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He Quenches The Thirsty Soul Matthew 5:6 Psalms 42:1-2 Isaiah 55:1-2 Psalms 107:8-9 John 4:10-14 John 7:37-39 Revelation 7:14-17 Psalms 36:5-9 06.11.21

 

HE QUENCHES THE THIRSTY SOUL

BREAD

⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Matthew 5:6 (NIV)

 

¹ As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.  ² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?  Psalms 42:1-2 (NIV)

 

¹ “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. ² Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.”   Isaiah 55:1-2 (NIV)

 

⁸ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,
⁹ for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.  Psalms 107:8-9 (NIV)

 

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”  ¹¹ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”  ¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”   John 4:10-14 (NIV)

 

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” ³⁹ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.   John 7:37-39 (NIV)

 

They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. ¹⁶ Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. ¹⁷ For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”   Revelation 7:14-17 (NIV)

 

⁵ Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.  ⁶ Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast. ⁷ How priceless is your unfailing love!  Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. ⁸ They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. ⁹ For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.   Psalms 36:5-9 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Amid all this chaos of a confused, sick society, Christ comes quietly as of old and invites us to come to Him.  He invites us to follow Him.  He invites us to put our confidence in Him.  For He it is who best knows how we can be satisfied.  He knows that the human heart, the human personality, the human soul with its amazing capacity for God can never be satisfied with a substitute.  Only the Spirit and life of Christ Himself will satisfy the thirsting soul.”  Phillip Keller  

 

“Because God is the fountain of all satisfaction, and as John Piper says, ‘The best way to glorify a fountain is to get down on your empty hands with your thirsty soul and put your face in the water, and suck life, and then look up and say,’ ‘Ah.’”  Jon Bloom

 

“When a believer has fallen into a low, sad state of feeling, he often tries to lift himself out of it by chastening himself with dark and doleful fears. Such is not the way to rise from the dust, but to continue in it. It is not the law, but the gospel which saves the seeking soul at first; and it is not a legal bondage, but gospel liberty which can restore the fainting believer afterwards. Slavish fear brings not back the backslider to God, but the sweet wooings of love allure him to Jesus' bosom…Whatever good quality there is in divine grace, you shall enjoy it to the full. All the riches of divine grace you shall receive in plenty; you shall be as it were drenched with it: and as sometimes the meadows become flooded by the bursting rivers, and the fields are turned into pools, so shall you be--the thirsty land shall be springs of water.”  Charles Spurgeon

 

“For the highest good any of God’s saints will ever experience is to be near God (Psalms 73:28).”  Jon Bloom

 

“Many of us are not thirsty for God because we have quenched our thirst at other fountains.”   Erwin Lutzer

 

“The world promises satisfaction through a plethora of good things—relationships, careers, wealth, health, and more—so we chase after these with reckless abandon. But these things are fleeting in this life and ultimately cannot fulfill the craving of our soul for more. Only the divine can satisfy. An intimate relationship with God is the only thing that will satisfy every need we have. God is the one who transforms our hearts and minds so that, even in dark days, we have unspeakable joy. He is the one who quenches the thirst of our soul by showing us how much He loves us and cares for us. He knows what You need, and He knows exactly how to meet you where you are. If you are thirsty, remember that God is the source that quenches. He wants you to drink from Him—the living water—and fulfill your heart’s desires.”   Michael Youssef

“He who is a believer in Jesus finds enough in his Lord to satisfy him now, and to content him for evermore.  The believer is not the man whose days are weary for want of comfort, and whose nights are long from absence of heart-cheering thought, for he finds in Christ such a spring of joy, such a fountain of consolation, that he is content and happy.  Put him in a dungeon and he will find good company; place him in a barren wilderness, he will eat the bread of heaven; drive him away from friendship, he will meet the ‘friend that sticketh closer than a brother.’  Blast all his gourds, and he will find shadow beneath the Rock of Ages; sap the foundation of his earthly hopes, but his heart will still be fixed, trusting in the Lord.  The heart is as insatiable as the grave till Jesus enters it, and then it is a cup full to overflowing.  There is such a fullness in Christ that He alone is the believer’s all.  The true saint is so completely satisfied with the all-sufficiency of Jesus that he thirsts no more – except it be for deeper draughts of the living fountain.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

“If you are thirsty in this life you have gone to the wrong well.”  BHY

 

HEART SAVOR

 

·         Jesus is the only true soul Satisfier.

·         If we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we will be filled.

·         Come to Jesus and thirst no more.

 

The Precious Heart Of Christ Jeremiah 31:3 John 3:16-17 Romans 5:6-8 Romans 8:31-39 1 John 3:16 John 15:9-13 1 John 4:7-10 Romans 5:3-5 Deuteronomy 33:12 06.09.21

THE PRECIOUS HEART OF CHRIST

BREAD

³ The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”  Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)

 

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  John 3:16-17 (NIV)

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)

 

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:31-39 (NIV)

 

¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  1 John 3:16 (NIV)

⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”  John 15:9-13 (NIV)

 

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  1 John 4:7-10 (NIV)

 

³ Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  Romans 5:3-5 (NIV)

 

“Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.”   Deuteronomy 33:12 (NIV)

 

BUTTER

“Believer, rest assured that the heart of Jesus cares about your lesser affairs.  The breadth of His tender love is such that you may resort to Him in all matters; for in all your afflictions He is afflicted, and as a father pities his children, so He pities you.  The humblest interests of all His saints are all borne upon the broad bosom of the Son of God.  Oh, what a heart is His that not only comprehends each one of His people, but also comprehends the diverse and innumerable concerns of each of those individuals!”  Charles H. Spurgeon

“If you are in Christ, you have a Friend who, in your sorrow, will never lob down a pep talk from heaven.  He cannot bear to hold Himself at a distance.  Nothing can hold Him back.  His heart is too bound up with yours.”  Dane Ortlund

 

“Everything that is lovely in God is in Christ, and everything that is or can be lovely in any man is in Him:  for He is man as well as God, and He is the holiest, meekest, most humble, and every way the most excellent man that ever was.”    Jonathan Edwards

 

“God’s love contrasts with human love in both nature and degree, because God demonstrates (“keeps on showing”) His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (hyper, “in our place”). Though a few people might possibly be willing to die to save the lives of good people, though that is rare, Christ went well beyond that. He died in the place of the powerless (“feeble,” v. 6), the ungodly (v. 6; 4:5), sinners (5:8), and even His enemies! (v. 10).”   Bible Knowledge Commentary

“His favors are always performed with the love of His heart.  He doesn’t send us the cold meat and the broken pieces from the table of His luxury, but He dips our morsel in His own dish, and seasons our provisions with the spices of His fragrant affections.  When He puts the golden tokens of His grace into our palms, He accompanies the gift with such a warm pressure of our hand, that the manner of His giving is as precious as the boon itself.”   Charles H. Spurgeone puts the golden tokens of His grace into our palms   

“God’s mercy and grace come directly from His heart, and run with a straight, direct, and natural stream.  The Lord God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness.”  Thomas Goodwin    

“There is no love so great and so wonderful as that which is in the heart of Christ.  He is one that delights in mercy; He is ready to pity those that are in suffering and sorrowful circumstances; one that delights in the happiness of His creatures.  The love and grace that Christ has manifested does as much exceed all that which is in this world as the sun is brighter than a candle.  Parents are often full of kindness towards their children, but that is no kindness like Jesus Chris’s.”  Jonathan Edwards

“All we have is in His loving, capable, Hands and His heart is as tender as His arms are strong.  We can trust Him with our lives and the lives of those we love.  Convert fear into faith.  How steady is His Hand to guide me through this world.  My needs shall be His care. Make your faith a defiant response to your fear.”  BHY

HEART SAVOR

·         The heart of our Savior is most wonderfully kind.

·         Jesus cares about all our affairs down to the smallest detail of our lives.  And He loves each of us to the fullest measure of His love.

·         Our Lord abounds in lovingkindness.

 

  

Taught By Affliction 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 James 1:2-4 1 Peter 1:6-9 Romans 5:1-5 Hebrews 5:7-10 Romans 15:5-6 Romans 15:13 06.7.21

 

TAUGHT BY AFFLICTION

BREAD

⁸ We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹ Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, ¹¹ as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.  2 Corinthians 1:8-11 (NIV)

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴ Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  James 1:2-4 (NIV)

 

⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.  1 Peter 1:6-9 (NIV)

 

¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)

 

⁷ During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. ⁸ Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered ⁹ and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him ¹⁰ and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.  Hebrews 5:7-10 (NIV)

 

⁵ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, ⁶ so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Romans 15:5-6 (NIV)

 

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13 (NIV)

 

BUTTER

“Sufferings have obtained an ill name in the world, but God’s rod and love may stand together.  God teaches His people in afflictions.  He teaches us to feel compassion toward others who are suffering.  We are prone to be insensitive toward others who are suffering when we are at ease in Zion.  He also teaches us to prize our outward mercies and comforts more, and yet to dote upon them less.  We are to be more thankful for them but less ensnared by them.  Next, God teaches us self-denial and obedient submission to His will.  In our prosperity we are full of our own wills, and usually give God counsel as if we could tell God how it might have been better.  We dispute out cross, when we should take it up.  By bearing a little we learn to bear more.”  Thomas Case

“The Incarnation gave the already infinitely wise and perfect Son of God the experiential acquisition of knowledge about the human condition. Suffering thus became a reality that He tasted and from it He can sympathize deeply with His followers. (The Gr. has an interesting play on words in the verbs He learned [emathen] and He suffered [epathen].)”  Bible Knowledge Commentary

“Coming to Jesus for rest doesn’t shield us from afflictions. It transforms afflictions from fear-dominating, anxiety-producing, and hopeless to ‘light and momentary.’ Hoping in the God of hope makes all the difference.  So, Jesus says to us, ‘Come to me.’ His shepherd’s heart toward us is filled with the same compassion, and his invitation is as urgent and tender as ever. But it is an invitation that must be accepted. Many do not.”  Jon Bloom

“The sorest afflictions never appear intolerable, except when we see them in the wrong light.”  Brother Lawrence

“Pride naturally runs in our veins, and it is nourished by ease and prosperity.  By trouble we come to know our own heart.  God seeks to develop meekness in His people by affliction, then save them from affliction.”  Thomas Case

“The Lord gets His best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

“The secret formula of the saints: When I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord's choicest wines.”  Samuel Rutherford

“Only in the hot furnace of affliction do we as Christians let go of the dross to which, in our foolishness, we ardently cling.”   David Kingdon

“In the middle of a howling storm in the soul, in the agony of ‘a severe test of affliction’ (2 Corinthians 8:2), it is easy to grow weary, and the temptation can be strong to just give up. At that point, what we often most need is an exhortation to ‘endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ’ (2 Timothy 2:3). Because ‘by [our] endurance [we] will gain [our] lives’ (Luke 21:19).”   Jon Bloom 

 

“Afflictions work for good, as they are the means of loosening our hearts from the world.  When you dig away the earth from the root of a tree, it is to loosen the tree from the earth; so God digs away our earthly comforts to loosen our hearts from the earth.”    Thomas Watson

 

“Every affliction comes with a message from the heart of God.”   Alexander Maclaren

“They who dive in the sea of affliction bring up rare pearls.”   Charles Spurgeon

“Suffering lets the soul see — see the deep suffering around us, see the  deep suffering within us, see the suffering Savior who deeply absorbs all suffering, and carries us Home where there is no suffering for evermore.  Suffering doesn’t mean you’re cursed, suffering means you’re human. Regardless of what Instagram or all the glossy ads are shilling: All your suffering isn’t some unique anomaly, suffering is the universal experience of all humanity.  The question isn’t ‘Why is there brokenness and suffering in my life?’ — but ‘Why wouldn’t there be suffering because such is life in a broken world?’  Buy the lie that your life is supposed to be heaven on earth, and suffering can be a torturous hell. But accept and expect that life is a battle, then suffering isn’t a problem but part of earth’s topography to cross on our way to heaven.”  Ann Voskamp

HEART SAVOR

·         God teaches us in our afflictions lessons that we could not have learned otherwise.

·         Do not fight against the hard.  Seek to grow more like Him loving obedience, righteousness and justice.

·         Ask God to use your pain for His purposes in your life.  Don’t waste it by grumbling and complaining.

The Forgiven Forgive Matthew 18:21-35 Matthew 6:12 Matthew 6:14-15 Mark 11:25 Acts 5:29-32 Psalms 130:3-4 Colossians 3:12-14 Colossians 3:23-25 06.04.21

 

THE FORGIVEN FORGIVE

BREAD

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”  ²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”  ²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. ²⁶ The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. ²⁸ But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.  ²⁹ His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’  ³⁰ But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. ³² Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.  ³⁵ This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”  Matthew 18:21-35 (NIV)

 

 ¹² “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”  Matthew 6:12 (NIV)

 

¹⁴ “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”  Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)

 

²⁵ “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”  Mark 11:25 (NIV)

 

²⁹ Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men! ³⁰ The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead--whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. ³¹ God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. ³² We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”  Acts 5:29-32 (NIV)

³ If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?  ⁴ But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.  Psalms 130:3-4 (NIV)

 

¹² Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV)

²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ²⁵ Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.   Colossians 3:23-25 (NIV)

 

BUTTER

 

“Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.”  C. S. Lewis

“The best way to measure how humble we are is to look at how quick we are to forgive…For a relationship to have any hope of thriving, we need to learn to let go of our pride in exchange for something greater — humility.”  Debra Fileta

“Forgiveness releases the accused from your custody and turns him over to God – the righteous Judge – the one and only One who is both able and responsible for meeting out justice.”    Nancy Leigh DeMoss

“There is no torment like the inner torment of an unforgiving spirit.”  Charles Swindoll

“Whether the offenses against us are titanic or trifling, God’s judgment frees us to exchange bitterness for patience, retribution for mercy. The very word judgment brings to mind our own offenses against God, offenses that cried out for our blood until Jesus shed his own. It reminds us that our offender, if outside of Christ, deserves our pity and, if inside Christ, needs our brotherly love. It removes all self-righteousness from our mouths and replaces it with the Christlike plea of ‘Lord, forgive them.’ It beckons us to release our ‘right’ to get even, and to hand over our cause to him who judges justly.”  Scott Hubbard

“God does not forgive excuses. He does not forgive qualifications. He does not forgive ‘buts’ and ‘I was justs.’ But he does forgive sins.”  Scott Hubbard

“Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly. The hard truth is that all people love poorly. We need to forgive and be forgiven every day, every hour increasingly. That is the great work of love among the fellowship of the weak that is the human family.”  Henri Nouwen

“The best response when connection is broken is not to push away but rather the opposite, to pull in. When we hold grudges, keeping a record of wrongs against each other time and time again, that crack becomes a wide-open door for the enemy to do what he does best: ‘steal and kill and destroy’ the ones we love most.  Apologizing for the wrongs we’ve committed paves the way for forgiveness in our relationships. There’s no shortage of research showing the health benefits of extending forgiveness. It lowers blood pressure, stress, and anxiety. It keeps relationships in repair, keeps connectedness strong.  But how can you cultivate open, connected, forgiving relationships if you’re not willing to be the first to apologize for a misunderstanding?  How can you pave the way to wholeness without first apologizing for your part in any brokenness? I’ve prioritized confession and apologizing in my own life, believing that the humility required to apologize restores relationships.  I am teaching my kids to do the same so that they, too, can experience the peace of mind that comes when broken relationships are restored.  I want to be a mama who slows down enough to not gloss over conflicts. I want to be proactive in responding to what wasn’t said. I want to show my kids how to keep from sweeping problems under the rug. After all, I only have so much time left to teach them to apologize for their part in any wrong so that their relationships can be healed, and pain, stress, and anxiety can be relieved. That’s why even in tense moments when none of us really wants to talk it out, our family works toward conflict resolution by stopping, confessing, and apologizing.  Our commitment to this takes stonewalling off the table and provides a path to healing.  Often, that healing connection renews relationships and sucks anger, anxiety, and stress out of the room.”   Rebekah Lyons

“It is idle for us to say that we know God has forgiven us if we are not loving and forgiving ourselves.”   Martyn Lloyd-Jones

HEART SAVOR

·         I am forgiven in Christ and therefore I am to forgive.

·         Forgiveness – instead of harboring a grudge – is for me.

·         In Christ there is forgiveness for my sins.  I am washed clean by His blood and clothed in His robe of righteousness.  How much more should I be willing to forgive others for whatever grievances they have done against me?