You are forgiven

"Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one."
~Matthew 6:9-13

"Hallowed be your name."
What does that mean to us?
Here "name" is used in the sense of "spirit."
The words mean praise to God for his spirit in the world, making us better.
We can be especially grateful for God's spirit,
which can give us the strength to overcome all that is base in our lives.
God's spirit is powerful. It can help us to live a conquering, abundant life.
So we praise and thank God for the spirit in our lives and in the lives of others.

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"As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us"!
Psalms 103:12

Something strange happens when we are forgiven.

Though God forgets, we don't forgive ourselves. How often we think about our past sins.
How frequently we pray, "God, I've sinned the same thing again!"
All we are saying is that we haven't forgiven ourselves.
We still have our eyes set upon our past.
Don't get me wrong. It is not bad to look at the past. We must learn from our mistakes.
We must realize how we got into the mess that caused us to "fall" into sin.
If we don't, we are condemned to continually repeat our sins.

The truth is that we must remember our past, but in remembering, we must grow beyond it.

The thing that is wrong is dwelling upon the sins of the past --
continually feeling condemned because of those sins.

After all, when you are forgiven, YOU ARE FORGIVEN! Get that?

The psalmist says that God removes our sins "as far as the east is from the west."
Think about it. Can you ever go so far east that there is no longer an east before us?
Absolutely not! We can never come "full circle" and become reattached to our sins. Can't be done.
Our problem is that we cling to them.

Perhaps they are a crutch we think will help us hobble into God's ways.
Maybe we hold to them as a lifeline -- thinking that if this "God thing" doesn't work out that
we can follow that line back to the old ways. We might even think that we need to punish
ourselves by pondering what we were, constantly whipping our spiritual selves so that we
can be forgiven. We may even think that we can straddle the fence and live a bit in both
worlds. WE CAN'T!

It is time to realize that when God forgives us, we need to forgive ourselves and quit dragging
up those sins.
It is time that we understand that when we ask to be forgiven, the guilt is gone.
Any further guilt we fell is not conviction which leads us to reconciliation with God,
but is condemnation which comes to us from satan and leads to eternal damnation.

If you've sinned, ask God to forgive knowing that He will.
Then move on into the future knowing that God is your right hand, your strength, your salvation.
All things past are forgiven. All things are made new.

This day is like God's grace. It is new, fresh, and clean just waiting for us to make it into a
good day!
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Your faith has saved you; go in peace. Luke 7:50
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Lighter side of Life

Snow Days

A heavy snowstorm closed the schools in one town.
When the children returned to school a few days later, one grade school teacher asked
her students whether they had used the time away from school constructively.
"I sure did, teacher," one little girl replied. "I just prayed for more snow."
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Life is not measured by how many breaths we take, but by the moments that take our
breath away. - Unknown
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I've Learned that you learn most from people who are learning themselves.! Age---62
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~~ Once Upon A Pew! ~~

Once upon a pew I sat And heard the preacher ask,
"We need someone to teach a class, Now who will take this task?"
Then God sat down beside me there And said, "Son, that's for you."
"But, Lord, to stand before a class is one thing I can't do.
Now Bill would be the man to call, there's nothing he won't do.
I'd rather hear the lesson taught from here upon my pew."

Once upon a pew I sat And heard the preacher ask,
"We need someone to lead the songs, Now who will take this task?"
Then God sat down beside me there And said, "Son, that's for you."
"But Lord, to sing before a crowd Is one thing I can't do.
Now Brother King will do the job, there's nothing he won't do.
I'd rather hear the music played from here upon my pew."

Once upon a pew I sat And heard the preacher ask,
"I need someone to keep the door, Now who will take this task?"
Then God sat down beside me there And said, "Son, that's for you."
"But saying things to strangers, Lord, Is one thing I can't do.
Now Tom can talk to people, Lord, there's nothing he won't do.
I'd rather someone come to me And greet me on the pew."

As years just seemed to pass me by, I heard that voice no more.
Until one night I closed my eyes And woke on heaven's shore.
'Twas four of us together there to face eternity.
God said, "I need just three of you to do a job for me."
"O Lord, I cried, "I'll do the job, there's nothing I won't do."
But Jesus said, "I'm sorry, Friend, In Heaven there's no pew."
~~ Author Unknown~~

============================================
"When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your
grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also" 2 Tim 1:5

There are many accounts of "little people", the common man or woman, being used of
God in mighty ways.
We could talk of many of the prophets. We obviously recall a young woman,
Mary, and her betrothed, Joseph.
We might call them "salt of the earth" type of people.
James and John, Peter and Andrew, fishermen with no other life in sight until Jesus walked
down the beach near their boats and called them to follow Him and He would make them
"fishers of men."
Stephen, the disciple who became a deacon and suffered martyrdom for his preaching and
Phillip the evangelist transported from the wilderness to the heart of another revival are
two more of the small folk made huge by the call of
God.

There is one more individual I believe we should look at.
He was the offspring of a Jewish woman and a gentile man, raised in a gentile nation to
follow God's laws.
Timothy was called by Paul to be a companion and a student.
He had little to offer except willingness to learn and the heritage of a godly mother and
a godly grandmother.
As a youth he began to serve Paul the Apostle.
He followed him throughout the Middle Eastern and European countries of the day,
absorbing the vast knowledge stored by God in the heart of Paul.
Finally, Paul began to send Timothy on errands of great import until Paul made Timothy
the pastor of a church that needed a gentle but firm hand.

Timothy was on his own, but not without the prayers and instruction of the great Apostle.
We are fortunate to have two of the letters Paul wrote to Timothy because in them the
Apostle taught Timothy, and the church as a whole, how to organize and grow a powerful
local congregation.
In due season, church history tells us that Timothy became a very influential bishop
(elder/pastor) of the whole region, leading the churches and training men in the ways
Paul was taught by Jesus in the wilderness.

Timothy had one major asset: a willingness to serve ... to be used... by God.
He apparently had no great wealth.
He had just a basic education. He was nothing outstanding to the world, but Paul saw
something in him and assisted God in bringing it out in the open.
God can do the same for and through you.
He takes the simple things and makes them great.
A few small fish and a handful of little loaves fed 5,000 men.
A simple gold coin was used to teach about taxes and God's will for His children.
A little child was the object of a lesson on the simple faith.
A grain of mustard seed taught about the kingdom.
A grain of salt taught us about how important we are in the world around us.
And twelve simple men started a church on the Day of Pentecost.

You, my friends, are the salt of the earth, and God wants to use you to enhance the
Kingdom in your neighborhood, your state, your nation, and your world.
He will take whatever small offering you have to give and multiply it over and over
until multitudes are fed from what you give.
But you must give it in order for Him to multiply it.
You must be willing to be an offering, poured out, so that He can fill you with His glory.
You must obediently raise your hand and place it in the nail-pierced palm of Jesus so
He can lead you in the ways only you can tread.
You ... must ... willingly... yield ... yourself ... to ... Jesus.

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~ A LETTER ~

A letter is the warmest way
to bid a friend the time of day,
A keep-in-touch that brings the smiles
Across the very longest miles.
And what a wealth of strength and hope
Is tucked inside an envelope,
Reminding loved ones that you are,
At least in heart, not very far.
In no country, state or camp,
The wealth beneath a postage stamp,
For memories that never age
Are written down upon each page.
And though it's nice to telephone,
One of the sweetest pleasures known
Is moments shared in thoughts we send
.That can be read, and read again.
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“And above all things have fervent love among yourselves: for love shall cover the
multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8

Why is love so important? First, because love is the greatest virtue.
First Corinthians 13:13 tells us that love supersedes faith and hope.

Second, because love is the greatest command. Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind”
(Matthew 22:37).

Third, love is the greatest testimony. What is really going to make your community
wake up and believe that your church is really the church of the Lord Jesus Christ?
The size of your building? The way your lawn looks? The signage at the street?
No. The way you love God and show love to others.
Nothing can motivate a lost sinner like the heartfelt love of Jesus Christ.

Make a commitment to God right now, that you will seek to love Him with all your
heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Ask for His strength to do this. Anything less is sin.
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"Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do
and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.
I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in
the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
'If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he
will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.
This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees
him nor knows him.
You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.'"
~John 14:12-17

"And greater works than these shall you do."
Each of us has the ability to do good works through the power of God's spirit. This is
the wonder of the world, the miracle of the earth, that God's power goes out to bless
the earth, that God's power goes out to bless the human race through the agency of
so many people who are actuated by God's grace.
We need not be held back by doubt, despondency and fear.
A wonderful future can lie before us when we depend on God's power,
a future of unlimited power to do good things.

I pray that I may not limit myself by doubting. I pray that I may have confidence
that I can be effective in doing good.
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