“After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded” (John 13:5).

Your boss has assigned you a task!
Come up with a creative solution to a problem that has been costing the company money.

You tackle work at night and on weekends doing the needed research.
Your boss is enthusiastic about your proposal.

Later, in a company-wide meeting, the president gives your boss credit for the solution.
You find it increasingly difficult to continue serving your boss faithfully.

Serving people who have wounded us is a challenge.

Jesus overcame that challenge on the night-
He was arrested, accused, and sentenced to die.
He had gathered with His disciples to celebrate the Passover when He took a towel and a basin of water and began to wash their feet.

In that group of 12 was Judas!
– a thief and generally disagreeable sort, whom Jesus knew was about to betray him (John 13:1-6).

Judas left the meeting early to arrange the betrayal of Jesus-
– but not before Jesus washed his feet,
– along with those of the faithful eleven who remained.

The next time God asks you to serve someone you would rather not-
– remember how Jesus washed the feet of an unlovely man on the road to Calvary.

It is a contradiction to be a true Christian and not humble!

(PR)

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“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs..” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5).

Walking in love is good for your health.
It’s true! Medical science has proven it.

Researchers have discovered that hostility produces stress that causes ulcers, tensions, headaches, and a host of other ills.

Now when you think of hostility, you may think of the type of anger you feel when something serious happens. But according to the experts, that kind of thing isn’t what causes the worst problems.

It’s the little things: when the dry cleaners ruin your favorite outfit, for example. Or when the cafeteria lady puts gravy on your mashed potatoes after you’ve specifically told her not to. Sound familiar?

Just think how much stress you could avoid by being quick to forgive, by living your life according to 1 Corinthians 13! So
– Keep no record of wrongs! Imagine physical and emotional benefits of living like that!

If you’ve allowed yourself to be habitually bound by hostility, that may sound like an impossible dream, but it’s not! Because as a born-again believer, you have the love of God inside of you (Romans 5:5).

If you’ll yield to that love, it will set you free. Remember when Jesus called Lazarus forth from the grave? He was alive but still bound in the grave clothes. Jesus commanded the bindings to be loosed so that Lazarus could be free to walk.

Jesus wants that same kind of freedom for you! So get into agreement with Him. Say to those deadly habits that have you bound, “In the Name of Jesus, loose me and let me go! I’m putting hostility, unforgiveness and selfishness behind me. I’m going on with God. I’m going to live the life of love with others!”

It doesn’t take a medical miracle to turn your life around. All it takes is your decision to yield to the force of love. Do it today!

(PR)

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“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:25).

It’s easy to dismiss the person whom you dislike!
You say “Forget him!” And you think you can get on with your life! Not really! In fact- Not at all!!

Be careful not to get infected with an attitude-
– condoned by this world but condemned by the Word!

Consider what that attitude can do to your praying. Failing to forgive another is one of the things that the Bible says will hinder your prayers. The reason for this is that forgiving others is evidence that we are right with God.

God commands us to forgive! Failure to obey is sin! And sin hinders our prayers. God’s will is not followed when we hold a grudge!
– or dismiss another with a “Forget him!” The unforgiving person is then placed in the position of being an unforgiven person! His fellowship with God is affected.

In the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer-
The words “Our Father” are significant. They remind us that we may pray in private but never alone. We are part of a family, and together we come before God.

Want your prayers to be effective? Check both your relationship with God and God’s people!

List those people whom you should forgive!
Then cross off each name as you forgive them!!

(PR)

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“A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out. In faithfulness He will bring forth justice” (Isaiah 42:3). 

On the night of Jesus’ arrest- Peter denied Jesus! Three times!!
In spite of his lack of loyalty- Jesus extended an invitation of mercy to Peter and said: “Come and dine!”

There on the shores of the Sea of Galilee after His resurrection, Jesus came to Peter and
prepared a table of restoration. Can you imagine what was going through Peter’s mind?
-Guilt and gladness!
-fear and fascination!!
-wonder and worship!!!
… a kaleidoscope of emotions!

He could not believe that he was being invited to the table of the One he had deserted just days before. And not only was he being invited but restored! The depth of Jesus’ covenant love is not exhausted when we sin. There is forgiveness and restoration!

Read this account of restoration in John 21:4-19. Rejoice over God’s plan of restoration in your life!

(PR)

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A few years after World War II-
-a Christian Japanese boy at a public speaking contest announced that his subject would be:
“The Sacredness of Work.”

Some people smiled at his choice, but when they heard his story, their smiles turned to tears.
His parents and home were burned to ashes in the atomic bomb explosion at Nagasaki.
He was the eldest of three surviving children, and together they knelt in the ashes of their home and prayed to know what to do.

One of them said: “I know – we forgive, forget but can work.”
So they set to work, gathering bits of tin and boards.

Soon they had built a little hut in which to live.
They could have nursed their grudge and become gloomy.
Instead they forgave, forgot, and went to work.

No one who wants to maintain spiritual freshness-
– can afford to nurse a grudge.

It will poison both spirit and body.
Grudges put the whole physical and mental system-
– on a war basis instead of on a peace basis!

I know of a man who killed himself inch by inch-
-simply by thinking of nothing but hatred for a relative who had sued him.

Within a year or two he was dead.
A grudge is a-
-sand in your socks!
-stain in your soul!!

If we are to maintain spiritual freshness-
We must determine to forgive everyone who hurts us and refuse to nurse a grudge.
“I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.

Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?” (Matt.18:32-33).

(PR)

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Have you ever tried to forgive someone and found you simply couldn’t do it?

You’ve cried about it and
– prayed about it and
– asked God to help you.

But those old feelings of resentment just failed to go away.
Put an end to those kinds of failures in the future –
– by basing your forgiveness on faith rather than feelings.

True forgiveness doesn’t have anything at all to do with how you feel.
It’s an act of the will. It is based on obedience to God and on faith in Him.

That means once you’ve forgiven a person –
– you need to consider him permanently forgiven! When old feelings rise up within you and

Satan tries to convince you that you haven’t really forgiven, resist him.
Say, “No, I’ve already forgiven that person by faith. I refuse to dwell on those old feelings.”

Then, according to 1 John 1:9 –
Believe that you receive forgiveness and cleansing from the sin of unforgiveness and from all unrighteousness associated with it including any remembrance of having been wronged!

Have you ever heard anyone say, “I may forgive, but I’ll never forget!”
That’s a second-rate kind of forgiveness –
– that you, as a believer, are never supposed to settle for.

You’re to forgive supernaturally “even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32).
You’re to forgive as God forgives.

To release that person from guilt permanently and unconditionally and to operate as if nothing bad ever happened between you.

You’re to purposely forget as well as forgive.
As you do that-
– something supernatural will happen within you.

The pain once caused by that incident will disappear.
The power of God will wash away the effects of it.

And you’ll be able to leave it behind you once and for all.
Don’t become an emotional bookkeeper-
– keeping careful accounts of the wrongs you have suffered.

Learn to forgive and forget.
It will open a whole new world of blessing for you.

“Love…is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it pays no
attention to a suffered wrong” (1 Corinthians 13:5).

(PR)

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“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). 

A father came home one day and walked in on his two children who were in the midst of a fight.
When the little girl looked up, she knew she was in trouble.

Right away, she turned on some crocodile tears, came over to her daddy, and said, “Daddy, I’m so sorry. We shouldn’t have been fighting. Forgive me. I love you Daddy.”

She was in her daddy’s arms and he was thinking, she really has a good spirit about this.
But, then he looked out the corner of his eye and she was sticking her tongue out at her little brother.
Her father said, “You can’t hug my neck and stick your tongue out at the same time.”

Are playing a game with God?
And holding a grudge against somebody?

Do you have that kind of heart today?
Do you think God receives your worship?

It’s time to get it right!

Your unforgiving spirit is going to do more damage to you-
– than it will ever do to the person you refuse to forgive and reconcile!

If there is someone who has sinned against you, forgive that person.
If there is someone who has something against you, go to him and reconcile.

If not-
You will be gossiping, slandering or spreading rumors in the name of sharing.

Get reconciled!
Then go to worship!

Read Matthew 5:23-24.

(PR)

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“Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it” (Numbers 12:1-9).

As the leader of the masses out of Egypt-
Moses endured far more criticism than he deserved.

In Numbers 14, we read how God sent a whole bunch of people to die in the desert because of their incessant complaining.

When Moses’ own family picked up the sour song, God came to Moses’ defense.
To Miriam and Aaron, He said, “Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant, Moses? So the anger of the Lord burned against them” (Numbers 12:8).

In other words-
“Just who do you think you are criticizing Moses like that?”

Notice God’s deep feelings.
He didn’t wait for their explanations.
And they didn’t wait long for the consequences.
God just said, “Enough!”

He hates it when we dwell on the perceived faults of another with no view to their good.
You don’t have to be a Bible scholar to feel God’s heat in this true account.
He considers criticism a sin and He won’t tolerate it.

Obviously, we want to soften that judgment and call criticism a weakness or a bad habit or poor people skills.
While criticism is all that, it’s also a whole lot more.

If you have a critical attitude toward someone-
– you are hindering your fellowship with God!

He hears that bitter spirit come out in your words and wants nothing to do with it.
Makes you wonder, if your spiritual life feels like a wilderness right now – dry, cheerless, and joyless – maybe it’s because you’ve allowed a critical attitude to creep in.

It’s a choice that not only injures your horizontal relationship with others, but also your vertical relationship with God.
It’s your choice!

When He says, “Don’t!” what He really means is, “Don’t hurt yourself!”
When God says, “Don’t criticize,” it’s not because He wants to deprive us of some satisfactory experience.
He is actually saying, “That goes against the nature of who I have made you to be.”

Fish were made to swim.
Birds were made to fly.
People were made to live in fellowship with God.

When we criticize others, we break that fellowship with God.
We hinder our own joy, and our life becomes like a wilderness.

(PR)

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“But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life” (Romans 6:22).

When Jesus Christ comes into your life He changes you.

Maybe you have a problem with drugs or alcohol.
Maybe you struggle with lust, fear, doubt, or self- pity.
Maybe you’re a slave to public opinion or perfectionism.

But-
I want to tell you that the Jesus Christ who set me free is the Jesus Christ who will set you free.

However-
Our freedom in Jesus Christ isn’t the privilege to do what we want.

Instead-
– it is the glorious, abundant, supernatural power to do what we ought.

It is saving grace-
– that sets us free!

It is sustaining grace-
– that keeps us free!!

Bow before the Lord and thank Him for the freedom-
– you’ve been given through the great price of Calvary!

(PR)

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“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).

Rejection is never easy!
But rejection from people we care about really hurts.

Maybe it’s the rejection of losing your job or having a spouse walk out on you.
Sometimes rejection can be so devastating that we’re not sure we are going to recover.

Here are a few thoughts that may help:

Jesus understands!

On the cross, He faced the rejection of the whole world.
Be honest with God about your feelings. He understands.

Don’t seek revenge.
Trust God to bring about ultimate justice.

Ask God to help you forgive.
After all, Jesus forgave us for rejecting Him on the cross.

Don’t confuse forgiveness with a lack of accountability.
Holding wrong-doers accountable is good–for them, for us, and for others.

Choose to get better, not bitter!
The best way to get even in a good way is to get better.

Remember:
“Bitterness is the poison we swallow while hoping the other person dies.”
These four insights can help you overcome rejection.
Put them into practice and rejection will not defeat you.
Rejection is never easy!
But overcoming rejection is a key to successful living.

(PR)

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