Monday, September 13, 2010

Obidience to God

Definition of Obidience from the dictionary:(the act of carrying out commands).As we all know in each and every households there are a set of rules,laws,commands that children must live by,if one may ask why set rules so that there is order in your house and that it be respected by everyone,exactly the same in our Father's house we have laws and decrees.We say we love the Lord but do we love Him enough to keep His laws and decrees that are set out for us in the book of law(the bible),Deuteronomy 11:1.

The bible teaches us how to live,Exodus 20.There is one commandment that stands out for me,I am not saying that the others are not important because they are,this one comes with a promise,verse 12 Honor your father and mother so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving(Ephisians 6:1-3).Obidience to God comes with fruits that an individual will reap as well as curses through disobidience.Deuteronomy 28:1-13 and verse 15-65.Deuteronomy 11:13.Romans 5:19.At times we bring curses unto ourselves because we know the truth yet turn a blind eye to it.

Since we are talking about curses let me pass this message through.You want a financial breakthrough,honour the decrees of God Malachi 3:7-10,you want a healthy,fulfilling marriage\relationship Matthew 22:37-39;Ephisians 5:22-33,well behaved children Proverbs 22:5,Matthew 19:13-14.this is to mention just a few.Our Father is faithful and keep His word,yet in most cases we disobey Him but He is merciful to us if we return to Him and repent Jeremiah 3:12-13.

Stay blessed.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Forgive and Forget

This is a topic that most Christians do not like as they say it is easy to talk but difficult to act but let's see what Our Lord say about this topic.We say we are Christians because we are following Him so let's do that whole heartedly.If one may ask:Kulani is it easy for you to forgive,I will say YES and those who are close to me can bear testimony cause some usually say you have a weak heart or stupid heart(smilling),it is not me it is Christ who live in me.

Let's first look at the dictionary meaning of forgive:to excuse for a fault or an offense,pardon,to renounce anger or resentment against.Dictionary meaning of forget:to be unable to remember something.

We often say that forgiveness is not easy maybe because of the hurt we might have endured but forgiveness my dear sisters is a choice that we as individuals have to make through a decision of our own free will,motivated by obidience to God and His command to forgive.Jesus taught Peter about forgiveness in Matthew 18:21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive
someone who sins against me? Up to seven times?”Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.We are also taught forgiveness in the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6:12And forgive us our debts,as we also have forgiven our debtors.Colossians 3:13 instructs us to forgive as the Lord forgave us:13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, a God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,14having canceled the statement of indebtedness, with its particulars, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

Harbouring anger makes you the prisoner of yourself,you suffer most when you choose not to forgive and forget as you might find who you call your emeny happy with life and not even realising that he\she have an enemy in you.When you choose to forgive and forget,you are choosing to setting yourself free from bondage,anger,bitterness,resentment and hurt.

What is the use of saying Kulani I forgive you but will never forget?When you wrong God and pray for forgiveness do you say Lord please forgive me of my sins and never forget them?or you pray the full confession prayer and you know your debt has been cancelled meaning your sins have been fully forgiven and forgotten for that matter.We pray:God make me into Your likeliness yet we limit Him by the things we do.There is a song I love so much it goes like:"I wanna be like Jesus,I wanna be more and more like Him,everyday He is changing me He is making me what I should be I wanna be more and more like Him."meaning I wanna be like Jesus easy to forgive and forget,to live in peace and perfect harmony with everyone,remember what He said in pain,when crucified:"Lord forgive them for they do not know what they are doing."Our God is love,He is the prince of peace.One can say Kulani you do not know what so and so did to me and I know I won't forgive him\her,yes I do not know and what I know is the bible says:the fight is not for us but for the Lord.He is Jehovha Sabaoth He will avenge for you in good time.

If I may ask,do you think that in God's eyes there is a greater or smaller sin or sin is just sin and to be redeemed from it you need to confess it.Why must we forgive those who have hurt us so badly.We forgive because Jesus commanded us to forgive.Matthew 6:14For if you forgive others when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.15But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.We also forgive so that our prayers will not be hindered.Mark 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”Believe it or not forgiveness can hinder you from receiving what God intended for you and the devil can also use it to cause you to sin.

Like I said in the beginning we forgive out of obidience to the Lord and it must be out of our own free will.The reward of forgiveness is freedom.We must forgive by faith,whether we feel like it or not.We must trust God to do the work in us that needs to be done so that the forgiveness process is complete Philipians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.In psalm David says:search my heart oh Lord and take away my iniqities.Forgive and enjoy the fruits of the spirit Galations 6:22But the fruit of the Spirit islove,joy,peace,patience,kindness,goodness,faithfulness,23gentleness and self-control.Pray and ask God to create a clean heart and to renew a right spirit within you.