"Every Christian is a Continuing Education Program."

The above title was part of a phrase I read today of a footnote found in my Bible. The footnote was addressing Colossians 3:10.

I find it so very true and very important to understand and remember. The more we learn to know Christ, His work, and His character; the more we are being transformed to think like Him. Many Christians will agree with me I am sure, but we must remember that this is a lifelong PROCESS, never an instant aspect. 

"Growth is a journey, never a destination." Think about it. Even though we are followers of God, we can never be like God. We need Him to function, so "falling" is just part of the process. If we never made mistakes, never had shortcomings, and downfalls, how could we ever learn from them? 

Let's compare it to that of a baby. When a baby first begins to walk, we don't expect the baby to just begin leaping. No, the baby first starts with a process of walking. Yes, the baby may fall a few times, however; he/she gets back up again, and continues the process.

Proverbs 24: 16 says,  "The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked." Notice that the rigtheous and wicked BOTH fell, but what set them apart was that the righteous GOT UP. 


"Religious" and "super spiritual" people will downplay their downfalls and struggles. But maybe those of you reading this, maybe you are not struggling with anything. I don't know? But whether your relationship with God is strong or whether it is a continuous struggle, once we feel like we can't grow and work on ourselves, or once we feel so guilty and feel like God can't forgive us for our sins; that is the moment where it becomes most dangerous. There is always something to learn!


"It takes practice, ongoing review, patience, and concentration to keep in line with His will." --footnote in Bible.

Colossians 3:10

New Living Translation (NLT)

^"10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him."

Bitterness/ Forgiveness

Matthew 6:14-16

New Living Translation (NLT).

 

¹⁴ “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins."

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Well then....I guess I could end this post right now.......

For real though! Forgiveness is tough, honestly holding on to bitterness is the "Easy" thing to do. But what a convicting verse, "If you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

Translation: That includes all of us! No one is exempt from God's forgiveness! Think of it this way, when we make a choice not to forgive others, we are basically neglecting the fact that we are ALL sinners in need of God's forgiveness(Grace). We forgive, because God through Christ forgave us first! (Ephesians 4:32).

The biggest lie Satan can trick us into believing is that forgiving others somehow makes us weak. Ironically not forgiving others leave us in more pain than we felt previously. It's like holding your hand onto a hot stove...if you want to relieve yourself from the pain, you have to LET GO.

A common misconception people have is that forgiveness gives the person that hurt us, "power" over us. No, actually forgiveness frees us from the bondage of bitterness. Bondage is something that binds us, we are held down, we can't move! The bondage of bitterness holds us and prevents us from moving forward, but forgiveness frees us, and allows us to move ahead!


Unfortunately however, circumstances and situations don't make forgiveness easy. I am referring to circumstances such as continually being lied to, being sexually abused, verbally abused, etc. Honestly, people have experienced so much pain and hurt in ways I can't comprehend. Many times I can't even fathom the thought of forgiveness. However, everyone has experienced pain, and unfortunately people make bad decisions everyday based on their pain and bitterness they have not properly dealt with.

Consider this quote from former American World Peace Activist, Norman Cousins. He says that, "Life is an adventure in forgiveness." How true is that! Pretty much for the rest of our lives we are going to have to make that choice to forgive others.

Just like we have hurt people, and just as others have hurt us. One thing remains true. God is yearning for a relationship with EVERYONE! You never know how much power forgiving someone can truly have, not only in your life, but as well in the lives of those who hurt us. 
 

Ephesians 4:32

New Living Translation (NLT)

^"32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you."

To understand the power of forgiveness further, please watch the videos below!

Get Off Facebook!

The title got cha didn't it lol?? This is not a post bashing Facebook or anything of that nature, this is simply a Part 2 to a recent post I wrote about taking a look at ourselves and our true motives--- > ( http://cedricdhoard.blogspot.com/2011/08/look-at-me-look-at-meno-really-take.html ).

Recently I wrote about how God convicted me about a dangerous aspect in my life. I was beginning to feel like I needed recognition for the "things" I was doing. In truth, however; doing outward things (performance) just so people can recognize us destroys our intimacy with God. Our deeds are not really about Him, but for other people to SEE them. So, with this all in mind, how could it possibly relate to Facebook??

Facebook is a great way to socialize, network, and connect with people. There is no doubt about that, but is it truly possible that Facebook can somehow prevent us from seeing the true reality about ourselves??

You seem to hear about it everyday, someone on cyber space creating a whole new persona about themselves. People getting so excited about the number friends or followers they have, people liking your statuses, commenting on photos, etc...

But lets get a little more personal. Those everyday people liking all our statuses, giving us praises; they only see the outward "things" we do, but what if they could really see us? Our struggles, our heart issues, our thoughts! Don't take it out of context. I am not saying that everything people put on facebook should be meticulously scrutinized, but maybe its time for us to step back and take a look at a few things:

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*Is who I present myself on Facebook really the real me?

*Has facebook taken time from other important things I need to work on?

*From all the hundreds and thousands of friends we have on Facebook, how many of them are viable friendships? Or could there possibly be a real friendship we need to rebuild?

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These are just a few questions to think about. Again I am not saying Facebook is "BAD," in fact this very moment as I am writing this, I am also logged on to Facebook lol. However, ALWAYS be willing to examine yourself, accept conviction, and allow God to reveal things to you.

Galatians 6:3-4

New King James Version (NKJV)

^"3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. ⁴ But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another."

Look at Me, Look at Me!!...(No really take a look at yourself!)

So for a while I have been feeling some type of need that I need to prove something...like I needed to be recognized!

One word: Dangerous!! When you really think about it, God's standard is sooo HIGH that are righteous deeds compared to Him are considered to be "filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6). Christ died so that we wouldn't have to prove ourselves by the deeds we do, so why do we continue to fall in this trap of yearning to be recognized?!

Consider the Pharisees, the religious leaders mentioned in the Bible. These religious leaders were more concerned about outward deeds more than the very important truth that Christ was the SAVIOR, in turn their yearning for self-recognition translated into their quest to crucify Christ....

God revealed this to me as I was talking to a friend about why I had this strange feeling of somehow trying to "prove" something. She said that it becomes dangerous when we, "fail to realize that it isn't about whether or not you [say] the most about Him but rather if you actually live your life according to His desires."

Wow, how quickly my focus/motives became so consumed with ME!...But who are we???

Ephesians 2:8-9

New King James Version (NKJV)

"8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that NOT OF YOURSELVES; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast."

Beware of the habit of doing things based on performance for God FOR people. Doing things just so people can recognize us destroys our intimacy with God, because its no longer about Him, but people. That is why we are feeling like we have to always prove something, when in reality God is saying...my Grace is ALL you NEED!