How do you forgive someone who has wronged you? Our Editor, Deborah, shares a personal struggle on the over simplified concept of forgiveness. God teaches us to forgive those who wrong us. While it may be hard to always follow God’s direction, the reward for our obedience is far greater than our momentary discomforts. Is there someone you need to forgive today?
Often times, it is easier to sweep things under the rug and cross your fingers that the hurtful memories will disappear in due time.But this never works.Eventually, the damage will come back and haunt you… if not now, then later.We, being sinful and broken human beings, make mistakes that frequently seep over into other areas of our lives, including areas that affect others.We say and do things that hurt people who we love and who love us.Easy for the person who did the damage, right?A simple, “I’m sorry” should do the trick.It is always the person who experienced the hurt that has additional healing and mending to do.The hurt one is always left with bruised feelings, frustration and the struggle of having to forgive the one who had inflicted such pain.If you think about it, it’s almost like losing out twice: you get stabbed by the hurt stick and then you are left with the sole responsibility of having to forgive and forget.I recently experienced how difficult it is to truly forgive.
Our friend, Kytia, parallels everyday circumstances, such as repairing a leak in the ceiling, to lessons that God teaches us, like healing our greatest pains from the inside out. Kytia’s testimony reminds us that God can use times of great sadness, confusion and struggle to break open our hearts and bring healing.
Recently, my husband and I had our first encounter with serious repairs to our apartment. Ever since the first time it rained while we were living on our own, we’ve been dealing with leaks here and there in our office. There was even an incident when I noticed a leak above my computer desk right before we were about to leave for a meeting. If we had left just a few minutes sooner, my keyboard might have been soaked by the time we returned home and that would have been a whole other problem.
Two years ago, our friends from ENOCH Magazine and the Jonah Project team camped out with the homeless of Skid Row on Thanksgiving Eve through a project called “Camp Jesus.” The team prayed for people, shared God’s love and experienced what it is to live in the shoes of a less fortunate person. It is important to remember that what these individuals encounter in just one night are circumstances that those on Skid Row face every day. This Thanksgiving, let us cherish and be grateful for all that God has given us, and perhaps even extend His love to those who need it the most.
God remembers us even when we forget about Him. He is prevalent in our daily activities and will take the appropriate steps to remind us of our greater purpose in life: serving Him, not ourselves. Next time we find ourselves acting outside the norm or taking things to heart, we should think and ask: have we forgotten who we live for?
I’ve been receiving all kinds of messages from different places about God at work. Talking about religion at the workplace can be an odd topic at work due to all the politics involved and although I’m conscious of these things, God has continuously given me the strength to speak out about my faith. He’s truly blessed me at this place and I’m here to do His will.
In the last few days, I forgot about why God put me here and He was quick to remind me.
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Yesterday was just another day at work, but towards the end of the day, my supervisor communicated something that offended me. I had turned one of my projects in and his response was, “This is not your best work. You could’ve spent a little bit more time before sending it to me.” I don’t know why that pierced me, but it did and instead of my taking his comments as constructive criticism, I broke down crying.
I came home, made myself some dinner with a glass of wine and was really thinking about what had happened earlier that day. What was the root of my crying? Why was my work not up to my usual standard? That’s when it hit me. I was doing it for me, not for God. I started laughing when I realized this.
When I walked into work this morning, I was rejuvenated with God at the forefront of my mind and the Holy Spirit quenched me of a thirst I didn’t even know I had. What I can say is this: I am thankful for His grace and for Him choosing me to be an instrument of His grace.
Recently, a group called Youth With A Mission Denver visited Orange County to share the word of God to some of the OC residents. Many were exposed to God’s love and power, and a few even experienced healing through prayer. This video is a snapshot of what went down on the beaches of OC, and how God’s presence was felt by many who were there that day.
Our friend and reader shares the dangers of something that otherwise seems so neutral: social media. Rather than focusing on gossip and the lives of others, we need to fix our eyes on the Lord, find our joys through Him and seek Him to live out our purpose. This testimony is a good reminder that God is our rock and foundation of highest importance, and that everything else on this earth is temporary.
“OMG did you hear?!” It is a phrase heard often in today’s society. It is a way to connect with others. It starts conversations and can end an awkward silence.In the days of social media where news spreads like wildfire, it creates a topic of conversation where one otherwise might not exist.And in that moment, it can create a common bond between people and an idea of common interest.It is, “What happened to whom?”, “Who did what?” and “Where they went and with whom?” It is gossip, it is news and it is hot.
Our own WitnessLA’s reader goes in depth on a problem we all face on a daily basis: sin and how to live victoriously despite life’s challenges. Our reader shares the importance of relying on God to be our guide in everyday activities, and to ask God today for the grace and wisdom to make the right choices tomorrow.
Why is sin such a bad thing?Ask ten people and you’ll get ten different answers.What does it even mean to sin?Religious people may define sin as rebellion against God’s Commandments.Others may say sin is anything you do that hurts yourself or others.A child might simply know sin as “doing bad stuff.”
As Good Friday and Easter approaches, one of our friends invites us to “dance with our Father” in Heaven, and think about much our Father has sacrificed to save us from our sins.
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Before you begin to read my testimony, I encourage you to listen to this cover of “Dance with My Father” on repeat, and not only listen to the lyrics, but also feel the notes in your heart. It’s a nice pairing with this testimony.
In light of Good Friday and as Easter draws near, I think about what Jesus did for us on the cross. I’m getting the chills thinking about how Jesus was rejected (which really doesn’t even describe how people responded to Him), but He still gave His life for those who loved and hated Him. Sometimes, we as humans think life is unfair because things don’t happen the way we want them to, or we take control of situations and everything falls apart. I cringe when people talk about unfairness, because the truth is, it wasn’t fair for Jesus to die on the cross for us and pay the price for our sins. How are we deserving of that? Can you even begin to fathom what Jesus went through for us?
A few months ago, I watched Passion of the Christ for the first time, a movie that came out in 2004. You might be thinking why I waited so long to watch it. I’m going to be completely honest with you – I was scared. Scared of what I would see, and scared of how I would feel. When it comes to films or stories, I tend to empathize with the protagonists of the story and my heart softens.For the Passion, I needed to build up the courage. Even before I started the film, I prayed for God to give me strength and not be broken down by what I would see. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much more agonizing and monstrous it was during Jesus’ actual crucifixion over 2000 years ago, if this was only a Hollywood depiction of it.
This is the part of the movie where my heart just broke - when Jesus fell as He was carrying His cross and his mother came running to Him. Can you imagine what Jesus felt at that time when he was being whipped and intensely ridiculed? Can you imagine what you would feel if you saw your own child bleeding and tortured like Mary did? There was a guard who inquired about the woman who came running to Jesus when He fell. A second guard responded to the first and said that the woman was the Galilean’s mother. Stop there! Do you remember the reaction of the first guard who asked the question? His heart seemed to break like mine. Did yours?
Sometimes, when I complain, I feel like a child who knows no better. But I know that even if I’m acting like a child or talking like a child, Jesus will still love me exactly the way I am. 1 John 4:19 says, We love Him because He first loved us. What makes me so extremely ashamed to be a sinner is just that. How can someone love me so much even in times when all I feel is hate and anything else other than love?
I realize that’s what the love of the Father is – unconditional love. There’s a part in the song “Dance with My Father” that says:
If I could get another chance
Another walk, another dance with Him
I’d play a song that would never never end
How I’d love, love, love to dance with my Father again
The reality is that He gives us endless chances to walk and dance with Him and the song that never ends is playing now. Our walks and dances with Him here on earth are in the form of loving both the lovables AND unlovables in our lives, just as He did. It is so difficult to always be filled with love especially when we feel like we’ve been wronged or betrayed, but Jesus still loves us every time we wrong or betray Him and that alone should remove our bitterness for others. How will you dance with your Father this Easter?
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Almost 2 years ago, I took the day off from work and celebrated my 39th birthday….for the first time!!!!!!!
