Tag: Forgiveness
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Hurt People Hurt People
There is an old expression that has long stuck in my mind: “Hurt people, hurt people.” In other words, those who are hurting often lash out in some way and hurt others around them; and those who lash out are often themselves hurting on the inside. Sometimes the offending individual is self-aware, but often the hurt…
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Why I Won’t Forgive Lance Armstrong
I have no inclination to forgive Lance Armstrong. I feel no need to. Armstrong, the infamous cyclist who has now been stripped of several Tour de France victories, an Olympic medal, and has had a host of other indignities hoisted upon his head, has finally confessed to doping in order to enhance his performance. And…
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Lingering Guilt & Insulting God’s Integrity
What do you do with the person who says: “I’ve asked God to forgive me, but I still feel guilty?” A noted writer (R.C. Sproul, I think) was asked [this] once. [His reply:] “Well, if You still feel guilty, then pray to God again, but this time don’t ask Him to forgive you for the…
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Our Universal Need
“Just so you know, the need for repentance, redemption, and forgiveness is universal. I don’t care if you are a liberal or a conservative, a religious fanatic or a militant atheist, a ‘spiritual’/’religious’ person or someone who runs from all that. It doesn’t matter to me if you listen to Billy Graham or follow Camus…
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5 Truths About Forgiveness
Mark Twain describes forgiveness this way: Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heal that has crushed it. What beautifully apropos imagery. In a recent post I listed 5 Myths About Forgiveness, taken from an article by Sam Storms. What I didn’t do in that post is describe what forgiveness is. So in this…
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5 Myths About Forgiveness
In the movie Just Friends pop singer Samantha James (Anna Faris) lyrically muses: “Forgiveness is more than saying ‘Sorry’” Earlier this week I had a conversation with a friend who had been accused by a woman from his church of being “unforgiving” because he was hesitant to re-hire a man who had been fired for cause…
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Praying for Forgiveness
In the title song of Toby Keith‘s movie and soundtrack, Broken Bridges, the first line of the chorus is: Here I am, prayin’ for forgiveness… If you’ve seen the movie on CMT it makes sense. It is a story of a guy facing up to his past mistakes and the people he has hurt. It is…
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Blessed Are the Peacemakers
Jeff Purswell writes: Who dreamed that their church participation was so significant? Giving the world a glimpse of the consummated kingdom of God! Does such a grand vision govern our attitude toward our local churches? If it does, our participation will no doubt reflect it. We will love, serve, sacrifice, forgive, forbear, employ our gifts,…
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The Mark of the Christian (part 6)
by Francis Schaeffer Love In Practice Let me give two beautiful examples of such observable love. One happened among the Brethren groups in Germany immediately after the last war. In order to control the church, Hitler commanded the union of all religious groups in Germany, drawing them together by law. The Brethren divided over this…
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The Mark of the Christian (part 4)
by Francis Schaeffer True Oneness In John 13 and 17, Jesus talks about a real seeable oneness, a practicing oneness, a practical oneness across all lines, among all true Christians. The Christian really has a double task. He has to practice both God’s holiness and God’s love. The Christian is…
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Sin Boldly
I’m going to start a new category: Graffiti. This categtory will offer some great quotes. I don’t know many that would top the following from Luther: “If you are a preacher of grace, then preach a true and not a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin.…
