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The Release that Forgiveness Brings.

This week, as I write this, has had its ups and downs. I’m not going to share the full details, it would take too long and be of little value. But I will share an observation, or two, that I’ve made, some of which, that I kind of already knew, but then had to put into practice.

I had a major misunderstanding.
I was very much so annoyed by this misunderstanding, and so was the other person involved.
Our conversation become a bit heated.
We both parted feeling frustrated.

I, of course was fully in the right!!! …… ??? 🙂

How much are we ever fully in the right???

There are some small things that I did, that I know, could have been taken the wrong way, and as such fuelled the misunderstanding.
From my point of view, the other was more wrong than me. But did I do or say things that didn’t help???

Needless to say, I was operating from a position of frustration, annoyance, and dare I even say it….. anger. 😦

Thankfully at some point I recognised this and kind of knew that I needed to forgive the other party involved.
So I endeavoured to do just that.

I said aloud, “I forgive the one who has been and who is upsetting me.” (Not necessarily the exact words I used, but hopefully you get the idea.) I didn’t say this to the person, face to face, but just to the room that I was in.
Saying “I forgive you” face to face, would probably have only been adding more fuel to the fire.

Change then came about in the situation, or more to the point, in me.
A large amount of the heat, just left.
I would like to say that in was a picture of serene peace, but that would be a blatant lie. But I was, on the whole, a lot better than I was.

Anger and frustration were no longer my main driving force, pushing me to justify myself and point out the others errors.

The problem remained exactly the same, but at least now I could try to do something about it without the heat of pain, anger, and frustration putting the gas pedal to the floor and steering me in an unhelpful direction.

So what did I do next?

I felt that I needed to write an email, to try and state clearly, without the emotions. what I thought had gone on, from my point of view.

I did not want to do this.
I kind of thought that anything that I would do, would be adding fuel to the fire.
I just wanted to either ignore everything or go directly to a supervisor and try to state my point of view to them. (It was a work related situation, of sorts.)

In the end I listened to the small quiet voice, that just said, “Write an email.”
The email was written, with (I believe) the help of that same small quiet voice. Then I sent it to the one that I wanted nothing to do with. …..
Then nothing.

There was no phone call or reply email.
Time was going by and something needed to be done, because a deadline was approaching fast. So now it was time to make a call and seek a supervisor’s help/point of view.

During the call with the supervisor, it became apparent to me that the individual who I sent the email to wasn’t in that day.
They hadn’t even seen the email, so couldn’t have even responded to it.
What good fortune for me. 🙂

The supervisor appraised the situation (by seeing a copy of the email sent) and agreed that working with a different person was probably best.
Other things were clarified, and a plan to go forward was put in place.

How I feel so greatly blessed for sending an email that I didn’t want to send. (Were my actions being directed by Someone much Greater than me… ???)

My meeting with the new person was tense to begin with, but as we both just focused on going forward (without speaking about the history) the tension soon eased and we could concentrate on the work that needed to be done, in as friendly manner as we could.

I would like to say that full reconciliation has taken place, but it hasn’t. I’m unlikely to need to deal with the person I had the troubles with, so how much effort should be put into reconciliation?

Could me seeking reconciliation, in this instance, be causing more pain than is needed with little up side?
Could seeking reconciliation, be me trying to say, “I was right, all along!” ????

This post started as a comment I made to a YouTube video.
It seems quite apt to end this post by repeating that same comment here now.

I had a situation that caused me a great deal of frustration this week.
There was plenty of Heat that went away as I said aloud “I forgive the one one who is doing this to me.”
The problem remained, but I was then able to deal with it …. without the Heat playing it’s part. I do feel that My Lord directed me and the problem is mostly dealt with, small details remain, but they are small and are manageable.
The Power of Forgiveness is Great, and All the more Powerful when done in front of Our Heavenly Father.

_________________________________

Forgiveness is Key

Forgiveness and Reconciliation are Two very Different Things

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Is it Time to Line your Ducks Up, or Knock them Down?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

3 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

From the above verses we can see that there is indeed a time for all things. I’m going to be a bit cheeky and say that,
“There is a time to line your ducks up, and a time to knock them down.”

OK, I know that, that bit isn’t in the bible, but it is a thought I had that lead me to the above verses, that are. 🙂

If you are anything like me, once I’ve set my ducks up, (little metal duck targets I’m thinking of, so no actual ducks were hurt in this picture. 🙂 ) Then I want to knock them down immediately, or as close to that as I can. 🙂

The thing is though, does that fit in with Our Heavenly Fathers plans?

Is there a difference between the two times?
And can we know what that difference is?

Sometimes it may well be right to knock them down, the moment that they are set up. They are little target ducks to be knocked down, after all.

But what if a world record attempt is being done for most number of duck targets to be knocked down in one go??? ….
(is there such a record… ???)

If there was such an attempt, then the time for setting up and knocking down would matter that much more.
Setting up for a record attempt can take a lot of time, and extra time may be needed to ensure that everything is set up, just so.
Then when the knocking down occurs, it needs to be synchronised so that all are knocked down at the same instant.
A time for setting up and a time for knocking down.

Can we know the difference?
Will we listen for the right moment to do ……. ?
Having said that, is Now the right moment to do ……. ?
Are there also times when anytime is the right time?
Times when we just need you do something, instead of just standing still?

I’d like to be able to answer the above questions, but I can’t. I’m just like everyone else, looking for the right time.
But Our Lord God Almighty Knows what the right time is, for all things!

So if I want to do something immediately, but He says to wait ….. Then will I be able to hear His voice, and more importantly, will I then be able to follow His leading?
Likewise, if I want to stay still, but His voice says to move, then will I be willing to follow His leading and move?

Lord God,
You do indeed know All Things.
Please help me to hear and follow Your voice that much better.
Help me to trust Your timings and to know that You work all things together, for Your good.
Amen.

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An Adjustment is Needed.

Have you ever had one of those times when you were holding onto to something so tightly, then someone comes along and says,
“Let go, an adjustment is needed.”

I heard a story were such an occurrence happened.

There was a couple who were happily sleeping under a duvet.
At some point in the night the 1st partner (I’m not going to say whether it was the husband or the wife, 🙂 ) complained, “I need some more duvet, I’m getting cold!”
The 2nd partner responded, “You already have most of the duvet, you can’t have the little that I’m left with!”
But the 1st insisted that they were cold.
The 2nd partner eventually turned the light on, then looked at what was going on. They then got out of the bed, went round to the 1st partner and said, “Please let go of the duvet.”.
The 1st partner did just that. The 2nd partner then took the corner of the duvet and walked it down the bed, covering the 1st’s legs. They then took the other corner that the 1st was holding onto, and then brought it over their shoulders.
The 2nd partner, then duly went back to bed, and said, “We can both go to sleep, warm under the duvet now.” (Other words, muttering or joking may have been said. 🙂 )

An adjustment was needed.

The 1st partner was holding on so tightly to the duvet in the wrong way, so that it wasn’t keeping them warm.
They had everything they needed to be warm, but an adjustment was needed.
Thankfully the 1st partner allowed the 2nd partner to make the needed adjustment.

Can we sometimes make the same mistake of holding onto, too tightly …….. ?
Do we then, need to allow an adjustment to be made?

Can we sometimes find ourselves in places where we feel out of our depth, and then just cling to whatever we can?
Could we release our grip and instead cling to Our Lord God?

The Israelites at the Red Sea, had to effectively let go of Egypt and step into what God had planned for them. (Exodus chapter 14)

In 1 Kings 17:7-16 we can read how a widow who didn’t have enough to feed herself and her son, then goes onto to feed Elijah, herself and her son, as she makes an adjustment and follows Elijah’s instructions to make him some bread, even though she didn’t have enough for herself.

1 kings 17:14
14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

As the widow gave what she had, back to God by feeding Elijah, she was then able to supply not only Elijah’s needs, but also her own, and her son’s needs.
She made an adjustment and God provided.

Is there an adjustment that we need to make to our thinking or actions?
Will we release what we have, to allow God to be the provider of our needs?

Philippians 4:19
19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

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Here’s your Answer, Do some more work.

Have you ever had those times when you start to think. “Am I getting this right? Am I doing the right thing?”

I was starting to feel that way about something. Then in a strange kind of way, the something that I was struggling with, then just started flowing. And before I knew it, a certain amount of work had then just been done.

That’s when I had the thought of this week’s post. “Here’s your answer, do some more work.”

It made me smile. 🙂

The Lord Our God knows what it is that we need at any given time.
Sometimes He may bring a comforting word of encouragement to keep us going.
At other times it could be a word of warning or a word to not do something.
But then other times, could He just give us a work to do and the ability to do it?
Then He might even give you the answer of, …….
“Here’s your answer, do some more work.”

Ecclesiastes 9:10
 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

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You’re only One Rain Drop in a Desert.

I’m hoping that I can write this one in a way that blesses rather than causes concern.

The world could be considered a dry and dusty place in need of a refreshing rain.
Many are the rain drops that fall onto the land to bring a refreshing, but each individual is rain drop is only a single rain drop, all on its own.

One raindrop alone can’t possibly refresh the entire land, but it can bring one rain drops refreshing to the land that it falls onto.

We are all individual rain drops falling to the land.
Will we bring a refreshing, that we can bring to the land, or will we keep our refreshing to ourselves? Not willing to give up or hand over that which we have?

As you move towards the land, remember, you are only one rain drop.
It’s not all on you to bring a refreshing to the entire land, just the part you fall onto.

As you look at all the rain falling on the landscape, know that you are part of the refreshing rain fall, when you do that, which you are meant to be doing.

So individual rain drop, will you do your part?
Will you bring a blessing where you can, as you pass through your day?
Do not concern yourself too much with the whole, but just bring the refreshing, which you are able to do, where you are able to.
Together with all the other rain drops, a true refreshing can be brought to a dry and dusty land.

Could an individual rain drop increase its size by being more willing to be refreshing?
Could a group of rain drops join in there efforts to bring a refreshing to a certain point on the land?
Will each individual rain drop be willing to be directed by the wind, so as to land exactly where The Lord Our God wants it to land?
Will you be the laser guided rain drop, that The Lord Our God, Knows that you could be?

Matthew 25:29
For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

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Enlarge Your Tent.

This is something that has been spoken at our church in recent times. The full version is in Isaiah 54:2

“Enlarge the place of your tent,
    stretch your tent curtains wide,
    do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
    strengthen your stakes.

The basic interpretation of this text is, make room for expansion. Make room for more, for you are about to be blessed.

It’s great to hear a word like that spoken to your self or a group that you are included in. But will you follow the instruction to enlarge your tent?

Can we sometimes hear that a blessing is coming, if we will just do …….., just to focus on the blessing, but then not do the instruction of…….. ?

Can we also try to do the enlarging process, to find that it feels all wrong and awkward. To then, just revert back to old and familiar ways that we know and like?
If we do, do this, then do we miss out on a blessing that is available, if we will just follow the instruction?

I’m looking to make a new purchase of an item at the moment.
I already have my good, old and trusted item at present. It’s not broken and works.
I could carry on using good old faithful and probably be perfectly happy. But the new is available.
The new is slightly bigger in some ways, and as such, it feels a little daunting. It doesn’t feel the same as the old and familiar. It feels quite a bit awkward.
But the new is bigger and better in so many ways.
Now I have a choice to make…

Will I stick with good old faithful, or choose the new?

If I choose the new, then I have a learning curve to climb.
I will need to grow into the new, before it will become my new, good old faithful.

Am I willing to take that journey?

Will I step into the new, or stick with what I know, and remain in my comfortable zone?

For me, both choices are valid, and I could choose either one and be perectly happy. But would the new bring a greater blessing? If I will just choose to take hold of it.
I may need to learn all that I need to with the new, but will it lead to a greater blessing if I can just take hold of it, and all that goes with it.

If The Lord Our God asks us to enlarge our tents, then will we do just that?
Will we allow Him to take us out of our comfort zone?
Will we make room for the blessings that He has for us?
Will we walk along a new road, learning the the lessons that He teaches us as we follow His prompting and His leading?

_____________________________

Blinded by the Light
Will you step into more of what God has for you, or will you shrink back?

An Open Door
Are you ready to step into what Father has for you?

Should I take route 1 or route 2?
When the Lord Your God asks you to take a route… then will you follow His route or your route???

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Can we see the Gold that is hidden in the mess?

I had been reading Job, not too long ago. I have to admit that it’s not one of my favourite books to read. It can be a bit sad and depressing.

Job suffers, and then his friends come to comfort him by judging him and telling him to turn back to God. Even though Job never turned away from God, in the first place.

This time as I read Job, I saw that one of Job’s friends actually gives Job a word of prophecy that is good, but it is hidden by the not so nice stuff he speaks to him in the same breath.

Job 8 1-7

8 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2 “How long will you say such things?
    Your words are a blustering wind.
3 Does God pervert justice?
    Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
4 When your children sinned against him,
    he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.
5 But if you will seek God earnestly
    and plead with the Almighty,
6 if you are pure and upright,
    even now he will rouse himself on your behalf
    and restore you to your prosperous state.
7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
    so prosperous will your future be.

In the above passage we can see that it appears that Bildad has got it so wrong and so right, all in the same breath.

Just re-read verses 5-7 and you can see where he looks to have got it right, with a word of prophecy. Job was rightrighteous and did seek The Lord, and he was more greatly blessed after his time of trials. (We are told this at the end of the book of Job, Job 42:10.)

So, can you see why I think that verses 5-7 are words of prophecy?

I can also see very easily why they were missed by Job, (and me for many readings). They were hidden by the not so good stuff that Bildad said right before he brought the good stuff.
How much better would it have been if Bildad didn’t say verses 1-4 but only brought 5-7 instead?

So Bildad seems to have got it wrong by bringing verses 1-4, but did Job get it wrong by missing verses 5-7?

I do think that this is a harsh thing to ask, as I missed it for so many times, even though I knew the final outcome. But it is still actually there.

When you are suffering, your thinking can go a bit wrong, because you are suffering. And Job was suffering in the biggest way when the word was spoken to him. So it’s no surprise that Job heard the harsh words Bildad brought instead of the words of prophecy. I think I would have missed them too. (I did miss them, many times.)

Can we learn anything from this?
Are there times when we miss the good stuff that God has for us because it’s wrapped up in with a load of nonsense? Offensive nonsense?
If we try to help someone who is suffering, do we wrap up our good words (words from God) with offensive nonsense words (words from ourselves that are wrong)?

It’s made me stop, think and ponder.

My Heavenly Father,
You do indeed Love me and have Good things for me.
Please help me to see the Good that You have for me and to let go of the nonsense.
Please help to not bring nonsense to others.
Please stop me in some way if I’m about to get it wrong.
Please help me to be someone who will bring Your Good blessings to others.
If a tough word is needed, then please help me to bring it in a way so that it can be seen and recieved as a blessing from You.
My Loving Lord God Almighty.
Amen.

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The King in the Mud

I was talking with a friend about Jesus. As we we were talking, he said, “I can’t understand why Jesus would leave heaven, and come down to a fallen world. Why would he want to leave all that glory, to just come down here and then suffer as he did?”

I know that the answer is Love. Jesus came to the earth, to live a perfect life, as an example for us, and to then pay the price for the wrong that we have done. But I was struggling to show this to my friend, in a way that he could understand.

As I thought about this, a picture came to my mind.

A King and his son were riding their horses through the country, wearing their royal robes. They were all alone when the son’s horse suddenly bolted off into the distance.
The King followed in great haste.
The son’s horse headed to a boggy area, and duly threw the son deep into the mud. The son was in dire peril. He was stuck deep in the mud, in all his royal robes, being pulled under.
The King saw the situation and immediately jumped off his horse, threw his royal robes to the side (it would do no good if he got caught in the mud because of what he was wearing) and waded in to save his son.

So why did the King disrobe and enter the mud so quickly?

Love for his son.
He saw his son and knew that if he didn’t act quickly, then his son would be lost. He considered his son to be more important than his royal robes and how clean he was.

The above picture gives us a glimpse of why the Father sent Jesus to the earth.
He saw us and the deadly peril that we are in.
He saw that we are lost, and without help, that we would be destined to an eternity of suffering.
Hence, He sent His Son to save us, and Jesus was willing to leave the all the glory of heaven, in order to be a rescue line to save us.

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Many could be on the Stage, but the spaces are few.

This is a thought that came as I was watching a worship video.

There were the singers/dancers at the microphones. Then there was the crowd/people on the same level as the singers. One of the people was clearly in the moment, and could easily have been put at one of the microphones. Then the thought “Many could be on the stage, but few are the spaces”, came to my mind.

I can see this truth very easily.
Up front there are only so many spaces.
So who gets to have the best places…???… if indeed they are the best places???

Who is able to stand in the limelight, and not crumble?

Do you want to be in the limelight?
If you answer “YES” to that one you quickly, …. then do you need to take a humility pill….??? 🙂

There may be many stars on the side lines (we are all stars, in our own special way, 🙂 ) but if some of those stars were to be thrust into the limelight, then how would they do???

Some would Shine and be a Great Light, for The Lord. But would others stumble and fall?…

Can we know the difference?

If we try to answer that question in our own strength, we might get the answer right and we might get it wrong.
We’d be playing the numbers game. Some we win and some we lose.

But if we are talking about people’s lives, then is there a better method to use over the numbers game…???

Our Lord God’s way???
If we can hear His voice, and follow His Ways, then do our odds get better….??
I know that, the answer to that one is a resounding “YES”.

If we can hear His voice for who should go where, or more importantly, of where and what I should be doing, then how much better are things going to be?

We may not like the answers we get at times, but if we are hearing His words and His purposes for us in ……. , then how much better will it be if we will follow His Ways and His thoughts. Our Loving Heavenly Father, who loves us with an everlasting Love.

There may be some who long to be centre stage, for all the right reasons, but it just doesn’t happen.
Don’t dismay. It might just be your Loving Heavenly Father protecting you from all the arrows that comes with the limelight.

There may be others who don’t want the limelight, but are then just thrust into it.
Your Loving Heavenly Father has you in His Hands. Look to Him for all your needs, for He is able to keep you and to stop your foot from falling.
He Can Protect you from the enemy’s arrows, for He that is us is Greater than he that is in the world.

As for me…. where would I like to be???

Confused is where I currently am. 🙂

I look at some of the things I write, and can just think, “Lord, this is soo good, because it’s from You!
How I long for others to see it so that they can hear Your Words too.”
But I also like not being in the limelight. I am happy to be a star on the side lines.

Fortunately for me, the measure of how successful this blog site (or me in general) is, doesn’t rest with me alone (Although I do need to play my part).
It rests with one Greater than me. (A huge amount greater.)
That rests with My Lord God Almighty!

He Is All Powerful.
He is All Loving.
And He knows what is Best.

I will just try to follow where He leads me, and leave the rest up to Him.

My final thought on this comes from a film. (Of all the places it could come from 🙂 )

Don’t try to be a great man. Just be a man and let history make it’s own mind up.

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Will you hear Father’s voice, before you post???

I went you the shops recently and bought a replacement product for one that was running low. (Nothing too exciting there. 🙂 )

I placed the new product under the old one, then a day or so latter I saw that they were a different size. The new one looked like it had been through the wash. It had shrunk a bit.

“Cost cutting measures by the big companies.” Was among some of my thoughts. I then thought about taking a picture of it and posting it online. Spot the difference kind of thing.

“One was bought a while ago, and one was bought recently, can you spot what the difference is? 🙂 ” Was among my thoughts for the caption.

Then a thought entered my head.
It went something along the lines of… “You could post this and many people could find it funny. But will there be some who could be upset by this? Will there be some who could see it and then think, “Big companies doing cost cutting by stealth at our expense and hoping that nobody notices, arrrhhhh!”
Do you really want to post this, and possibly cause someone some pain, just so that you can get a like or two?”

I don’t normally post things online. I’m just not generally interested in it, other than blog posting.
Blog posting is probably 99.9999% of what I put online. So for me it was an easy matter to follow the thought.

Yes I could easily post it, but I could just as easily not post it.
If by not posting it, I’m not causing someone a small amount of pain, then isn’t that going you be the better option?

Rather than post a fun something that might cause someone a bit of grief, I’ll instead try to stick to blog posting that will try to lift someone up.

Thank you my Heavenly Father for giving me that thought.
It was an easy one to follow.
Please help me to keep hearing Your thoughts all the more, so that I can keep in step with You.
Please forgive me when I get it wrong, which I know I do at times.
Thank you for accepting me just as I am.
Amen.