Freedom and Forgiveness

As millions of Americans watched, Saddam Hussein was taken prisoner a few days ago. He was a threat to the freedom of the American people and we take our freedom very seriously. When we think of freedom we tend to think of fighting and winning wars. For years our soldiers have faught for our freedom. However, there is another kind of freedom that is even more powerful.

The freedom we have that comes from God is our greatest freedom. God frees us from the inner voices that constantly try to trap us in our sin through anger, envy, jealousy, and hatred. Without him we are slaves to our own bitterness. A bitterness that we have come to see way too much of in people today. This bitterness comes from holding grudges for things that don't really matter when looked at from an eternal perspective. Maybe your boss yelled at you at work or someone said things about you behind your back. Maybe your boyfried or girlfriend left you or you are just having a bad day. The only way to overcome the bitterness inside us is through bloodshed. Not from weapons and killing each other but from the blood of Jesus Christ that has already been shed for us. Through his blood we have recieved forgiveness.

"Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far is it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. 'But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." -- Romans 12:17-21

"Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions." -- Mark 11:25-26

Without the ability to forgive that only comes from God we are very bitter people and our bitterness destroys us. It destroys our relationships and our inner peace. It destroys our relationship with God.

It is never too late to forgive. When you do everything will begin to heal. Relationships will begin to be restored. Your heart will overflow with a joy and inner peace that only comes from God. Best of all, your relationship with God will begin to be restored.

So don't hold grudges. Instead, we should rejoice because we know that the penalty for our sin has already been paid. For we are all 4Given.

Santa has a Tough Job

I went to work today expecting a normal day but I came across something that reminded me what Christmas is all about. You see, I work for a local YMCA at the front desk. Today people were dropping off gifts for a program that we are running this year that is similar to an angel tree. People can adopt needy families from the area to buy gifts for. People kept coming in and I directed them to the room to drop off gifts. About half an hour before my shift was supposed to end I went down to the room. The room was filled with presents wrapped in colorful wrapping paper. If I ever saw Santa's workshop this just might be what it would look like. I have never seen so many gifts before in my life. Just looking at all of these gifts made my heart fill with joy. And then I saw her.

One woman amongst all of these presents. She told me that all of the gifts that had been brought in needed to be sorted and she was the only volunteer that had come to get them ready to be taken to the families. She had been in that room for hours working to sort hundreds of gifts for the many children and families that could not afford anything this year. I went and made sure they didn't need me anymore at the front desk and I sat in that room for the next hour talking to the woman and helping her sort all of the gifts.

The woman in that room was a very giving person. I don't know if she brought any gifts for the children but I know that she gave a lot of time to getting those gifts to them and she expected nothing in return. I can't imagine what this world would be like without people like her and the people that brought gifts for the families. They are examples of the true meaning of Christmas.

Over 2000 years ago a child was given to us. And that child grew into a man who payed the ultimate price for our sins. He gave his life expecting nothing in return. It was a gift from the heart. It was a gift from God.

Giving, in it's purest form, expects nothing in return

What are you willing to give?

You Gotta Have Faith -- Hebrews 11

By faith Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did.
By faith Noah obeyed God and built the Ark to save his family from the flood.
By faith Abraham offered his own son as a sacrifice when God was testing him.
By faith the people of Israel were able to go right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry ground.


By faith we go to work and school everyday.
By faith we live for the day that we will see heaven.
By faith we carry our bibles.
By faith we understand that God created the Universe.
By faith we live our lives for God.
And by faith we pray together, we read God's word together and we stand together to show the world God's overflowing love and forgiveness.

What is faith?
It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.(Hebrews 11:1)

Got FAITH?

All for You

More than 2000 years ago, a man was sent here to die for your sins. He is the only perfect man that has ever lived and God sent him to die for our imperfections. That day on the cross over 2000 years ago there were two men crucified next to Christ. On one side was an aweful man who had lied, stolen, murdered and would do it again if he had the chance. On the other side was a man who knew he had made mistakes. He had accepted his fate because he was a thief and a murderer and knew he deserved everything that he recieved. But, on that day when the man faced the punishment for his crimes he faced a different fate than the man on the other side of Jesus. He asked Jesus for forgiveness and asked if he would remember him when he entered his kingdom. Jesus said that he would join him in heaven. Instead of spending eternity in hell like the man on the left side of Jesus, he would spend eternity in heaven. Although the thief on the right side of Jesus never did anything to earn eternal life, it was given to him. There is nothing that you can say or do that will get you into heaven. Jesus has already paid the price for your sin. Now all that matters is which side of the cross you are on. If you are ready to live a life admitting that you make mistakes and asking for the forgiveness of God then you are on the right side of the cross. When you live your life on the right side of the cross you can truly say:

"I am 4Given"

Before There Was Time

He thought about you. Before any man walked this earth. Before the first blade of grass grew or the first day of sunshine. Before the stars shined down on the earth or the wind moved the leaves on the trees. Before any of these things, he thought about you. In fact, not only did he think about you, but he also planned out every day of your life. Thats right. He knew every decision you would make and every temptation you would face. He knew every thought that would form in your head. Despite all these things he made you because he loved you. He gave you the freedom to choose whether you wanted to love him or reject him. Why? He did it all because he loves you. He doesn't just love you when you do good deeds or when you serve him or when you love him back. His love is unconditional. No matter what you do or where you go he will always love you. After all, he even loved you before he created you, before there was time.