a Dictaphone advertisement at the hospital that included a little round bar of soap with it. The card read, "Clean up your act." That is what Jesus does for us. He cleans up our act.

"My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise." (Psalm 57:7). Some other words for steadfast are: firmly fixed in place; not subject to change; firm in belief, determination, or adherence; loyal; faithful; persevering; devoted; permanent. When it comes to our Lord Jesus, can those words be applied to us? Are our hearts always devoted to Him, no matter what the circumstances? Are we loyal and faithful to Him no matter what? Do we sing and give praise to Him in all circumstances?

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." (Proverbs 16:9 NIV) He knows what's best for us. He has plans for us, just as He says in Jeremiah 29:11. Why do we arrogantly make our own plans and attempt to make things happen just as we want them to happen? God knows all things. We don't. He can make things happen the way they're supposed to happen, and if we try to do things our way, we'll just be throwing a monkey wrench into the machinery to mess things up. We need to do it God's way by allowing Him to do things His way.