Colossians 3:13-14:
"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them together in perfect unity."
I have probably used these verses before, but they are worth repeating. I got to thinking, that there is a reason these verses are in the Bible. God knows Satan loves to stir up problems with personal relationships. Our sins are forgiven, but there are still consequences, such as the mistrust of a loved one. It can be very difficult at times to bear with people when they hurt us. If God wants us to bear with, forgive, and love one another, he will help us when we ask him to. The verses before and after these are helpful in further explaining what God wants us to do to be able to do these things, as well. (Let his Word dwell in us richly, for one.)
Visit Pam, at Grey Like Snuffie to find more ABCs of the Word, or click on the flower on my sidebar. (I'm posting early, because I was late for WFW.)
Peace!
Sue
Ms. Sue, You are a true go-getter with the Word. I'm proud of you. I have chosen you to be honored with a special blog award. I hope you will go to my blog and check it out. You deserve it. Blessings ~ Cathryn
ReplyDeleteYou are certainly seeing the challenge of pure love among humanity with your church situation. Praying God has His purifying way in your church, for the good of the body and for His glory; that His love will embrace you as you stand in the gap and pray over what He shows you. Love above all else.
ReplyDeleteHello Sue! Yes there's more to love than good warm feelings for sure. Wonderful choice for V this week. We can never be encouraged too much to put on Love...
ReplyDeleteLove the verse you chose, Sue. Your insight and understanding about forgiveness is wonderful. We all learn through life experience that forgiveness leads to personal happiness and peace.
ReplyDeleteXO...Kathy
This is a wonderful "V" verse!! Love above all!! The main thing that I have learned about forgiveness is this: If I don't forgive, the person I end up hurting the most is myself. I'm the one who ends up bitter and angry while the other--they just go about their daily life--sometimes not even caring.
ReplyDeleteGood choice!!
Beth
This really is worth repeating. The Holy Spirit has been convicting me in this area. Thanks for all of your thoughtful notes on the scripture!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the challenging words... praise God that He works in us and through us in every circumstance if we let Him.
ReplyDeleteIn Him,
Sharon
This is so true, Sue. It's hard once trust has been broken to repair the damage. Sometimes I think the damage must be accepted and that life must be lived around it. So important to live honorably.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Sue. We need reminded of this often. At least I do! YOu guys are almost to the end of the alphabet...then will you start over? I keep saying I want to join but can never seem to time it right! I love to read your scriptures and thoughts on them.
ReplyDeleteLuv,
laura
Cathryn,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words. I have a note in my sidebar about awards. Thank you for thinking of me.
Pam,
It really is a challenge, as I am dreading going to church tomorrow in light of Monday's meeting. I am wondering if maybe God is nudging me to find a place where my husband may end up being willing to go. I don't know.
Ellen,
That's a good way to put it. Thanks for coming to my blog.
Kathy,
God has forgiven me for a lot of things I've done and failed to do in my life, both before and after I became a Christian as an adult. It is something that he has impressed on me that I need to forgive others, in turn.
Beth,
You are right, forgiveness helps the one who forgives more than the one who needed to be forgiven. There's a blogging friend whose son and roommates were badly beaten in a home invasion. She asked for prayers for the attackers. That's going to help her heal.
I enjoyed visiting your blog for the first time. I'm glad you found Pam and joined in.
Jnette,
I've enjoyed meeting you here and through your website, too, and I noticed you are following my blog. Thanks!
Hi Sharon,
You are one of the first Christian bloggers I met. I'm glad I have made it back to your blog. Thanks for coming here.
Sandy,
What you wrote here is quite profound, and I want to tell people at church what you said. When someone is hurt, they may need to live life around it. They can do that without holding on to anger and unforgiveness. God is there to help. Another thing to remember is forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling.
Laura,
I think we all need reminding of lots of things in the Word, don't we? Pam is the one to ask if we will start over at the end of the alphabet. I would like to do it again.
I bought the book that goes with the new Bible study. I hope to get the second chapter read to join the group.
RYC: I'm pretty sure there is more than enough scripture to keep this ABC's going for a long time so I figure, why not.
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat thing... ABCs of the Word!.... what a nice post and reminder you gave here :O)
ReplyDeletethanks for visiting my blog and watching the video I posted by Natalie Grant! I too am not prone to watching video clips. However, I too thought that this video captured some of the true emotions we sometimes go thru while on this side of eternity.... and to remember that God is forever faithful to us! Praise be to Him!
Great post, Sue. I appreciate your postings about God's word. They are an inspiration....And thank you for your support about my situation. Well, no job still, but I'm sure the right job will happen in God's timing. Interesting you should mention the census--I worked the 2000 census in TX before I started my job at Festival Hill, and it was a decent if a temp job. I don't think they will have anyone actually doing anything until Jan 2010 though, and I need work well before, but I could check....you never know.
ReplyDeleteThanks again.
Marie