faith

#Identity #Faith #Bible

Truths about forgiveness.

God designed our bodies to best function on grace not grudges.

Forgiveness heals you from the inside out.

Freedom never asks you to walk back into harm - ever. Boundaries are imperative and right.

Forgiveness is releasing the right to retaliate.

We don’t forgive because they deserve it.

Forgiving and forgetting is not reality.

Bitterness is drinking poison hoping the other person will die.

Sometimes all we can pray is “God I don’t want to forgive, I am angry and bitter, please help me to want to forgive”.

Forgiveness may not be a one time decision. Sometimes it’s layered and revisiting the pain will be many occasions.

Blessing the person is often the last step. It’s not about feeling but obedience.

No one is immune from pain, sorrow and hurt. Feelings will often lag behind our decision making. It’s normal. Choosing to forgive is an act of faith.

Is forgiving easy? Rarely. It’s a gesture of grace. Yet, it’s wonderfully liberating.

Self loathing is not holy. Shame has no place in Christianity. We need to forgive ourselves. We need to let go of inner criticism. Conviction addresses a specific sin. Self Condemnation says we are a failure, asks us to live in paralysis and shame.

“As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our sins from us.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭103‬:‭12‬ ‭GNT‬‬

youtu.be/fdsz3ou9wa4

amp.abc.net.au/article/13106662

I don’t know about you but I need constant reminding of this.

Sometimes I surprise myself at how I can be blind to obvious solutions. For too long I have endured a load of stress trying to navigate Sydney traffic trying to get to appointments on time.

Traffic can be upended so easily if there is an accident or other interruption so we use a live traffic gps program all the time to avoid getting stuck in a jam. Even then though it can be unpredictable and frustrating.

For too long I have found myself getting very stressed trying to be on time. This morning driving to Tai Chi the traffic was challenging, then the obvious dawned on me.

I could turn this problem into a procedure by simply planning to arrive ten minutes early. If I am early I have some time up my sleeve. If I am delayed then I will still be on time without stress.

So simple, so promising.

My son Isaiah was born at 23 weeks and 2 days he was born on 2/27/25. It was scary when my water broke I was telling myself my son is too small still and he can't come out yet. I was crying and praying that he will be okay he is fighting more each day to stay alive. He will be in the NICU until he is 40 weeks old. It's hard to see him everyday because I have my 2 year old son and I don't drive and I don't have anyone close to me to help take care of him for a bit so I can go see his little brother at the NICU. I wait until his dad gets home from work and we go see him at night time and make sure we let him know that we love him and that everyone is praying for him. It's hard especially all of us that are going through it having to see our baby in the NICU not able to hold them yet or to touch them because they are too small. #NICU #strong #Faith

…and your virtual jumping record says 6.66 calories burned 😱😱😱 #adaptivefitness #adaptiveboxer #Faith

I needed to hear this today. Hopefully it encourages you too.

This is so true!!!

Shed a lot of tears in church this morning. I hate crying but the service was so emotional this morning. My daughter spoke about the hymn, “It is well with my soul”. One of my favourites.

My Wife shared about when our daughter was born after a 36 hour labour, our baby wasn’t breathing. The doctors frantic intervention wasn’t working, so in desperation my Wife started singing the song she would frequently sing over our unborn baby, “Jesus loves me”.

As soon as she started singing our baby lifted her head a little and started breathing.

When our daughter was a seriously ill teenager a doctor told us to stop seeking a solution to her chronic health issues and to take her home and “let her rest and enjoy her short final days”.

We ignored that advice. Doctors said she would never work, marry, have children or live a long life. Today she owns her own business, employs 15 people, has two children and is a Pastor in our church.

We triumph in it until we triumph over it. Life hasn’t been easy for her. A few years ago when I was hospitalised for bad mental health I got the news that my daughters son, Tobias, had passed away. Such unimaginable grief and pain.

Yet, in those days of formidable pain, we experienced the great love, comfort and presence of God.

Be encouraged today. You are loved. There is hope. It is well.