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Archive for the ‘Holy Spirit’ Category

When Forgiveness is Impossible

Posted in Christ, Cross, Forgiveness, Holy Spirit, tagged , on May 31, 2026| Leave a Comment »

We’ve all heard the classic lines from the Sermon on the Mount:

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

It sounds straightforward on paper, but life gets messy. What happens when someone burns your life to the ground? What do you do when the hurt runs so deep that looking inside yourself for an ounce of forgiveness yields absolutely nothing? Are you just stuck in a loop of bitterness, locked out of God’s grace because you can’t fake a smile and move on?

Here is the twist: You aren’t supposed to find that power inside yourself.

God Made the First Move

When you are trapped in even justified anger, God doesn’t stand over you demanding you fix your attitude on your own. He already stepped in.

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly…God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:6–10, NKJV)

Notice the timeline here. Christ didn’t wait for us to clean up our act, apologize, or become inherently loving people. He died for us while we were still “without strength,” while we were still sinners, and while we were actively operating as His enemies.

Inside-Out Transformation

If you are stuck in unforgiveness today, stop trying to force a feeling you don’t have. Instead, hand that broken, resentful space over to Jesus.

When you invite Him into those dark corners, He doesn’t just give you a set of rules—He gives you His Spirit. He physically moves into your heart and starts changing your emotions and your will from the inside out in ways you can’t engineer on your own. He provides the love for people you are completely incapable of loving by your own strength.

As Romans 5 points out, God’s love is poured directly into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us in Christ.

You don’t have to muster up the strength to forgive today. You just have to let the One who already forgave you take the wheel.

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Joyful Monday! Facing Rejection with Joy

Posted in Faith, Holy Spirit, Joy, Podcast, Rejection, tagged on December 27, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Seemed like a tough couple of weeks for Paul and Barnabas. 

The story is in Acts 13:15-52

The two apostles preached a really good sermon about God’s promise to send a messiah, Jesus, who was raised from the dead, offered forgiveness of Sins and a hope for the future.

But some of the religious people didn’t like their message and tried to put a stop to it, using devout men and women of the area to raise a stink.

The passage is clear, it was the good people doing the persecution. Rejection from bad people is expected but from those trusted to live right?

But it didn’t bother Paul and Barnabas, they just moved on to the next town. Neither did it bother the new converts, Acts 13:52 said they were “filled with Joy and the Holy Ghost”.

This is the focus of today’s “Joyful Monday”.  

We all want to be appreciated, especially by those we value. But JOY must be found elsewhere than acceptance from people, even good people.

Joy comes from a personal relationship with Jesus and is empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Martin Luther, from back in the 1500’s, wrote these Lyrics,

“The Spirit and the gifts are ours; through him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
the body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever!” (“A Mighty Fortress is Our God”)

Full surrender to Christ and living in the Holy Spirit is where JOY invades.

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From Asking & Waiting to Thanking & Doing

Posted in Belief, Benefits, Christ, Experience, Feelings, Holy Spirit, tagged , , , , on January 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” — Romans 8:8-9a

Being “in the Spirit” is not based on how close God feels but on the presence of God’s Holy Spirit. The two are not the same.

Believers don’t always agree on exactly when the Holy Spirit is received but they do agree he is found in Christ, a promised Gift for assurance and comfort.

“You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit because you believed in Christ. The Holy Spirit is the down payment on our inheritance” — Ephesians 1:13 (CEB)

In Christ the Holy Spirit no longer comes and goes but remains even as our feelings change.

It’s time for us to stop asking, singing, pleading for him to come and time start thanking him for being here, moving on to what he wants us to do now that he is.

— fritz

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