Red Wednesday's Wisdom - Unseen

Over the past few weeks I have been pondering on what the word unseen has meant to me. I have routinely found myself asking this question, “What do I accept as existing even though it remains unseen?” I think it would be fun to see how each of us would respond to this question. So I would like to ask you to take a moment to slow down and reflect on how you would answer this question with just one word, and then give a brief explanation.

The one word that comes to me as I write this post is “camera.” My mother and daughter, Lauren, are the picture takers in our family. And unfortunately, Mom misplaced her camera on Christmas Eve. If you have ever misplaced anything of importance, you know how frustrating it can become when you can not find or see what you have lost. What is most disturbing to my Mom is that the camera was loaded with hundreds of undeveloped pictures from a very recent trip to the South Pacific. So Lauren has been providing coverage for all the family photo shoots as we have pulled together in our continued search of the unseen camera. Mom remembers telling herself, “Put the camera up out of reach of the kids!” So even though we have looked in the high up places and now even the down low places as well, including all of the disgusting trash, the camera remains unseen and out of reach, at least for now. But I am hopeful that it will be seen when least expected.

The one word that came to me last week after seeing my doctor was “attack”. It had been one of those good news bad news scenarios. The good news was that the cancer called Waldenstrom’s had greatly diminished. The concerning news, was that there could be another type of cancer showing up. Upon hearing this update, I immediately thought about the supernatural world that is unseen. From a physical standpoint I was seeing the information that had been obtained from a variety of testing, but from a spiritual perspective I was also very aware of the unseen world that was influencing my report.

This got affirmed for me the next morning when I got a phone call from a relative who knew nothing about my doctor’s appointment. Here was the message, “Colleen, I woke up this morning and could hear in my spirit that you have been under attack. I saw an army of angels on white horses and they were fighting for you. It was like a civil war between the angels and the demons! And this was the Scripture that had been put on my heart for you, ‘Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’ Ephesians 6:11.” I had spoken these same words to my daughter just an hour earlier in regards to some things she has been fighting and battling through!

Here is what I could see. The good news from my doctor was God answering all those prayers for medical wisdom and healing of the cancer. Even though God and His Holy Spirit are unseen, I can still see the evidence of His power. And because Satan exists in that unseen world as well, I could also see the evidence of how he wanted to steal, kill and destroy me as God’s Word tells me in John 10:10. Satan wanted to take any good news and overshadow it with the bad news! But here is the bottom line. God continues to tell me in John 10:10 that He came so that I could have life and have it to the fullest. My healing is not yet complete, but it is in the process of being COMPLETE and FULL, even though it is unseen.

2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary and what is unseen is eternal."

As you slow down to consider what exists in your own life that is unseen, I hope you will help me to "see" the "unseen" thoughts that you have by sharing them in the comments section of this posting in regards to that one word I asked you to reflect on earlier, and it's explanation. I also ask that you intercede on my mother’s behalf and ask for God’s guidance in helping Mom to remember where she placed her camera. Yes, God cares about all of the details of our lives, even those that involve an unseen camera, and I know there is a story that is connected to it being found!

Red Wednesday's Wisdom - Forgive Continued

Confession time: As I have studied, pondered, and written about this idea to forgive, it has been a very heavy and hard subject for me to address, especially in light of what our family is going through. For that reason, I decided to devote my thoughts and feelings to two postings rather than one.

To forgive means that there is a giving up or a letting go of any resentment, or the desire to punish. It is about pardoning, overlooking an offense, or cancelling a debt. Forgiveness is rooted in God. And it is God (not man) who tells me that the only way I can be forgiven is through my acceptance of Jesus Christ. Forgiveness is not about being worthy; especially when I look at it in light of all the wrong and hurt that I have imposed. Forgiveness is about God’s love for me. I may think that I deserve to be resented, punished, condemned, persecuted, and indebted, or put to death. But, no! God tells me that forgiveness is His gift of grace to me, His unmerited favor. There is nothing I can do to earn forgiveness. It is freely offered as a gift that I accept or reject through Jesus Christ. To put it simply; with forgiveness there is acceptance and peace, and without forgiveness there is separation and punishment. Once again, if we go back to the cross, we see this exact scenario being played out with the two criminals who were also being hung along with Jesus, one on each side of Him. Both criminals were dying just like Jesus, but one scoffs at Jesus and the other one proclaims victory through the Savior’s forgiveness. It is powerfully told in Luke 23:12 - 43.

Forgiveness has and always will be about God. God came into this world as a newborn baby boy. His divine purpose was to grow into the man who would die on a cross for all of humanity. He is the Only One who has ever carried my burden of sin in order to forgive me. He stepped into my life and took my place on that cross. He became the object of my resentment, the One who was punished, the One who would not be pardoned. He was treated as though He was the One who had committed all of my offenses and with a debt that could not be cancelled!

Because God is also the God of order, there is order to God’s plan of forgiveness. God’s first step to forgiveness required Jesus going to the cross for me. The second step requires me to admit to my sinful nature and ask Jesus to grant me the forgiveness that He has provided for me through His crucifixion. Jesus paid the penalty for all of my sins, but it is up to me to decide if I want to receive forgiveness. Forgiveness brings me into a relationship with God through Jesus. Through that relationship, God then teaches me how to forgive my self and others. God can never force me to do anything. It is why He gave me a free will. He wants me to choose. Without free will I would be a robot. If I choose to not ask Jesus to forgive me, that is my prerogative. It’s me saying that I like and accept the sin I am living in and where I am at with it. But here is the bottom line; there will never be victory or peace in that kind of thinking.

When I did a word study on “forgive,” I had no idea that I would be revisiting Joseph. You may recall that we talked about Joseph and his many victories a few weeks ago. I was pretty overwhelmed with emotion as I realized that the hand of the Holy Spirit was guiding me back to him. You see, when I originally looked up forgive in the glossary of my Bible and then in my concordance, I had anticipated that the first reference to forgive would be back in the Garden of Eden, following the Fall. Certainly, that is where the act of God’s forgiveness was originally introduced to us, but it is not where the word “forgive” is recorded for the first time in the Bible. It’s actually in the last chapter of Genesis. It reads like this in Genesis 50: 16-17, “So they sent this message to Joseph: “Before your father died, he instructed us to say to you, ‘Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you - for their sin in treating you so cruelly.’ So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin.” So, as I meet up with Joseph and his family once again, here are some things that I have gleaned about forgiveness as I have thought about my own family.

My family has been facing the after math of what has been a huge volcanic eruption of emotions. There have been similar eruptions in the past, but none of this magnitude. And when emotions are not talked about but acted out, like they were with Joseph’s brothers, those pent up emotions eventually spill over into anger, bitterness, and condemnation.

The aftermath from a real volcanic eruption has given me insight into how our family can most effectively respond with forgiveness to this explosive emotional volcano that we have encountered.

1. Take time to clear out and clean up what has been affected by the fallen ash. Joseph took much needed time for doing this, and for him it started out by being in a pit. Our family also needs to take time to consider what needs to be cleared out and cleaned in how we relate to one another. We need to ask ourselves if we are committed to relationships that are safe, healthy, and edifying.


2. Keep a safe distance while things cool down. Joseph did not reunite with his family for years! There may have to be distancing in our family in order for healing to take place.


3. When revisiting a volcano, knowledge is your most important protection. In Joseph’s family, God used a famine to bring the family together. I pray that our family allow God to show us His protective timing (not ours) and use it as the barometer for our being reunited.


4. Consult Authorities. Joseph knew all about authority. He knew God and he knew Pharaoh. Joseph became Pharaoh’s right hand man! I pray that our family will be open to the counsel of God’s Holy Spirit and the Godly wisdom of our trusted family and friends.


5. Examine our history. Our past experience helps us to decide what has worked and what as not worked. Joseph met one obstacle after another with an attitude of forgiveness, and that consistently brought him victory, because he knew his boundaries. My family is one of the most forgiving families I have ever met. But this time we need to reexamine our boundaries and/or our lack of them and come up with new ones that will ultimately bring harmony.

Here is the one question that each person will ultimately have to answer for himself: Do I accept God, His love, and His forgiveness, or do I reject God, His love, and His forgiveness?

• To forgive is a personal choice. It can never be earned. It is freely given. It brings freedom, and it cleanses.


• Unforgiveness wants to fight, and it brews fear, guilt, and shame. It does not permit a loving relationship to take place.


• Forgiveness frees me from the bondage of constantly reminding my self of how I was abused.


• Unforgiveness keeps me in bondage.


• Forgiveness changes me but not necessarily you.
  Joseph’s father and brothers were filled with fear and guilt over their wrongs and
  this kept them from seeing Joseph’s actions of forgiveness. Therefore, my
  forgiving actions can be misinterpreted by other family members.


• Forgiveness does not mean that I am to spend time with someone who is not safe, healthy, or edifying.
  
  In this season of Christmas may we all learn how to forgive through Jesus Christ.

Red Wednesday's Wisdom - Forgive

As my family goes through a very challenging and emotional time, the word forgive is constantly resonating in my spirit. In fact, when I look back over the past 17 years, I can say that forgiveness has been a pretty dominant theme for me. There have been numerous times when I have really wrestled with knowing how to walk out my decision to forgive another. In my head, I have known that I am to excuse another’s fault or offense against me. But, how does my heart convey love without feeling anger or resentment? How do I respond rather than react, especially when the offensive behavior remains a constant in my life? How do I demonstrate love?

The only way I have ever been able to grasp any kind of answer to these questions is to look to the cross for my Example. Jesus is the epitome of what it means to love and forgive in the midst of every kind of evil. I can not begin to comprehend or truly appreciate the agonizing and passionate position that Jesus assumed for all of mankind, but that is the kind of love that God has for each and every one of us. In the heat of the moment, and in the presence of my worst enemy, I do not feel like I want to forgive. But… it is the crucifixion that empowers me to do so!

God tells us in Romans 3:10 that we are all born as sinners. All of us have deeply hurt and offended God, and in turn, we have offended and hurt ourselves and each other. Not one of us is better than another. And despite all of our unloving actions, Jesus never stops loving us. He demonstrated that love by becoming the sacrificial lamb that always forgives you and me!

When I need to forgive, I know that I have to go to that cross. It is at the cross that I can hear Jesus saying these dying words to His Father, “Father, forgive these people because they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:24). And then, like a mantra, I play those words over and over in my head so that I too can think more like Jesus, so that I can say, “Father, help me to forgive my offenders who do not know what they are doing.” When I think and speak those words I am being humbled. And I am reminded of when I did not know what I was doing. By taking on the mind-set of Jesus and believing in His Word, I am better prepared to avoid those feelings of hurt and anger. I can then put the burden of a relationship into God’s hands and depend on Him to show me how to think and love His way.

When I need to forgive, I also depend upon The Lord’s Prayer to guide me. It is the prayer that Jesus taught to His disciples so that they would know how to pray. When I say The Lord’s Prayer, it reinforces my need to forgive as Jesus directs me to do in Mark 6:12, “and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” In my desire to be forgiven I must be willing to extend that forgiveness to another.

Please forgive me, you are going to be getting the rest of this Forgiveness Post next week!