Category: Topic Discussion

Forgiveness: A Reflection of Christ’s Love

May 19, 2025

Topic Discussion
Forgiveness is one of the most challenging commands we are called to obey as followers of Christ. When we’re wronged, our old nature, the flesh, often rises up instinctively. Anger flares, bitterness creeps in, and before we know it, we’re caught in a cycle of hurt and retaliation. Yet Jesus calls us to a radically different way.

In Matthew 18:21–22, Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus replied, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Some translations phrase it as “seventy times seven,” which equals 490. This number is not a literal limit but a call to limitless forgiveness. In Hebrew thought, it represents completeness and perfection. Christ was saying to forgive completely, continually, and without keeping count.

But how? How do we forgive those who have hurt us deeply, whether the offense is minor or life-altering?

It begins with love. Not the world’s version of love, but the love of Jesus. 1 Corinthians 13:5 reminds us that love “keeps no record of wrongs.” When we love as Christ loves, we begin to see people the way He does. We stop judging by outward actions and start considering the heart.

Consider this: suppose your manager lashes out at you unfairly. Your instinct might be to snap back or stew in resentment. But what if you knew that earlier that day, your manager had been harshly reprimanded by their own supervisor? Suddenly, their reaction—though still wrong—makes more sense. You understand the stress behind the outburst. This is how Jesus sees us. John 2:25 says that He “knew what was in each person.” He sees past the behavior into the burden.

We’ve all had moments where we’ve snapped at someone because of our own internal struggles. Yet we tend to give ourselves grace in those moments, thinking, “I was just having a bad day.” At the same time, we often assume others lash out because of some flaw in their character. But James 2:13 warns that “judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

Forgiveness is powerful. It is healing. It’s a divine act that reflects the heart of God. Proverbs 19:11 says, “It is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.” When we do this, it not only frees the other person—it also frees us.

Scripture is full of beautiful examples of forgiveness:
- Esau forgiving Jacob, the brother who stole his birthright (Genesis 33)
- Joseph, who was betrayed by his brothers, but later embraced and provided for them (Genesis 45)
- Hosea, who loved his unfaithful wife Gomer and took her back as a picture of God’s unfailing love for Israel (Hosea 3)
- Stephen, the first Christian martyr, who while being stoned cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60)
But the ultimate example is Jesus Christ. As He hung on the cross, bloody and mocked, He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). That moment echoes through eternity. It is the clearest picture of true forgiveness—unearned, undeserved, and freely given.

Forgiveness can reach deeply into the hearts of those who expect punishment but are met with grace instead. Romans 2:4 reminds us that it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance.

So when you are called to forgive, remember the One who forgave you first. Ephesians 4:32 commands us, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

If you are struggling to forgive, seek the Lord first. As Jesus said in Matthew 6:33: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” These things are not just material blessings but spiritual riches: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). These fruits of the Spirit never fade because they spring forth from the eternal God who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

When these are at work in your life, forgiveness becomes not only possible; it becomes a testimony to the transforming power of Christ in you.

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God’s Work: From Creation to Preparation

April 7, 2025

Topic Discussion

In the book of Genesis, we read about the incredible story of how God created the world in just seven days. With each word, He spoke life and form into existence—the sky, the land, the sea, and all that dwells within it. The Creator crafted a perfect world, one that was brimming with beauty, harmony, and purpose. And then, He stepped back and rested, declaring His work to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31).

But as awe-inspiring as that first creation was, we must remember that God’s work did not stop there. We are living in a world that is still unfolding. His purposes and plans are still being revealed. And as Christians, we look forward to another promise that Jesus made: “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

It has been over two thousand years since Jesus ascended to Heaven, and yet, we often wonder what He is doing up there. We know He is preparing a place for us, but what does that mean? If the World was built in seven days, what could be built in over two-thousand years?

A Place of Eternal Glory

When Jesus tells us He is preparing a place for us, it is not merely a house or a room we are meant to imagine. We are talking about the eternal dwelling place of God’s people. In Revelation 21, the apostle John shares a vision of the New Jerusalem—a city of unimaginable beauty and glory where there will be no more pain, sorrow, or death. It is a place where God’s presence will dwell with us forever.

Jesus, in His infinite wisdom, is crafting something far beyond our comprehension. He is building a place where every longing will be fulfilled, where our deepest desires for peace, love, and joy will be satisfied in His presence. This place is not just a physical location; it is the fulfillment of God’s promise to make all things new. Just as He created the world in perfect order in Genesis, He is now preparing a perfect eternity for us.

Jesus’ Work in Heaven

While we often focus on Jesus’ earthly ministry, we must not forget His ongoing work in Heaven. Hebrews 7:25 tells us that He “always lives to intercede for [us].” Jesus is actively engaged in the work of salvation, advocating on our behalf before the Father. His sacrifice on the cross was once for all, but His ministry continues in Heaven. He is preparing us for the place He’s preparing for us.

What a powerful thought—that Jesus, who knows the deepest parts of our hearts, is working to make a perfect home for us. His love for us is evident not only in His sacrificial death but also in the way He is working to ensure we have a place to dwell with Him forever.

The Nature of God’s Creation and His Ongoing Work

In the first seven days of creation, God spoke and the world came into being. But as we reflect on the ongoing creation of our eternal home, we see that this is not just a passive construction project. God is building something intricate, personal, and eternal. In the same way that He took care in forming the details of the world, we can trust that He is attending to every detail of the place He is preparing for us.

This preparation also speaks to God’s love. Just as God fashioned this world with purpose and intention, so too is He preparing Heaven with the same care. The world that was made in seven days was only a glimpse of His power, and now, over two thousand years later, we can trust that the place He’s preparing for us is beyond our wildest dreams.

Living in Hope

As we reflect on these truths, we are reminded to live in hope. Life on earth can often feel difficult, and the pain of this world can sometimes overwhelm us. But the promise of Heaven, the place that Jesus is preparing for us provides us with the assurance that this is not our final home. Our suffering is temporary, but the glory to come is eternal.

When Jesus promised that He was going to prepare a place for us, He invited us into a story that began with creation and will be fulfilled in the New Heaven and New Earth. That is where we are headed. And as we await that glorious day, we can be confident that God is still at work building, preparing, and making all things new.

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“Depart from me”

July 8, 2023

Topic Discussion
Matthew 7: 21-23

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

This is by far the scariest verse in the Bible even for believers. At the surface, it seems like if we are not doing the will of the Father then we will go to hell. It also shows that the people that Jesus are casting out have done remarkable things: prophecy, exorcism, etc. But there are a couple questions we are left with:
1. What is the will of the Father?
2. If these miraculous got these people cast out of the presence of Jesus then what works is acceptable?
Lets answer these questions by looking at scripture and see if we can find a bigger picture. What is the will of the Father? Jesus tells us this answer in John 6:40:

⁴⁰And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

So it seems that the Father’s Will is that all that believe on Jesus will have everlasting life. So how does that fit into Matthew 7:21-23? Well it seems that these people did alot of things in the Name of Jesus, but yet still didnt hit the mark? Lets look at another verse that may tie into this theme about standing before Jesus.

Matthew 25:34-45

³⁴Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

³⁵For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

³⁶Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

³⁷Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

³⁸When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

³⁹Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

⁴⁰And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

⁴¹Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

⁴²For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

⁴³I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

⁴⁴Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

⁴⁵Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me

Look at how both groups who stood before Jesus answered Him. One group was surprised and didn’t believe they did anything for God. They seem very humble, understanding that their works were nothing but dirty rags. They did not count any of their works as a reason to enter Heaven. While the other group argued with Jesus and said we did all of that. Jesus has different answers as well. To the first group He states that when they did something for the least of his brothers that He counted to them as having done it for Him while He answers the other group stating when you did not do it once for my brothers; you didn’t do it for Him. Does this mean we have to always help everyone and one mistake will forfeit our salvation? NO, of course not. But the humble realization that we don’t deserve Heaven and not playing the hypocrite goes a long way.

The truth is: we don’t deserve the grace or mercy of God, but He gives it freely to those who accept the sacrifice of Jesus and believes in His resurrection. He saves the ones who stand not on their own righteousness but stand on the righteousness of Jesus. The only one who came into this sinful world and while being tempted did not sin. The one who gave his life for our sins. The sinless for the sinful.

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Identity

July 8, 2023

Topic Discussion

Who am I? The phrase reverberates off of bedroom walls, school lockers, and car doors. We seem to ask ourselves this question entirely too much to never have an answer. It seems like this one answer would free us from all our pain and suffering, but yet generations go by asking this same question and never having a good answer. What if while we all debate about this social identity crisis, we can find the answer to that question outside of ourselves? What if we could realize that the answer to “Who am I” could be found in the “I AM”?

Exodus 3:14

God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

God never said the phrase Who am I? He has no need for that. He has identity and created everyone of us with identity, which can only be found in Him. He created us in His image, fearfully and wonderfully made. We, however, every day decide to do things outside of that identity. We sin. Against ourselves. Against others. Once we sinned when Adam and Eve were in the garden our identity changed. We were separated from God’s presence when they ate from the forbidden tree, but God in all His grace and mercy decided to impart His spirit into flesh that he formed in Eve’s womb. He formed the fleshly body in the womb just like He did with Adam (Jesus is referred to the 2nd Adam). Jesus came to die for our sins to reconcile us with Him. Jesus also had no identity problem. He said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”. So what does the Bible say about who we are? We are all prodigal sons of the Heavenly father. Jesus spoke this parable to the people and it symbolizes our relationship with God. We used to live with God but we went out on our own to do things our way. We squandered all our inheritance, but when we returned unto our Father’s House, He met us running with open arms. He put us in beautiful robes and threw a feast. We went to Him begging to become a servant to Him and He said no. You are my child. What an amazing Father we have. We don’t need to worry about who we are when we realize who our Father is. In Him we find our identity. As sons and daughters of the Most High.

John 1:12

¹²Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

If you are struggling with identity and have no idea where to turn. Look to the One who created you. Look to the One who came from Heaven down to this sinful world and died for the sins of the world. The One who called you friend, brother and sister. He loves you more than you could imagine and He just wants a relationship with you. No religious service, no certain prayer, no songs. Just relationship with you. It says if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead then you shall be saved. So confess it and believe. Never forget who your Father is!

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“To such as these”

June 23, 2023

Topic Discussion

Luke 18:16
¹⁶But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Born again? Become like little children? These are things that Jesus told his followers and like Nicodemus; we may at first glance look at these verses and say “Shall I crawl back into my mothers womb to become born again?” The simplicity of it all is really amazing. I think that as we start to grow in our walks with Jesus we forget what it was like to be a child. We grow callous, hardened, and have a sense of pride of our accomplishments. The world turns us cold and makes us only trust ourselves. But if we look into what Jesus is saying we see that we need to be like little children. Not in a physical sense, but in a spiritual sense.

I want to first go over a life story. My grandfather was the only father figure I have ever known, and one day I had gotten a bike for my birthday. The only problem was… I didn’t know how to ride it. However, my grandfather was going to help me learn. At first, I had training wheels that locked me in place and kept me from falling. But over time, I took it into my own hands to take those wheels off. Mainly because I was a “big kid” and didn’t need them or so I thought. My grandfather would then spend time holding on to me while I rode the bike. Sometimes I wanted to feel like I was doing it on my own so I either pedaled faster to get away from him or would sneak off to ride my bike without him. It was my first sign of trying to take control of my own life. But guess what. I fell.. Many times. I would get hurt, and go cry to him. Now looking back I see similarities in that story and how God sees me and my journey. The Law that He gave us is similar to those training wheels. As long as I kept them on I would not fall. But over time I resented those limitations and wanted to feel some control over my life. Even when I was trying to do it myself, my grandfather would be there to watch over me and catch me as I stumbled. In turn, God is there to catch us when we fall. We turn away from His laws and go about life our own way. And as long as we keep near to God He will catch us. It is when we try to do things without God that we fall and get hurt and typically end up crying out to Him to help us. Like Proverbs 24:16 says “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief”; I know that I have fallen many more times than that, but we are called to stand up, brush the dust off, and try again. Children are not sinless. They don’t have all the answers. They trust their parent. And God is the Father we can trust. He wants and knows what is best for us. He will allow us to make mistakes, but He has overcome all of our sins and all of our troubles. If we learn to trust God like children and become humble; knowing that we don’t have all the answers. We have a Father in heaven that will provide and protect us.

John 10:29

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

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Cain and Abel (Works vs Faith)

June 23, 2023

Topic Discussion
Genesis 4:2-8

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. ³In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. ⁴And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, ⁵but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

⁶Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? ⁷If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

⁸Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”^[d] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

As a child, we learn about this story in Sunday school class. At face value, it seems to depict the first murder and has themes of jealousy and anger. I remember thinking as a child that I couldn’t imagine how angry Cain would have had to be and how innocent Abel was. Abel did nothing to his brother, but Cain despised his brother for his success. Over the years, I haven’t thought much about this story other than at the surface level. However, I was reading and debating much in my own mind about faith vs. works and I believe that the Holy Spirit reminded me of this Cain and Abel story. As I got to read it again I realized the sacrifices that both brothers made to the Lord. Abel was a shepherd and gave God a blood sacrifice of his floc, presumably, a sheep or lamb. Cain gave to the Lord a sacrifice of fruit from the ground because Cain was a farmer of sorts. There are a couple points I want to make about the symbolic nature of the sacrifices and how that fits into this faith vs works debate. Let me say first, I believe that we are saved by faith which leads us to good works.
1. A lamb is symbolic of Jesus, a blood sacrifice is also symbolic of Jesus dying on the cross.
2. Cain’s sacrifice was of fruit. Fruit is symbolic to our good works.
3. We can conclude a theory as being that Abel relied on what God had provided him. A lamb/sheep symbolic of Jesus. While Cain believed that his fruit (works) would cause him to get in the Lord’s favor.
There are many theories as to why God did not accept Cains sacrifice like he did Abel. I believe God is telling us something symbolically and inspired this story to be written. When we read the Bible, we must look at it symbolically as well as literal. God is the most creative Author and no one could ever write a book like His. Thank the Lord that we are part of this Book by following Jesus. We will analyze the topic of Faith vs Works in future posts.

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Category: Topic Discussion

Forgiveness: A Reflection of Christ’s Love

God’s Work: From Creation to Preparation

A Place of Eternal Glory

Jesus’ Work in Heaven

The Nature of God’s Creation and His Ongoing Work

Living in Hope

“Depart from me”

Matthew 7: 21-23

Matthew 25:34-45

Identity

Exodus 3:14

John 1:12

“To such as these”

Luke 18:16

John 10:29

Cain and Abel (Works vs Faith)

Genesis 4:2-8