2025-12-26
Good morning, Dear Ones,
Last week, the Holy Spirit had me list some important questions we should all ask ourselves: 1) How can we cooperate with God in His efforts to be civilize us; 2) How can we enrich our spiritual lives and those of others; 3) How can we enrich our relationship with God; 4) To what can we look forward? Answering these questions is foundational to getting a fresh start in our lives. God loves us so much that He is doing everything He can to get our attention. Sadly, a subset of humankind will ignore and/or openly reject Him. We must ask ourselves; do we want to be part of that group or not? Those of us who don’t will either accept the faith our parents teach us from childhood or search for spiritual fulfillment on our own.
The willingness to submit to God’s call to faith must come first. Then, comes study of His word from the OT and NT. Reviewing one’s criteria for who is a friend, a person that one can respect and want to emulate. The Holy Spirit inhabits his heart and makes changes in it—some subtle and others profoundly obvious. The gradual process of transformation takes place. One such profound change is in willingness to forgive and understanding why God’s will is for us to make this change. EPH 4: 31-32, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Forgiveness isn’t something we can achieve alone. We need to learn to forgive others and/or ourselves for the sin of grudges we’ve held and evil actions we’ve taken. All of this is God’s will for us to reconcile with Him and make the changes in our attitudes necessary. 2 COR 5: 16-17, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
This reconciliation with God isn’t something we do alone. One component is our making the changes we can. The other component is what God does for us. 2 COR 5: 18-21, “All this is from God, Who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made Him Who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Yes, it was Christ’s sacrifice on the cross that makes reconciliation with God possible, as well as salvation.
MT 5: 44-45, “But I tell you,’ Christ told us, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” This is not easy for us to do emotionally, but it’s essential to being faithfully obedient to our Father in heaven. The innate human response is to hold a grudge against such wrongdoers. Thanks to Christ’s sacrifice, we have been given the ability to go against such evil attitudes and behavior in favor of doing God’s will. This is even true when the other party refuses to forgive us. In such cases, it is necessary to put distance between such a wrongdoer for the sake of peacemaking. We should never allow such a person to pull us back into attitudes or behavior that goes against God’s will.
When we have been engaged in wrongdoing, Christ also gives us the power to forgive ourselves. Prayer, especially honest prayers of confession, are definitely in order in such a situation. 1 JN 1: 9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” This verse reassures us that God is always ready to forgive, encouraging us to extend that same grace to ourselves. RO 8: 1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” This frees us from all guilt and shame.
PRAYER: O Lord, we can’t help but be grateful for all the kindness, grace, and goodness that You make possible in our lives. We acknowledge the power You have to make it possible for us to see the truth, through the Holy Spirit, submit to Your truth, to understand from studying the Scriptures in context Your will, and to be forgiving of ourselves and others. You make yourself available to us at any time through prayer and Your direction. Through the sacrifice of Your only Son on the cross, You justify us [RO 4: 3], save us [JN 3: 16], and make it possible for us to reconcile with You [RO 5: 10-11]. How sweet is Your eternal forgiveness of our sins! [1 JN 1:9; MICAH 7: 19]. When we confess with openness and honesty, You are eager to bless us with the rewards of righteousness. You motivate us to be faithful and obedient to You. We are forever grateful for Who You are and what You do. This prayer comes with our utmost praise and thanksgiving, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: As one can see, today’s devotion was in answer of the first question: How can we cooperate with God in the service and understanding of His will? Next week, we will look at the second question: How can we enrich our spiritual lives and those of others? These important questions are designed to follow our Lord in His enormous task of civilizing mankind and bringing as many as possible to eternal salvation. They also assist in giving people a fresh start. The Holy Spirit wants us to feel God’s love and the inner peace it gives us. Praise and thanksgiving be to Him!
Grace Be with You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2025. All Rights Reserved.
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