Solomon tells us that “a happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing” (Proverbs 17:22, AMP ). God undoubtedly has a sense of humor; we need only look at some of the animals He created (it’s hard not to smile at the sight of a hippo, a monkey, or a puppy). Or think of some of the married couples you know: don’t you think God was smiling at the wedding as He looked ahead to the interaction of the wildly different personalities that will be living together?Posts Tagged ‘forgiveness’
love covers many sins
In this meditation from By Faith Alone, Martin Luther considers 1 Peter 4:8, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
Here, Peter builds upon a passage from the book of Proverbs: “Hate starts quarrels, but love covers every wrong†(Proverbs 10:12). And this is what Peter means: If you don’t restrain your sinful nature and desires, you will easily become angry with others. You will be unable to forgive others easily. So make sure you curb your evil desires. Then you will be able to love and forgive others, for love covers sin.
choosing maturity, choosing forgiveness
After reading yesterday’s post on praying for our enemies, Not Saussure was kind enough to point me to the blog of Rachel of North London, a woman who survived the terrorist train bombings on July 7, 2005. In her post “The F Word,” Rachel explores the meaning of forgiveness in very real, very practical terms.
As Rachel […]
Lazarus, Night of the Living Dead, and the joy of surrender
Just in case I was uncertain about focusing on humility right now, the Holy Spirit provided ample confirmation Thursday afternoon. I was a little discouraged and decided to read Oswald Chambers’ Utmost and Martin Luther’s By Faith Alone. Here’s what I found —
Luther, writing about Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, says, “Of all the sacrifices we can make, the one most acceptable to God is this: getting rid of sin, living a holy life, obeying God, and killing our corrupt nature.” I love how Luther finishes: “This is very painful and unpleasant for us to do.”…
Your promise gives me life
The Little Book of Hours has included readings from Psalm 119 every day for the past week, and Saturday’s portion blessed me. The writer says,
This is my comfort in my affliction,
that your promise gives me life.
The insolent utterly deride me,
but I do not turn away from your law. (v. 50–51)
In the past, I read affliction as sickness or some other source of physical suffering. And it can certainly mean that. For most of us, though, we likely experience more pain and suffering in relationships, and relational issues — people problems — can suck the life out of us pretty quickly…
the good news
Yesterday, Chris taught one of the best lessons I’ve heard from him. As a conclusion to a series on changing our thinking, he explained the power of words. This is a topic that is deeply important to me, in large part because I’ve experienced the power of both wrong and right words to bring about change…
wisdom from an unexpected source
As I was flipping through the channels, I heard one character on All My Children say to another: “To hate your parent is like drinking slow-acting poison. It only kills you in the end.”
Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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