The Lord's House Community Church

The Freedom of Forgiveness

Transforming Truth from God’s Word

Forgiveness is at the heart of God’s love for you. He demonstrated His unfailing love when Christ gave His life and shed His blood to forgive your sins and mine. When you confess your sin, Christ is faithful and just to forgive you of your sin permanently. He never remembers that sin again. Having received this great forgiveness from Christ, why do we have such a difficult time forgiving the people in our life?

 Do you find yourself holding on to something someone said that offended you? Are you angry with a family member or friend who did something that hurt you? Are you harboring unforgiveness against a co-worker or manager because of the way they mistreated you? Think about these and other examples of unforgiveness that you could be harboring in your heart.

 The devil wants you to believe the lie that by refusing to forgive the people in your life who have hurt you, you punish them. Just the opposite is true. You are the one who is hurt emotionally and spiritually. In the verses following The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us that God, The Father will not forgive you of your sins if you do not forgive other people who have sinned against you. Can you imagine The Father turning a deaf ear to your prayers and holding your sins against you because of your stubborn refusal to forgive the other person?  Jesus cried out on the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” As He hung on the cross dying, Jesus asked the Father to forgive those who put Him to death and did not understand the full extent of their sins against Him. Those who offend you often do not know the extent of their actions and how those actions have affected you. By refusing to forgive, you carry an unnecessary weight and burden in your heart and mind because of your refusal to release the other person from the debt you believe they owe you.

To forgive a person is a choice you must make. When you choose to forgive, it opens you, it frees you, it lifts you, it matures you and gives you peace. Through forgiveness, you mature to become a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Learn to confess your trespasses and pray for others and allow them to do the same with you. Forgive as Christ has forgiven you.

Are you willing to take the next steps toward freedom through forgiveness? Let’s go!

Matthew 6: 14-15

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

A Psalm for Today

Psalm 103:10-12

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

God’s Promises for Today

Colossians 3:13

Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

Your Points of Prayer

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There is Healing for Your Soul

Transforming Truth from God’s Word

We live in a season of unprecedented turmoil, crisis, chaos and uncertainty. There are many factors that contribute to these conditions in society including impacts of the global COVID-19 Pandemic, sickness, death, job/career loss and general pain and suffering all around us. No one is immune to these pressures. The impacts on our lives have deeply afflicted our souls and left many people feeling helpless, hopeless, depressed and in despair. Prolonged social distancing and isolation have left families struggling to cope with issues they have never faced. Our souls are diseased and in desperate need of healing. One writer called it, “this present darkness.”

The Psalmist faced a similar crisis and soul sickness in Psalm 42 when he wrote: “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?” He described his soul as being ‘cast down and disquieted’ which implies profound sadness, despair, and a lack of peace, but he immediately realizes that his way of escape is ‘Hope in God’ and that he must praise God, even in the midst of the affliction of his own soul. Giving God praise ‘in spite of’ activates a weapon to combat the afflicts of the soul. Praise is also a garment that we as believers must wear to lift the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3).  God is your hope and the help of your countenance. He will heal you and deliver you from this present darkness into His marvelous light.

Will you praise God while your soul is afflicted? Will you allow the Holy Spirit to comfort you and give you hope for the future that God has ordained for you?

Psalm 42:5

Why are you cast down, O my soul?

And why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God;

For I shall yet praise Him,

The help of my countenance and my God

A Psalm for Today

Psalm 19:14

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

God’s Promises for Today

Jeremiah 30:17

“I will restore you to health and heal your wounds ‘declares the Lord…”

Your Points of Prayer

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Transforming Truth from God’s Word

As discussed, the statement on the side view mirror of a vehicle states “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” It is a reminder of a statement that Jesus made in Luke 19:44 when He stated: “because you do not know the time of your visitation”.

Here, Jesus was also providing prophetic awareness to them and to us that spiritual blindness will blind many people of His second coming. In Matthew 24, he warns them that no person or angel knows when the Lord will come again; only God the Father knows. He tells them to watch because they do not know when the Lord is coming. He tells them to be in a state-of-readiness, because the Son of Man will come when they do not expect.

Will you live your life as a believer in a state-of-readiness? Will you be ready when Jesus comes again?

Luke 19:44b

…”because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

A Psalm for Today

Psalm 146:8

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;

The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;

The Lord loves the righteous

God’s Promises for Today

Matthew 24: 36,42,44

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.

Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Your Points of Prayer

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Transforming Truth from God’s Word

Jesus declared love as the heart and soul of “The Greatest Commandment” given to mankind. He commanded people to love God with all that is within them and their neighbor (those in close relationship to them) as they love themselves.

As we examine the later, the question becomes: how do I love myself so that I can love my neighbor in the same way. Learning to love God wholeheartedly and learning to love yourself is necessary to living a fulfilled life in Christ. Several keys to learning to love yourself include:

It is important to learn to love yourself so that you will, so that you can learn to love and forgive others.

Mark 12:30-31

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

A Psalm for Today

Psalm 139:14

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.

God’s Promises for Today

Isaiah 54:10

“For the mountains may move and the hills disappear,

but even then my faithful love for you will remain.

My covenant of blessing will never be broken,”

says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

Your Points of Prayer

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Closer Than You Think

Transforming Truth from God’s Word

The rear-view mirror on the passenger side of every automobile has a statement printed at the bottom:  “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” The purpose of this statement is to warn the driver to be aware of objects beside and behind them before making lane changes and other maneuvers safely.

The statement reminds me of a statement that Jesus made in Luke 19:44 when He stated: “because you do not know the time of your visitation.” As He approaches Jerusalem, He wept over the city because of His deep concern for the spiritual blindness of the people there. He warned that they were unaware of the doom and destruction that would come to their city and to their lives. He warned that enemy nations would encase and surround them and conquer and destroy their great city and take their lives because they had missed God’s presence and the warning signs that He had provided.

Luke 19:41-44

A Psalm for Today

Psalm 146:8

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;

The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;

The Lord loves the righteous

God’s Promises for Today

John 12:39-40

Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:

“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,

Lest they should see with their eyes,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I should heal them.”

Your Points of Prayer

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Transforming Truth from God’s Word

Have you ever gone to someone’s house and seen cars in the driveway, seen lights on, rang the doorbell repeatedly but no one answered the door? Chances are you peeked through several windows, walked to a side door attempting to get the attention of the people you were there to visit. But no one responded. At some point, you probably yelled “Is anybody home?”

This scenario illustrates the way Jesus probably feels when we are indifferent toward Him. Yes, we once confessed faith in Him as Savior, and received the ‘new birth’ that He gave through salvation. Yes, we were ‘hot’ with a desire to learn of Him and become a disciple of His. But the issues of life ‘cooled’ us down. So we find ourselves surviving but not thriving in our Christian life.

In Revelation 3, John the Apostle writes the words that Jesus had spoken concerning the Laodicean church. He describes that He sees their works and that their works are lukewarm (neither cold nor hot). A church that had once been ‘hot’ for Jesus and served Him intensely had cooled off and was now ‘lukewarm’. Because of this, He tells them that He will literally spit them out of His mouth. He expressed a deep love for them and called them to be zealous and repent (v. 19). In v. 20, Jesus declared to them “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” In this powerful declaration, He expresses that the Laodicean church has left Him out and because of His love for them, He is standing and knocking at their door to enter in. He pleads that if anyone hears and opens the door to Him, He will enter and dine (have fellowship) with them. 

Have you become ‘lukewarm’ toward Jesus? He is standing and knocking at the door to your heart. Is anybody home? Will you open the door to your Savior and allow Him to become Lord of your life?

Revelation 3:20

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

A Psalm for Today

Psalm 24:7

Lift up your heads, O you gates!

And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!

And the King of glory shall come in.

God’s Promises for Today

John 10:27

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

Your Points of Prayer

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Transforming Truth from God’s Word

Several years ago a good friend raised the question in a conversation, “where are the True Believers?” His question led to a lengthy discussion about who true believers in Jesus Christ really are, their characteristics and the evidence that makes them True Believers. The Bible describes a True Believer is one who has received the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God into their hearts, resulting in salvation (the forgiveness of sin) and eternal life. The simple truths of salvation and characteristics of a True Believer are shared here as a reminder and confirmation for each of us.

Romans 10:9-10

“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

A Psalm for Today

Psalm 116:4

Then I called upon the name of the Lord:

“O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”

God’s Promises for Today

Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Your Points of Prayer

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Daily Disciplines of a Disciple!

Transforming Truth from God’s Word

Are you willing to discipline yourself daily to follow Jesus?

People who accomplish great things in life often attribute their success to disciplines they have practiced daily for many years. They describe their daily life by describing disciplines and practices such as: spending time in prayer, setting daily goals, working hard, being organized, helping others, treating others with respect and kindness, being on time, spending time reading, preparing for assignments, and learning something new every day. These are all great and noble disciplines that we should aspire to gain and practice to become better people and accomplish more in life. However, I believe that our greatest discipline each day is to follow Jesus more closely and really know Him. Why? Because He is the one who gave His life and shed His blood to save us from our sins and give us everlasting life.  Therefore, you and I owe our lives to Him. Nothing that you can achieve or accomplish in life compares to knowing and serving Jesus. The song writer wrote “It pays to serve Jesus, it pays every day, it pays every step of the way…”

Jesus challenged His disciples in Luke 9:23 by giving them (and us) three disciplines that are required to follow Him (as true students of the master teacher)

Luke 9:23

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

A Psalm for Today

Psalm 100:2a

Serve the Lord with gladness…

God’s Promises for Today

Matthew 23:11

But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.

Your Points of Prayer

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Keep On Moving Forward!

Transforming Truth from God’s Word

On April 10, 1960, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a power message to a Founder’s Day audience at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA.  Dr. King’s message was entitled “Keep Moving from This Mountain.” He drew from Deuteronomy 1:6 where Moses is leading the children of Israel to Caanan, the Promised Land. The Lord God has used Moses to emancipate them from Egyptian slavery and he has led them by faith through the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea on dry land and released the waters to drown Pharaoh and the Egyptian army who were in hot pursuit of them. Moses had also slain kings of enemy nations: Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan.  At this juncture, the Lord God spoke to Moses and gave him instructions to speak to ALL ISRAEL on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness. In Deuteronomy 1:6 he says, “The Lord our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: ‘You have dwelt long enough at this mountain’.”

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Dr. King identifies four symbolic mountains facing the people of that era: relativism, materialism, violence, and segregation. He stated that these mountains must be overcome “if we are to go forward in our world and if civilization is to survive.” The inspirational, yet convicting theme of his message to his audience and to us is: Keep Moving Forward! Do not stay where you are and miss the things God has in store for you.

Dr. King closed his message with this powerful truth:

“If you can’t fly, then run

If you can’t run, then walk

If you can’t walk, then crawl

But by all means, keep moving

Apostle Paul captures this truth in Philippians 3:13-14 when he challenges us and all believers with three actions that enabled him to keep moving forward.

Amen!

Philippians 3:13-14

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

A Psalm for Today

Psalm 32:8

I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with My eye on you, I will give counsel.

God’s Promises for Today

Deuteronomy 1:6

The Lord our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: ‘You have dwelt long enough at this mountain.

Your Points of Prayer

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ASK: Ask Seek Knock!!!

Transforming Truth from God’s Word

What do you want to ask of God? ASK is a term that is often overlooked as an important part of our relationship with Christ. In our desire to really know Christ, we must learn how to approach Him in prayer in order to express our concerns, needs and desires. He alone is the source for everything that we need spiritually and naturally to live “life more abundantly” as He has promised. He is willing and waiting to supply every need that you have if you will simply ask Him! In prayer, we have a personal privilege of talking with the Lord and asking Him questions that only He can answer and asking for solutions that only He can provide. But the key is asking in faith according to His Word, waiting on His answer and obeying His instructions. As you ask things of the Lord in prayer, the Holy Spirit will give you the words to speak and will intercede before the Father on your behalf.

The Adam Clarke Commentary describes the three steps in the process as follows:

Jesus teaches the disciples (and us) how to approach Him in Matthew 7:7-8 when He compels them to Ask, Seek and Knock. He challenges and invites them to make their requests known directly to Him. Later, He says to them “You may ask for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:14). So as we pray, let’s pray with boldness, yet approaching the Lord in humility. Ask (believing) with confidence, Seek with care and pursuit, Knock with persistence and watch God move with power and authority in your life and circumstances. And Remember, it’s in the Asking!

Matthew 7:7-8

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

A Psalm for Today

Psalm 27:4

One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.

God’s Promises for Today

John 14:13

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

Your Points of Prayer

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