Forgiveness: The Will of the Lord                                                     June 2008

I was talking with a brother the other day and we were talking about forgiving others. The scripture says in Mark 11: 25 "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.” So he asked me, “So then, are we saved because we forgive others? I thought we were saved by the atoning blood of our Savior, Jesus.”
That comment sent me to the Word and the commentaries. We have read these verses before but have we ever really considered the above question? Following are a few portions to consider. When you look them up read the whole chapter or verses following and preceding to maintain the context.
Colossians 3:12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you (forgive them). (NASB)
Ephesians 4: 29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Christ also forgave me. To believe, as “believe” is used in John 3:16, is to have a life altering experience of great spiritual magnitude. To believe requires a life change wherein we serve God. Holy God the Father saw me as a sinner. I was filthy and unfit to stand in His holy presence. When I came to Jesus, He made me clean; the Father now sees me through blood colored glasses and the miracle is that through Jesus blood He sees me as holy and righteous. To ‘believe’ as applied is explained here, 1Corinthians 8:6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
At the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer recorded in Matthew 6:90-13 Jesus continued by saying, 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. The thought is that God has forgiven us much. We indeed deserve death. If we truly accept and understand the forgiveness extended to us by the Father then it is a small step to reach out and extend forgiveness with love to those around us whether they have offended us or not.
And finally, be assured, we are saved by grace and not of works. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

                             If it is not for Jesus…It is for nothing.      

                                                                                        Rusty Marsh, Chaplain

2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth..” (Matt. 12:20)
Jesus came to serve and not be served. As one reads the gospels it is clear that Jesus, God incarnate, came for one purpose and only one purpose…to be the sin sacrifice for my sins: And your sins.
Verse 1 says He was God’s chosen and God’s soul delights in Him. And He will bring forth justice to the nations. Not only is Jesus the King of the Jews, He is also Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He is God and Savior to the whole world, not only the people of Israel but all the people of the world.

Verse 2 relates to Jesus before Pilate at the formers trial. At His trial he did not argue for His defense. He did speak a couple of times. Once He told Pilate He was indeed King of the Jews (Mark 15:2) and also that Pilate did not really have the power over Him (John 19:11).
Verse 3 says “A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench.” I think this is an example of Jesus and also an instruction to us. As you probably know a stalk of grass or a flower that has been bent once is no longer very robust. Once bent it is fragile and won’t stay upright without being held up. This is how we should help one another. When we see someone struggling or falling we need to come alongside them and render aid. I like Galatians 6:1-2 “ Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

The thought here is to come along side and place our hands under the arms of the one that needs help and lift them up. This is done in kindness and love with humility. Reread the second half of verse one.

Then there is the smoking flax. Talk about fragile. When in Kansas visiting my cousin she showed us how to make fire without matches or a lighter. She had a rock that looked like a leave-er-right to me. This particular rock was a flint rock. When she struck it against a piece of iron it emitted sparks. She bent over and assembled some tender dry burned cotton material. While protecting the tinder from the wind she struck the flint and after many tries and much sparking a small glow remained in the cotton. Talk about delicate, this small glow needed to be protected and gently worked. She blew very gently on it while placing other flammable material next to it. After much care and gentle effort a flame began to emerge and finally became a small fire that could be built upon to make large bonfire for visiting around and roasting marshmallows.

This experience gave me a whole new way to look at the middle of Isaiah 43:3. Jesus is the one verse 3 is about. But, again, it is an example to us of how we should handle our brothers and sisters in Christ. Most of the time we are all pretty hardy and not easily tipped over. But in each of our lives we can lose focus on Jesus and become fragile. When this happens please be kind and prop up the brother and encourage him. Thank you for following Jesus and helping each other…

If it is not for Jesus…It is for nothing

Chaplain Rusty, February 2008

    He went home with them and they realized He was Jesus…then He vanished. 3. Jesus also appeared in the upper room, where the doors were locked. (Lk 24:36; Jn 20:19) Thomas was not present at that time. 4. Eight days later Jesus appears to the disciples when Thomas was present. Again the doors were locked and He just appeared in their midst. (Jn 20:26) Neat trick…coming and going at the speed of thought through locked doors. I suppose when we are resurrected we will be able to do that also. 5. Jesus appears by the sea when the boys were fishing. (Jn 21:14) He had a breakfast of fish on the fire. Peter got skunked fishing then Jesus told them to cast their net on the right side of the boat…they caught 153 nice size fish. 6-8.

    Some where in time Jesus also appeared to Peter, James and over 500 people. (1Cor 15:5-7) 9. Jesus then led them to the mountain. He gave them final instruction and was taken up in a cloud. This may have been where the five hundred plus people saw Him. (Lk 24:36-53; Acts 1:3-9) 10. Jesus appeared to Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9:3-5; Acts22:5-11) We see several writers giving eyewitness accounts of Jesus appearances after He was raised from the dead. The witness is established according to The Law in Deuteronomy. Each of the twelve died pronouncing that Jesus was the Christ and was raised from the dead. Could we do any less? By Him we are forgiven and by Him we are saved. If a person rejects such a great salvation how dire must the punishment be. In The Revelation chapter one we read… 7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. 8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

You must be saved to be glad at His second coming!

WALK WITH HIM!

Easter has passed but for the Christian the resurrection is our hope for eternity.

 If it is not for Jesus…It is for nothing.

                                                                                                                                                                   Chaplain Rusty April 2008The path to eternal glory according to the book of Romans… (NKJV) 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.