Fresh Start Devotionals

-
Estel’s Prayer “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance IS Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.” Romans 12:19 I learned a real lesson in grace as I sat on Estel’s couch one hot summer afternoon. “Pastor, I pray to God that He doesn’t take vengeance on my enemies,” Estel said. “I wouldn’t want my worst enemies to have to deal with God’s vengeance.” As I took another sip of Ice Tea, I let the power of his words sink in. I’ve never questioned God’s power. If He is powerful enough to create the universe, breathe into man the breath of life, and raise Jesus from the dead, He certainly is powerful enough to take vengeance out on my enemies. And Estel was definitely right, He is powerful enough to get the job done. So why then, was I struggling with wanting to do something to hurt those who were hurting me? Forgiving others, doesn’t mean those who hurt us go unpunished. It means that we step aside and allow the Lord to deal with punishment. If we are going to leave the matter in God’s hands, we must decide to trust Him. If He says He will repay, He will repay. As I examined my heart, deep down inside, I was withholding forgiveness because I didn’t want to be a total putz. If I forgave my enemies, then I was becoming a doormat for them to walk over or worse yet, a punching bag for them to disrespect. At the time, I wasn’t able to pray Estel’s prayer for my enemies. The best I could do was to forgive them and turn them over to God’s wrath. But as God continued to work on my heart, in time, I was able to take the next step and pray Estel’s prayer, and to delight in God’s grace when He answered it. Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Furnishings of the Tabernacle

-
Image
Furnishings of the Tabernacle . ‎The book of Exodus details the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings. As Yahweh’s sanctuary, the tabernacle served as God’s dwelling place among the Israelites—the expression of the covenant between Yahweh and His people ( Exod 25:8–9 ).
Read more

A Threshing Floor

-
Image
A Threshing Floor In the ancient world, farmers used threshing floors to separate grain from its inedible husk (chaff) by beating it with a flail or walking animals on it—sometimes while towing a threshing sledge. Sledges were fitted with flint teeth to dehusk the grain more quickly. Other workers would turn the grain over so that it would be evenly threshed by the sledge.
Read more

Modern Mount Calvary

-
Image
Modern Mount Calvary ‎Great authorities are marshaled in favor of both claimants—the church within and the mound without the walls. For a long time, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was the only traditional spot pointed out as the place of burial. But with the growing influence of the Grotto of Jeremiah, the modern Mount Calvary, a picture of which we give, increased in favor. This whole discussion as to the place where Christ was crucified, and as to the tomb in which His body was placed, turns upon the direction which the walls about Jerusalem took at the time of the crucifixion. If the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was outside the wall at that time, as Dean Stanley thinks it might have been, the chances in favor of its being the place of crucifixion and burial are increased. If, however, the site of this church was inside the wall at that time it is sure that the place of burial and crucifixion was not there, for Christ was crucified outside of the walls of Jerusalem. And ...
Read more