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Posts Tagged ‘Matthew 05’

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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Jumping for Joy

Posted in Christ, Joy, tagged on January 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Our Joyful Monday scripture comes from the Beatitudes, Matthew 5:12.

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Matthew 5:11-12 (KJV)

Jesus tells the crowd that when they are persecuted for his sake they are to “rejoice” and be exceedingly glad because they have a great reward waiting for them in heaven.

That word, “Rejoice” literally means “Jump for Joy”, like the winning team on the football field when the game has been won.

We jump for joy when something good happens, but Jesus said to jump for joy BEFORE something good happens.  That’s a big difference.

When our fourth child was born, we got bad news.  Something was wrong, they could’t figure it out.  Days in the hospital went by until finally they sent him home with no diagnosis but with a big bill which the insurance refused to pay.

It was oppressive. We were poor and constantly harassed for the moneyI We didn’t know what was wrong with our child or if he would survive.  Tension headaches were constant.

I heard a message on rejoicing in the midst of problems, so I decided to act.  When the pressure was unbearable I would find a private place to actually jump and praise God for the doctors, the bill collectors, the uncertainty and As I did this the pressure eased and I would go back to work.  This would happen several times a day as months went by.  Each time it was a matter of choice instead of feeling; intentional not reactive.

Through a miraculous series of events, the hospital bill was paid and we were free.  A friend said, “I bet you jumped for joy when that happened!”  “Friend”, I replied, the jumping for joy took place before the miracle.  

Are you in an oppressive situation?  Make the decision to intentionally rejoice (Jump for Joy), we have a great God who does miracles.

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Following a Follower

Posted in Character, Committment, Explanations, Paul, Recognizing Christ, tagged , on December 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »

“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” — Apostle Paul (1st Corinthians 11:1)

Christ is the one we are to follow but some don’t, yet, have that connection. Some can’t “see” him and telling them to do so is ineffective.

But they do see us and some follow if not by their actions then certainly by watching our lives unfold — whether we realize it or not.

When Jesus said in his famous “Sermon on the Mount” that we are the light of the world and then added the analogy of a city on a hill (Mtt. 5:14) he meant that more people see a light than those in the light know.

I visited an uncle on his deathbed. We weren’t ever close and had never talked so I thought he knew little about me but when I walked in he said he knew I knew God and he asked me to tell him how to face eternity. He gave his life to Christ that night and sang for joy.

Embrace the calling as Paul did and follow Christ closely — little ones, and not so little, are watching.

— fritz.

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