I Forgive.

I did not understand forgiveness.  What was I to do with deep emotions of betrayal and anger?

Pastors would preach that forgiveness is an act of my will and if I didn’t forgive others, God wouldn’t forgive me (see Matthew 6:14-15).  In my mind, I’d make a decision to forgive but my heart knew I was still full of bitterness.  My anger increased at the thought that I, the victim of wrongdoing, now deserved God’s unforgiveness!?!  It made no sense!

Until, one day I heard a different teaching on forgiveness.  The idea was to think in terms of forgiving a debt.  The pastor had us ask the question –
                         What does this person owe me?  

It dawned on me that the only thing the unforgiven in my life could owe me was an apology.  I laughed at the absurdity.  There was nothing the unforgiven could do that would undo the harm done to me.  This huge weight I’d carried of anger and bitterness, and the only payment I could receive was an apology.  

I could forgive that debt.  The dark cloud that was so heavy upon me for years shriveled to the size of a gnat which I flicked away.  I learned what forgiveness feels like – FREEDOM!

Knowing truths such as these two scriptures also help me to forgive:

        “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19 NKJV).

        “The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.” (Psalm 34:10 NKJV)

What good could anyone owe me that has not already been provided through God?

Just to be clear, forgiveness doesn’t mean that I have to trust the ones I’ve forgiven.  This is a good time to ask God for wisdom.  Healthy boundaries are necessary; forgive and forget might not be wise.  However, God’s love covers a multitude of sin and thinks the best of people.  God has miraculously healed my wounds and l hope He has also brought about changes in the lives of those I struggled to forgive. 

So…
Forgiveness:

        Ask – What does this person owe me?  

        Put a name on that debt.  

        Let it go.  Trust God that all your needs are met.
        Walk forth in love.

I love this life!

Copyright 2012 Leah Lambert Smith

*Matthew 6:14-15  (NKJV)      “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Copyright 2012 Leah Lambert Smith

The Secret Place

There are many layers of revelation one can glean from a Bible passage.  This is a layer of revelation from Psalm 91.

 A man was in a public place and didn’t want to bring attention to himself by speaking out loud, so he was silently rebuking Satan.  In the middle of his rebuke, he heard the Holy Spirit.

          Who are you talking to?

          Lord, you see what’s going on here.  I am rebuking Satan.

         You know, he can’t hear you in here.

It dawned on the man that only God is all-knowing.  Satan can’t read his thoughts, so of course he couldn’t hear the rebuke.  The Holy Spirit spoke again.

         I’m the only one who can hear you in here.  This is the secret place of the Most High God.

When I heard this story, I immediately talked to God about it.  It made sense and witnessed to my spirit, but I had never thought of it that way.  I read Psalm 91 in light of our inner thoughts being a secret place to dwell with God.  Wow!

If you’re interested, here’s a link to the Amplified Version of Psalm 91:  

 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2091&version=AMP

Copyright 2012  Leah Lambert Smith

   

Beloved, Let Us Love

1 John 4:7-8 (NKJV):  
7) Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8) He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Verse 7 reads that everyone who loves meets two requirements:
     1.  They are born of God
     2.  They know God.

Verse 8 reads that he who does not love meets one requirement:
     1.  He does not know God.

It's interesting to notice that you can be born of God and not know God.  That is, you can be born of God and not love.
 
When I saw this years ago, it gave me hope.  I believed I was born of God, but seemed to be a failure at living out His love.  I had a lot of anger and, frankly, hate.  If love is the hallmark of Christianity, the attitudes and behavior of those labeled "Christian" can often be disappointing to themselves and others.

Love is a fruit of the Spirit, a product of growth.*  It's a process.  Getting to know God is a process.  Naturally speaking, we don't expect great knowledge from newborn babies.  We expect them to grow and learn.  Romans 5:5 reads that "the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost."  The love is there, but in seed form.  Its fullness (fruit) comes through growth in the knowledge of God.  

I had to allow myself time to get to know God.  I have patience with myself and others now.  We all have different growth rates at different times.  My process of growth is uniquely played out between God and me.  It is amazing and humbling to know that God wants me to have an intimate knowledge of His love.

Beloved, let us love one another...as well as we each know how...today.

* Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)    ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 

 

6/7/12 - For further understanding, check out my blog post, True Love, at  http://shiyrahthoughts.blogspot.com/2012/05/true-love.html

 

Copyright 2012  Leah Lambert Smith

Do what He's Blessing

It wasn’t my idea to write this blog.  While praying about teaching a class, the idea to write mini-lessons as blog posts dropped into my spirit.  I thought I would write, have others edit.  I wouldn’t have a timeline so my efforts would make it to the blog when they were finally well-written. That was my plan.

As I started writing, the Holy Spirit gave me His plan.  I was to post often and immediately – just put the ideas out there. So what if the wording and grammar were rough, I could fix it later if at all. My ego was not allowed to be involved in this blog.  I was not to include other people’s stories in my posts.  I wasn’t to teach and certainly not preach.  I was to briefly relate stories of revelatory moments I had experienced. I wasn’t even to comment on my revelations. The Holy Spirit, knowing the needs of each person reading, would do that.

So recently I hit the Publish button imagining the type person who could benefit from reading the post. In a moment of misplaced piety, I asked, “Lord, please bless this blog post…” He interrupted me with, 

“Don’t ask Me to bless what you do;
      ask to do what I’m blessing.”

(Have I mentioned that I LOVE THIS LIFE!)

Walking on Air

I was fighting fear.

I’d had a plan, a vision. I was confident all was moving forward. 

Until, it wasn’t.

A voice in my head was saying none of it was real.  The voice declared that I was walking on air, soon to have a major fall.  It said everyone would see my destruction and walk away.  

“You’re walking on air!” was repeated continually.  

I was expected at a friend’s house that evening, but wanted to crawl in a hole instead.  Rallying my remaining strength (fighting fear is exhausting) I resolved to visit my friend.  

I suppose driving distracted my dark thoughts just enough to allow a tiny ray of hope.  A picture of Peter walking on water flashed in my mind.  Peter fell only when he focused on the circumstances around him.*

Hope flooded my soul.  Peter was walking on the solidity of Jesus’ word, “Come.”  The very thing that would have drowned him had to support him because of Jesus' word and Peter's belief in it.  He had faith in Jesus’ proven authority.  So did I!

The plan I’d had was God given.  Even if the substance I was walking on appeared to everyone else to be air, I knew that I was strutting on solid rock.  Others were welcome to watch and wonder.  My eyes were focused on God alone.

I do walk on air, far above fear!

I love this life.

* Matthew 14:25-30 (CEV)
25 A little while before morning, Jesus came walking on the water toward his disciples. 
26 When they saw him, they thought he was a ghost. They were terrified and started screaming.
27 At once, Jesus said to them, “Don’t worry! I am Jesus. Don’t be afraid.”
28 Peter replied, “Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come on!” Jesus said. Peter then got out of the boat and started walking on the water toward him.
30 But when Peter saw how strong the wind was, he was afraid and started sinking. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

Know Thyself

"If you were raised with people who were powerful but didn't allow or encourage you to be powerful, you may have become an adult not knowing who you are."

Upon first read, that idea sounded a little weird to me.  How do you not know who you are?

Well, that unknowing person was me. 

To be an acceptable person, I thought I had to care about everyone else - what they thought, what they wanted.  Focusing on others' thoughts and wants gave them too much sway over my thoughts and wants.  With popular opinion being so inconsistent, I was a mess. 

I finally started making thoughtful decisions concerning my own life.  There's so much less drama when I'm not reactionary and trying to please everyone.  My actions are determined by core value decisions I've made.  For example, rather than simply trying to please others, I have core values that I will respect and love them.  

  

I have to be the star of my own life, not a bit player.

As my decisions are based on who I know I am, what I do does not come with regret.  That's huge!

I love this life!

Truth?

A leader I respected was accused of wrongdoing.

I asked, "Lord, is that true?"

I clearly heard His answer, "No." 

Shortly thereafter, the leader confessed to the accusations made against him.


Truth was once explained to me like this:

    Put a pencil on the table. 

I put a pencil on the table.

    Is it true that the pencil is on the table?

I answered, "Yes it's true, the pencil is on the table"

    Knock the pencil off the table. 

I knocked the pencil to the floor.

    It couldn't have been true that the pencil was on the table
    because truth doesn't change. 
    It may have been a fact that the pencil was on the table.  Facts
    can change.
    Truth never changes.


I was reminded of this explanation of truth when I asked God again about the man I respected.  I knew I had heard the Lord say the accusations weren't true, yet the man had confessed!  

The Lord explained,  

"If the accusations about this man were truth, he would have no opportunity for change."