CHRISTians have two significant differences…

you might ask, does following CHRIST exempt you from temptation?  the answer is no.  of course not.  in fact you’re probably going to be more tempted once you become a believer because you’ve got a big bull’s eye on you and satan hates your guts.  he wants to take you down.

of course you’re going to be tempted.  so if you ever hear some CHRISTian say, “i just thank GOD i haven’t been tempted in twenty-five years.”  it’s just not true.  you’re going to be tempted the rest of your life. 

followers of CHRIST – that’s you and me – we have the exact same problems, same hurts, same fears, same difficulties, same sins, same failures as everybody else in the world.  we just have two significant differences.  one, we realize that because JESUS CHRIST died on the cross for my sins and i can come to HIM and HE will forgive me of any sin that i have done.  so salvation and GOD’s grace in my life means i’ve been forgiven.  that’s a big advantage.  a big advantage!  i have been forgiven.

the second thing i have is, i’ve got a church family.  in a church family i can find other people who say, we’re with you.  we’re going to hang in there with you.  we’re going to be with you.  the church is not a hotel for saints where they dress up for dress parade.  it’s a hospital for sinners.  people who say i want to grow.  GOD says that’s the kind of people i want.

now the most common temptations without a doubt are sexual temptations.  why?  i don’t know if you’ve figured this out or not but everybody is either a man or a woman.  so as a result sexual temptations are the most common temptations. 

not everybody is tempted to do drugs, smoke weed, not everybody is tempted to go get drunk and drive drunk.  but everybody is either a man or a woman.  and satan tries to get those drives and those desires – good GODly drives –perverted, misused or abused.  yet it is the one area of temptation that people least like to talk about. 

i love that line that says you’ve never gone too far for GOD’s grace.

just a thought from the front porch…

we’re going to need it again…

another reason why you’ve got to let it go of that hurt that someone did to you is because you are going to need forgiveness again.

i will need forgiveness in the future.  i’m going to need it today, tomorrow and the day after that. 

and JESUS says this in matthew 18.35 (gnt), this is how MY heavenly FATHER will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.  we cannot receive what we’re unwilling to give. 

if you want forgiveness you’ve got to offer forgiveness.  that’s the equation.  forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us. 

do you realize what you’re praying when you pray the LORD’s prayer?  “GOD, i want YOU to forgive me as much as i forgive everybody else.”  do we really want to pray that prayer?  GOD i want YOU to forgive me as much as i forgive everybody else.  that’s what the LORD’s prayer says. 

one day a guy came to john wesley and said, “i can never forgive that man!”  wesley said, “then i hope you never sin.”  forgiveness is a two way street.  don’t burn the bridge you need to get to heaven.  forgiveness is a two way street.  don’t burn that bridge.

notice it says, this is how MY heavenly FATHER will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.  notice, from your heart. 

HE’s saying forgiveness has to be more than intellectual.  it has to be emotional.  you have to emotionally let it go.  you have to do it from the heart.

just a thought from the front porch… 

HE did it now we must do it…

matthew 18.23-27 (nlt),  therefore, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. in the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.  he couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold — along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned — to pay the debt.  but the man fell down before his master and begged him, “please, be patient with me, and i will pay it all.”   then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

now there may be someone in your life who has really wronged you.  and JESUS in this story is telling some reasons why we are to forgive them.   one reason is because GOD has forgiven me, HE has forgiven you. 

twelve million dollars of debt, completely forgiven but that’s nothing compared to how much GOD has forgiven you. 

listen you owe GOD an awful lot, more than you’ll ever be able to repay.  GOD says, “I’m going to wipe the slate clean and you are completely forgiven.” 

romans 8.1 (ncv), those who are in CHRIST JESUS are not judged guilty.

now here’s the clincher.  GOD expects you to do to others what HE has done to you.  if you want to be forgiven by GOD, GOD expects you to forgive other people. 

just a thought from the front porch…

it’s as easy as a,b,c…

wouldn’t you like to let go of that load of guilt that is in your life?  it’s as easy as a,b,c.

let’s pray…

dear FATHER, i know there are people here on the front porch today who are tortured by guilt and shameful memories.  they’ve tried all kinds of things to get rid of it but nothing’s worked.  help them to realize how much YOU love them no matter what they’ve done.  right now, give them the courage to pray the prayer of forgiveness so that they can be free. 

just pray this prayer in your mind, in your heart, say this, “dear GOD, you know all the things i’m ashamed of.  you even know the things i’ve done i don’t even know about that were wrong.  thank YOU for bringing me here today to receive your forgiveness.  i want to take the a,b,c steps.  first, i admit that what i’ve done is wrong.  i admit that i have often been my own god.  i’ve gone my own way.  i did things i wanted to do instead of what YOU wanted me to do.  i ask you to forgive me for all those things.  second, i BELIEVE.  i believe that YOU want to forgive me.  i believe in YOUr grace.  i want to believe that JESUS CHRIST died to pay for all that i have done wrong.  thank you, JESUS CHRIST, for sacrificing YOUr life for me.  now, today, as best as i understand it i commit my life to YOU, JESUS.  i open up my life and say, i want to get to know YOU.  i want to follow YOU.  i want to live for the purpose YOU made me for.  in YOUr name i pray.  amen. 

why don’t you pray this prayer today?

just a thought from the front porch…

the best deal anywhere…

listen, your forgiveness is free, absolutely free, but it is not cheap.  somebody had to pay for it.  and JESUS CHRIST paid for it with his life.  colossians 1.14 says this, GOD has purchased our freedom with HIS blood and has forgiven all our sins.

GOD paid the ransom to set you free.  HE redeemed you.  HE said HE purchased it with HIS blood so all your sins could be forgiven. 

when JESUS died on the cross with HIS arms outstretched, nailed to that cross, the last thing HE said was, it is finished.  HE didn’t say, “i am finished,” because HE wasn’t.  HE resurrected and HE’s still alive today.  HE’s GOD.  HE wasn’t finished.  so what did HE mean, it is finished?

HE meant, I’ve paid for all your sins.  the plan of salvation is complete.  there’s nothing you need to add to it.  it is finished. 

in fact, in the greek in the bible, that phrase it is finished is only one word.  it is the greek word teleo.  it literally means in greek, “paid in full”.  it was a legal term. 

back in those days when someone would pay off a bill like you paid off your mortgage or you paid off a bill to a businessman they would stamp it teleo.  paid in full.  when a prisoner had served his time and his sentence was being commuted they would stamp on his prison papers when he was released, teleo.  paid on full.  free to go.  you’ve paid your debt to society.  you are scot free. 

when JESUS CHRIST died on the cross with HIS arms outstretched and HE said teleo, paid in full.  that meant that HE has paid already for every dumb thing you’re ever going to do.  every sin. 

notice it says, HE has forgiven all our sins.  when JESUS died for our sins which ones did HE include?  all of them.  that means if you are a CHRISTian, you’ve put your faith in JESUS CHRIST, and you’re carrying around a load of guilt right now you are carrying a load of guilt over sins that have already been paid for. 

what are you doing that for?  how long do you remember a bill that’s been paid for?  once i pay my electricity bill do you think i worry about it the next day?  i never, ever think about it again.  it’s been paid for.  i never think about it again.  paid in full.

what are you worried about?  why are you holding on to something that GOD has already paid for and when you confess it to HIM HE’s forgiven and you don’t have to keep confessing to HIM over and over.  in fact, if you keep confessing it that’s a lack of faith that says, “GOD, i don’t really think you forgave me the first time.”  GOD says, “i did.  why did you bring it back up again?  it’s already forgiven.”

just a thought from the front porch…

forgiven completely…

GOD forgives instantly, repeatedly and freely and number four, HE forgives completely. 

colossians 2.13-14 says this, HE has forgiven all your sins.  HE has utterly wiped out the evidence of the broken commandments which always hung over our heads.  and HE has completely annulled it by nailing it to the cross.  

it’s as if GOD were saying, “i want you to get the message here.  it’s all!”  it’s like one of those super stain removers you see on one of those infomercials.  it just completely wipes it out.  it’s all gone. 

nothing is hung over your head so you don’t have to keep carrying it.  it’s not partial forgiveness.  GOD doesn’t say, “i’m going to keep my eye on you now.”  no, it’s complete forgiveness.  utterly wiped out and completely annulled.  that means JESUS was nailed to the cross so you could stop nailing yourself to the cross.  HE was hung up for your hang ups. 

this is so important because even though you hear it in your head many of you still don’t understand how complete GOD’s forgiveness is.  and if you don’t understand how complete GOD’s forgiveness is the next time you have a problem you’re going to think, “GOD’s getting even with me.”  some illness comes along or some problem or some accident or some financial issue and you’ll think, “yes.  i knew the other shoe was going to drop one of these days.  GOD is getting even with me for what i did.” 

listen, GOD does not get even with you.  if you have given your life to JESUS CHRIST all of the punishment for all of your sins was taken on CHRIST.  and if JESUS took the punishment you don’t.  that’s what’s called the good news.  GOD doesn’t do double jeopardy.  Dones GOD punish JESUS plus you?  no.  it was all taken, all of the punishment was taken for your sin by JESUS CHRIST. 

just a thought from the front porch…

saved from neuroticism…

dr. leslie weatherhead, probably the most preeminent psychiatrists of the last century, said this: “the forgiveness of GOD is the most powerful therapeutic idea in the world.  if a person can really believe that GOD has forgiven him he can be saved from neuroticism.”

all kinds of emotional problems in your life are caused because you don’t feel forgiven.  i don’t know what secret sin you’re holding inside.  even me just writing about it makes you a little bit nervous probably.  i don’t know what you’re carrying but i do know this.  it’s stupid to keep carrying it.  it’s foolish.  it’s dumb.  there is no reason for you to keep carrying guilt in your life when GOD has offered forgiveness through HIS SON.  free, total forgiveness.  GOD is waiting to forgive you no matter what you’ve done in your life. 

GOD forgives instantly, repeatedly and freely.

just a thought from the front porch…

three true facts of forgiveness…

i heard about this little boy in washington d. c. who went up to a park ranger and said, “i want to buy the washington monument.”  the park ranger thought he’d have a little fun and said, “how much have you got?”  the little boy pulls out a dollar and eight-seven cents.  the ranger said, “son, let me say three things.  number one, it’s not for sale.  number two, even if it was for sale you couldn’t afford it.  it’s too expensive.  and number three, if you are an american citizen it already belongs to you.”

those same three facts are true of forgiveness in the life of a CHRISTian.  if you are already a CHRISTian, number one, you couldn’t buy forgiveness from GOD.  and even if you could, you couldn’t pay the price for it.  it’s too expensive.  but if you’re believer, you’re in GOD’s family, it’s already yours.  it’s part of grace.  forgiveness is your greatest need because you’re imperfect.  and it’s also GOD’s greatest gift.  HIS healing gift of grace is the greatest thing GOD gives you. 

how do you get that kind of healing grace?  it’s really pretty simple.  as simple as a, b, c.  admit, believe, commit.  if you want to have every sin forgiven in your life, here it is a,b,c – admit, believe, commit. 

a – admit

i admit i’ve blown it.  i admit i’ve sinned.  i admit GOD is right and i am wrong.  i admit that there have been many times in my life i’ve been god.  i’ve done what i wanted to do.  i didn’t check in with GOD and ask, “what do YOU want me to do?  what have you put me on this planet for?”  i did what i wanted to do.  i just agree with GOD.  i quit trying to make excuses, blame other people, etc. etc.  i just admit it.

b – believe

i believe that GOD wants to forgive me.  that HE wants to forgive me freely and instantly and repeatedly.  i believe in HIS grace.  i believe that JESUS CHRIST died for my sins so that i wouldn’t have to pay for them.  HE paid for them.  i believe that. 

c – commit

i commit my life to GOD.  i commit my sins to HIM.  i commit myself to JESUS CHRIST and say, “GOD, YOU take charge.  i haven’t done a real good job with my life so far so YOU be in charge.  YOU be number one.  YOU call the shots.  YOU be the manager.  YOU drive the car.”  and i commit it to HIM. 

what happens if you do that?  you’ll receive forgiveness. 

just a thought from the front porch…

it’s free…

we are looking at the ways that GOD forgives and HE not only forgives me instantly and repeatedly but HE also forgives me freely. 

you say, “free?  that’s too good to be true!  there’s got to be some catch to it.  a price tag for it.  it doesn’t seem fair to go scot free.  i blow it and GOD just forgives me freely.  HE just lets me go scot free.  somebody needs to pay for this.”

and you’re right.  somebody did.  HIS name is JESUS CHRIST.  JESUS CHRIST has already paid for all your sins. 

romans 3:23-24 (cev), all of us have sinned and fallen short of GOD’s glory.  but GOD treats us much better than we deserve, and because of CHRIST JESUS, HE freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.

what does it mean when GOD forgives us freely? 

well for one it means that you can’t buy your forgiveness.  you can’t pay GOD off through church attendance or tithing or doing good things.  you can’t buy your freedom.  you can’t buy your forgiveness from GOD.  it’s free.

for another, you can’t bargain with GOD.  you can’t say, “if you’ll forgive me i’ll never do it again.”  you may misunderstand the difference between confession and repentance.  confession takes care of the past.  repentance takes care of the future. 

when you come to GOD and you need forgiveness you just confess.  you say, “GOD, you’re right.  it was wrong.  you’re right.  i sinned.  you’re right, i blew it.”  that’s not promising to never do it again.  repentance is what you do when you change for the future.  confession is when you say to GOD, “i agree with you.” 

the word “confess” in greek is homologeo.  “homo” means “same.”  “logeo” means “word”.  it means to speak the same, say the same thing as GOD.  “you’re right, GOD.  that was wrong.”  that’s all it means.  you come to GOD and say, i was wrong.  you don’t bargain with him – “GOD, if you forgive me, i’ll never do it again.”

you also don’t try to bribe GOD.  “GOD if you’ll forgive me, i’ll teach the preschoolers.  i’ll give twenty percent tithes.”  you don’t bribe GOD.  you don’t bargain with GOD.  you don’t try to buy it. 

and you don’t beg.  you don’t say, “oh, please, please, please.  pretty please with sugar on it!” 

like you’ve got to pray fifteen years to get forgiveness over something.  remember GOD is more willing to forgive you than you are willing to ask.  you don’t beg GOD.  you don’t bribe, bargain, you don’t buy. 

just a thought from the front porch…

keep short accounts…

one of the greatest barriers to inner peace without a doubt is guilt.  millions of people are tortured by guilt.  they are stuck in the past.  they are a slave to regrets, a slave to shame, a slave to things they can’t get out of their mind.  they don’t know how to get out of the past so that they can get on with their life in the present and get into the future.  you cannot have peace of mind and guilt at the same time.

noel coward, a well known british playwright and comedian in the 20th century, once played a prank on ten famous men in london. he sent each of these distinguished men the same note which read: “we know what you have done. if you don’t want to be exposed, leave town.” and within six months all ten men had moved out of london.

guilt is a powerful emotion; it holds us captive and excludes us from sharing an intimate relationship with GOD and others. while nothing more than a cruel prank noel coward’s note exposed the guilt each of the recipients carried. fear of exposure caused each of them to move so they could keep their sin hidden. what is the key to unlocking the chains of guilt that hold us captive? guilt and shame become a self-made prison that excludes us from entering into a life of inner peace and joy.

there’s only one antidote that takes care of guilt.  it’s found in matthew 6.12 (niv), forgive us our debts.

there’s only one antidote to guilt and it is forgiveness.  while other people may forgive you for things you did against them, but the only person who can forgive you all the personal sins in your life is GOD.  you need GOD’s forgiveness. 

listen, keep short accounts with GOD.  when you realize you’ve done something wrong, immediately go to HIM about it.  don’t let it pile up.  you might practice what a lot of people call “spiritual breathing.”  breathing out and breathing in spiritually.  when you breathe out you say, “GOD, i confess that i’ve done something wrong.  i realize this is a sin.”  then when you breathe in, “GOD, i receive your forgiveness.  i realize that you are a GOD who loves me and you are a GOD whose willing to forgive me.”

just a thought from the front porch…

why we wait to ask...

sometimes we delay in asking for forgiveness.  we know we’ve done something wrong and we know we could take it to GOD and ask for forgiveness but for some reason we procrastinate.  we wait.  there’s a lot of reasons for that.  sometimes we think, “i don’t want to bother HIM again.”

but it doesn’t bother GOD.  HE’s big enough to listen to all of our requests, all day.  that’s the kind of GOD that HE is.  you’re not bothering GOD. 

sometimes we think, “what i’ll do is get my life all together, all worked out, perfect in at least this one area and then i’ll go to GOD and say, ‘GOD, i’ve got it worked out.  now i want to confess it.’” 

don’t wait!  it never works.  first of all you’re never going to be perfect.  you’re always going to have things you struggle with.  and secondly, one of the ways to grow in your life is to confess it to GOD, to realize HIS forgiveness and then grow based on that. 

realize that guilt in many ways is like garbage.  you have to take it out repeatedly.  in your house you have to take out the garbage repeatedly or the house starts stinking.  that’s how life works. 
i’d guess that for most of you in your house you have different sized containers for your trash, your garbage.  in your bathroom you probably have one of those tiny, little containers for garbage.  under your kitchen sink you probably have a medium sized container for garbage.  out in your back yard or in your garage you have one of those big huge industrial things to put everything in.  that’s where you take out the trash. 

when the trash starts to fill up in your kitchen, what do you do?  you don’t get a bigger garbage container to hold the trash in your kitchen and fill it up.  that one fills up and you bring in bigger container and fill it up.  you bring in the one from outside and put it in the middle of your kitchen and fill that one up.  you don’t do it that way.  when the trash fills up, you take out the trash. 

it’s the same way with our sins.  when we’ve realized that we’ve sinned what do we do?  you take out the trash.  you say to GOD, “i confess it.  i realize that YOU’ve forgiven me.” 

listen, it’s foolish to let the garbage pile up in your house and smell up everything.  and it’s just as foolish, even more foolish, to let guilt pile up in your life. 

just a thought from the front porch…