No buts, JUST FORGIVE!

Psalm 103

The Voice (VOICE)

Psalm 103

A song of David.

1 O my soul, come, praise the Eternal
    with all that is in me—body, emotions, mind, and will—every part of who I am—
    praise His holy name.
2 O my soul, come, praise the Eternal;
    sing a song from a grateful heart;
    sing and never forget all the good He has done.
3 Despite all your many offenses, He forgives and releases you.
    More than any doctor, He heals your diseases.
4 He reaches deep into the pit to deliver you from death.
    He crowns you with unfailing love and compassion like a king.
5 When your soul is famished and withering,
    He fills you with good and beautifulthings, satisfying you as long as you live.
    He makes you strong like an eagle, restoring your youth.

6 When people are crushed, wronged, enslaved, raped, murdered,
    the Eternal is just;
    He makes the wrongs right.
7 He showed Moses His ways;
    He allowed His people Israel to see His wonders and acts of power.
8 The Eternal is compassionate and merciful.
    When we cross all the lines, He is patient with us.
    When we struggle against Him, He lovingly stays with us—changing, convicting, prodding;
9 He will not constantly criticize,
    nor will He hold a grudge forever.
10 Thankfully, God does not punish us for our sins and depravity as we deserve.
    In His mercy, He tempers justice with peace.
11 Measure how high heaven is above the earth;
    God’s wide, loving, kind heart is greater for those who revere Him.
12 You see, God takes all our crimes—our seemingly inexhaustible sins—and removes them.
    As far as east is from the west, He removes them from us.
13 An earthly father expresses love for his children;
    it is no different with our heavenly Father;
The Eternal shows His love for those who revere Him.
14 For He knows what we are made of;
    He knows our frame is frail, and He remembers we came from dust.

15 The children of Adam are like grass;
    their days are few;
    they flourish for a time like flowers in a meadow.
16 As the wind blows over the field and the bloom is gone,
    it doesn’t take much to blow us out of the memory of that place.
17 But the unfailing love of the Eternal is always and eternal
    for those who reverently run after Him.
    He extends His justice on and on to future generations,
18 To those who will keep His bond of love
    and remember to walk in the guidance of His commands.

19 The Eternal has established His throne up in the heavens.
    He rules over every seen and unseen realm and creature.
20 Adore Him! Give Him praise, you heavenly messengers,
    you powerful creatures who listen to
    and act on His every word.
21 Give praise to the Eternal, all armiesof heaven—
    you servants who stand ready to do His will.
22 Give praise to the Eternal, all that He has made
    in all corners of His creation.
O my soul, come, praise the Eternal!

Forgiveness, why do I find it hard to forgive a person who has really done a good job in messing me up, why do I find it hard to forgive them? To be honest, pride comes on me, pride comes on me and whispers a pretty good and convincing lie into my ear, one that I buy into. You don't have to forgive that person! Look at ALL they have done to you, don't you remember everything they put you through? Isn't the pain still fresh and festering within you? Nope don't forgive them! Put up those walls. Block them off. Do whatever you need to do that will allow you to harbor a grudge and never give them another chance, because you know what, they really really really really REALLY messed up, and they really hurt you, and you ARE ENTITLED to harbor unforgiveness. Well that's absolutely wrong and unbiblical, but it is true, many times. I can get caught up in the hurt that someone has done to me and feel as if I am entitled to hold a grudge, AS IF I ever did anything to earn forgiveness and salvation. 

So this is the sobering moment. I have to dwell on this passage and have it wash over me over and over and over and over again. I have to put my pride and crusty heart on the altar and allow God to deal with me. I must make the choice to forgive. I must choose to love. I must choose to be obedient to God despite my feelings. How dare I hold unforgiveness when Christ went through what he went through so that I may receive forgiveness for all of my sin and have eternal life because of him.

David gets it in this passage and he can't praise God enough. He's like WHOA God you are so GOOD, let every part of my entire being praise you! You hold back what I deserve (judgement and death) and instead you would give me what I don't deserve (forgiveness) and I never had to earn it, you just did it because you loved me. 

You loved me so much that you would send your only Son to this earth to be poured out as a sacrifice for all of my sin. You sent him onto this earth. He knew what he would have to go through. He knew the pain he would experience. He felt every blow to his body. He felt every insult and endured all the mockery. And he died even for the very people who would nail him to the cross. He went to the cross despite his feelings in obedience to you God. He would take on all the sins of the world and all the darkness, so that his light would be transferred to us. And he went knowing that we would mess up, knowing how many times we would break his heart, knowing our rap sheet, knowing how many times we would run from him, knowing the darkest parts of us, and yet he went to the cross, because he loved us. So Lord HELP ME TO PRAISE YOU WITH ALL THAT I AM! May I NEVER forget all that you have done for me. May I never forget where I came from. May I never forget all that you have forgiven. May I never forget that you loved me enough to call me. May I never forget all that you have done for me, and may I no longer hold grudges or unforgiveness because you didn't choose to do that for me. I am not entitled to hold unforgiveness. Grant me a heart of humility, help me to be slow to anger and quick to forgive, and quick to love. In Jesus name I pray Amen

Be quick to forgive, no BUT you don't even know what they did to me's. God doesn't question when you ask for forgiveness. He just does. So follow suit. Experience the freedom and joy that comes with it. And watch God take you farther than ever before. 

Psalm 27:6

6 God lifts me high above those with thoughts
    of death and deceit that call for my life.
I will enter His presence, offering sacrifices and praise.
    In His house, I am overcome with joy
As I sing, yes, and play music for the Eternal alone.

It's a good read even if you don't believe in my Jesus GRACE is ______.

Grace
I once believed that grace was something that I had to earn
If I do everything on this checklist of grace, I'll obtain it by days end
I'll work my whole life trying to pay back, that which was already freely given
I'll collect all my good deeds in a savings account and try to pay off a debt unpayable
Like here!!! Take it all, forgive me, forgive me, forgive me, a thousand forgive me's and confessions trying to earn that grace back, when I was forgiven at the very first forgive me.
GRACE
I once believed that GRACE was something I HAD to earn.....
Then I realized how insulting it was to try to pay off something that was freely given
I mean how would you feel if you LOVED someone so much that you would give them what you knew, YOU KNEW to be the greatest gift to give and they REFUSED it!?
Like what? YOU BETTER TAKE THIS GIFT!
Pretty insulting, huh?
I once thought that sinning willy nilly would be the epitome of CHEAPENING grace until this light sparked in my heart and I got it!!! I got it!!! GRACE!!!!
To refuse to accept GRACE is to cheapen GRACE!
IT'S LIKE you're saying, HEY JESUS!!!! Your death on the cross, wasn't enough!
Yeah, yeah, you gave up your life for me when I might have been one of the very people who nailed you to that cross.
Yeah YEAH, you LOVED even those who wanted to HUNT you down and have you crucified as soon as possible, that you would tell them over and over and over and over, believe in me, and you will have ETERNAL life.
Even if you KNEW full well that all they wanted was for you to die.......................
You still loved them, and DIED for them.....
BUT still JESUS, that can't possibly enough.....Here let me do all these things to earn this GRACE!
Dude, you can't earn a gift, you don't do anything to deserve a gift, it is just given to you.
HE GAVE IT ALL UP FOR YOU!
One of the last words Jesus said before he died was it is FINISHED!!!
It is FINISHED... That means HE DIED FOR ALL OF YOUR SIN!
From a little small white lie, to murder.
Sin is SIN in God's eyes....And Jesus DIED for all of it.
Why? Because you ever did anything to deserve it? NOPE.
Because HE LOVED YOU SO MUCH!!! That He would die for you, so that you would have life and have it abundantly, not just for the years on this planet that you will walk, but for all of ETERNITY!
Stop getting so stuck and caught up in this rule game and this sin thing....
Instead GET YOUR EYES STUCK ON JESUS and JUST how much HE absolutely LOVES you.
Get stuck on his indescribable GRACE.
The more you're stuck on Jesus, the more you'll fall in love with Him. The more you fall in LOVE with Jesus, the less you will find yourself sinning.
Know why? Well for one, HIS LOVE WILL TRANSFORM you, and well second, who CHEATS on someone they absolutely without a doubt are head over heals and madly in love with?
No one ever?
Good.
You're right, no one.
Grace isn't just a principle.. Grace isn't just a noun....Grace is a person....Grace is Jesus.

(What I've been getting from the book Jesus is ____. All credit goes to the Pastor of this book..)
I just paraphrased his words or wrote down what I've been getting from the book.

Truth wins out

he knows all of your insecurities
and he implants lies into the very core of your mind
his end plan total annihilation, of what you ask?
of you. he wants do destroy you
he wants to tear you apart
he wants to do anything he can do so that he can take you down with him
you see he has already been taken down
so he has put a target on you and will keep sending attacks until you fall
he knows every single one of your insecurities
and he will tell you anything to intensify your insecurity
he will whisper lies so gently that eventually
YOU'LL almost believe that those lies are TRUE
But they are not
THEY ARE NOT
THEY ARE NOT
THEY ARE NOT
THEY ARE NOT
FACT
You are not
worthless
unworthy
unloved or unlovable
stupid
the lesser than
meaningless
trash
too broken
You are not doing
a horrible job
YOU ARE YOU
You
are a
MASTERPIECE
You are
fearfully and wonderfully and uniquely made
You don't see anyone else walking around on this planet with
YOUR FINGERPRINTS
Your exact DNA
You're not any less, you're different
And God created you just like that
And HE loved you enough
To come to this earth in Human form
TO
DIE SO THAT THE CURSE WOULD BE BROKEN
THE CURSE WOULD BE BROKEN
And death would lose its sting
and hell would lose its victory
and YOU WOULD HAVE A CHANCE AT ETERNITY
And God would put you back together better than you started
You are you.
And God loves you.
STOP allowing the enemy to plant lies in your head.
he needs to get stepping because he has no authority over your mind
he has already lost the battle
he has already lost the battle
GOD WINS
Don't listen to the lies.
Don't speak negatively about yourself.
You were created to be you.
And God doesn't make mistakes.

STORMS

Let all that I am wait quietly before God for my hope is in him.He alone is my rock and my salvation my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:5-8 NLT

All this pain. I wonder if I'll ever find my way. I wonder if my life could really change at all. 

All this earth could all that is lost ever be found? Could a garden come up from this ground at all?

You make beautiful things. You make beautiful things out of the dust. You make beautiful things. You make beautiful things out of us. 

All around hope is springing up from this old ground. Out of chaos life is being found in You.........

You make me new, you are making me new. You make me new, you are making me new.
Beautiful Things by Gungor

Storms 

Storms 

Have 

A

Negative 

Connotation 

When 

We think 

Of STORMS

We think of destruction 

We think of chaos

We think of LOSS

We lose things 

In storms

Most

Things

Destroyed 

Cannot 

Be RESTORED

YES STORMS 

Bring about catastrophic changes in what we know 

LIFE should be like

WE cannot get back what we lost in the STORM

The clouds darken and the sun seems to hide it's face 

The warmth fades away

And the rain seems like it will never stop

Then the Winds come and tear apart everything 

Weak that stands in the way

The floods come and wash away what is left 

In storms 

MOST 

THINGS
DESTROYED 

CANNOT 

Be RESTORED

So I looked 

I looked outside 

And I saw how the storm 

Destroyed everything in its path

And then God spoke to me

Sometimes I have to create a storm in your life

Sometimes that's how I have to come into your life

I have to wreak havoc in your life

I have to reap destruction

I have to come and tear down everything 

EVERYTHING YOU WORKED SO HARD TO MAINTAIN

I have to come in and tear down your walls

I have to remove everything and come 

I 

start

from 

scratch

I

build

you

up

through 

that 

storm

I 

build 

you 

on 

a 

firm 

foundation

I am

YOUR STRENGTH

I am your FORTRESS

I am your PROTECTION

And I come into your LIFE

WITH STORMS

TO BUILD YOU UP STRONGER 

THEN HOW YOU WERE

WHEN YOU TRIED TO DO THINGS ON YOUR OWN

Through all the destruction, through the aftermath, I will take your brokenness, and create you new. Yes it will be how my glory is shown. 

A Work in Progress

9 You know what they say, “Just a little yeast causes all the dough to rise,” so even the slightest detour from the truth will take you to a destination you do not desire. Galatians 5:9 The Voice

13 Brothers and sisters, God has called you to freedom! Hear the call, and do not spoil this gift by using your liberty to engage in what your flesh desires; instead, use it to serve each other as Jesus taught through love.

16 Here’s my instruction: walk in the Spirit, and let the Spirit bring order to your life. If you do, you will never give in to your selfish and sinful cravings

26 This will happen when we set aside our self-interests and work together to create true community instead of a culture consumed by provocation, pride,and envy.

Galatians 6 The Voice 
7 Make no mistake: God can’t be mocked. What you give is what you get. What you sow, you harvest. 8 Those who sow seeds into their flesh will only harvest destruction from their sinful nature. But those who sow seeds into the Spirit shall harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 May we never tire of doing what is good and right before our Lord because in His season we shall bring in a great harvest if we can just persist. 10 So seize any opportunity the Lord gives you to do good things and be a blessing to everyone, especially those within our faithful family.

Following in the path of the Spirit is not a chore; instead it opens us up to experiencing the life God has for us.


1 Corinthians 8 
We sometimes tend to think we know all we need to know to answer these kinds of questions—but sometimes our humble hearts can help us more than our proud minds. We never really know enough until we recognize that God alone knows it all.
1-3

11-13 Christ gave up his life for that person. Wouldn’t you at least be willing to give up going to dinner for him—because, as you say, it doesn’t really make any difference? But it does make a difference if you hurt your friend terribly, risking his eternal ruin! When you hurt your friend, you hurt Christ. A free meal here and there isn’t worth it at the cost of even one of these “weak ones.” So, never go to these idol-tainted meals if there’s any chance it will trip up one of your brothers or sisters.

Unity       I will                         I want
That's      Ask                           HUMILITY 
My           For forgiveness           Please Holy Spirit 
Heart's     LOVE                        Humble me
Cry           Unconditional            Create in my HEART
This         LOVE                         Humility
Year         Is                             I want to reap
Will          My HEART'S                a harvest of humility
Be            CRY                          Of unconditional love
Different    The sacrificial             and Unity
God          KIND                         For this YEAR
Already     OF LOVE                     This YEAR 
Promised me    IF it means                IS
That THIS year  We can have        DEFINITELY 
Will                  UNITY                       DIFFERENT 
Not                  I WANT to                I won't SETTLE 
Be                   BE what the bible           For DIVISION 
Like LAST Year     Teaches                    NOT another year of 
There                  WE ARE ONE BODY             DIVISIVENSS 
Will NOT be          I want to tear down         It's time to get on a
Division                The pride that so easily      HOLY ANGER 
This                      TRIPS                          AND START FIGHTING FOR
Year                      TRIPS                         EACH OTHER 
I am                       TRIPS                        And against the enemy 
Willing                       TRIPS                     Who is the cause of all this
To LAY                          ME UP                  Previous tearing each other apart
Things down            And LET the Holy Spirit  I will fight to build each other up
If it means                do His work, Let Him LEAD      IN LOVE SHEER 
My sisters                When He works there is PEACE    & absolute, LOVE.
My brothers              When He works nothing is Forced
In faith                                   There
Do not stumble                         Is A
I will not make excuses              Free-flow
For my actions           What seemed like a 
I will own                  Hurricane of chaotic control
I will OWN                 Now becomes orderly
My mistakes              When I finally let go

I guess the two things I want to fight against in my life is getting prideful, wanting to be in control, and jealousy. I just really want to love each other and be humble enough to accept whatever I did to make someone else stumble and change so they can walk their walk of faith easier. I want humility so things can work out and we can all just get along. Also just accepting who God made me to be and not always comparing myself to other people. 

Find peace

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
New Living Translation (NLT)
16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

What would it be like
To pursue you
To go after your heart
To seek your love
Your love above all else
Untainted
Unconditional 
Unending
No Strings Attached
The greatest love 
The purest love
Secure
Wholesome
Without fail
Knowing all flaws
All secrets
All falls
Knowing everything 
And still the choice is to love
To love me
You love me
Before I could even ever
Love you
You hold me close
Even in the midst of 
Storms heavy rains pouring down
Heavy winds tossing my sanity about 
You are my hope
My Joy 
The reason to smile
My reason to smile
Even this storm will pass
At my weakest point 
In my ugliest moment
At the time where the world
The world would label me some monster
(IDK sounds poetic, whatevs my sad heart writes IDK why I'm sad)
You take off those layers 
You reveal what beauty really is
And you love me with
A love 
A love that is 
Untainted
Unconditional 
Unending
What would it be like 
To pursue you
To go after your heart
To seek your love
It would be 
Peace 
When the whole 
World is falling apart
It would be hope in difficult times
Knowing someone holds me
It would be one day 
Finding myself in a place 
Without tears suffering weeping or pain
For even if I lose my whole life
Through Christ it is eternal life I gain

His Children

We were never meant to be
Children of sorrow
Children of sadness
But children of the God most High
Heaviness
This weight
Crushing
Our lungs heaving
Trying
Struggling
To breathe
But barely
Our breaths finally escape our chest
A chest overwhelmed
Under a boulder of stress
A heart tangled in the world's mess
Tired eyes and minds without rest
We were never meant to be
Children of sorrow
Children of sadness
But children of the God most High
Who comes near
He comes near
Wipes each tear from our eyes
Comforts us
A God
A loving Father
Past memories remain
But He takes the sting from the pain
Our brokenness made whole
He will carry you
He will care for you
Don't lose heart
He will bring back
Praises from your lips
To say God you remain
Constant
Good
Though sorrows throw us about
You will say again
God you remain
Though the world is saying fall
Over into the sea
Drown
Die
Yes the world wants you to die
Drowned by sorrows
She's demanding
Yet if you CLING to God
In those moments
The world can shake you
But if you CLING to God
You'll still be standing
Yes you are not children of sorrow
Not Children of saddness
But children of the God most high