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  Wrestling with Self Forgiveness (Part 9)

  God also foresaw that Christians would need a regular time to meet with other Christians. So, he had Jesus establish the Lord’s Supper to be observed every first day of the week. Acts 20:7 tells us that the church met on this day for this very purpose. In Hebrews 10:24-25, the Holy Spirit said, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

  August 6, 2023 Bulletin Articles

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  Wrestling with Self Forgiveness (Part 8)

  When we find ourselves not doing anything, it is easy for the mind to wander back to darker times. Staying busy doing the Lord’s work keeps our mind focused on the present. The Christian has plenty of work to do. The only question is whether he will get busy doing it, but what if he does not feel like doing it? Do it anyway. We should not subject our work for the Lord to our negative feelings. Rather, our feelings should be subject to the work we do.

  July 30, 2023 Bulletin Articles

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  Wrestling with Self Forgiveness (Part 6)

  For many, the problem is that we do not want to let go. We want to control and “fix” things. This attitude is deceptive. It does not eliminate the past but reinforces our failures by getting us to dwell on them. If we think we can “fix” or “control” things, we will not let the past go, and it will continue to haunt us. We do not need to be a “fixer” or have “control.” If we want peace, we will give it to God and let it go from our thoughts entirely.

  July 16, 2023 Bulletin Articles

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  Wrestling with Self Forgiveness (Part 5)

  Negative thoughts can be a big struggle as we try to forgive ourselves. Recurring negative thoughts may be symptoms of unresolved issues. In the previous article we noted that identifying when these negative thoughts begin can help us stop them, but it can also help us determine what is triggering them to get at the root cause. We can address these causes with God’s word.

  July 9, 2023 Bulletin Articles

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  Wrestling with Self Forgiveness (Part 4)

  Our struggle with self forgiveness may include old and painful memories. Sometimes these memories plague us in an endless loop of negative thoughts and pictures. We need to address our memories in a constructive way. When old memories continue to bother us, that indicates a lack of resolution. Are we  trying to the same problem in the future? Do we feel like we were treated unjustly? Are we using those memories to justify present behavior? Are we are hung up in unbelief that something so terrible happened to us, a denial of reality?

  July 2, 2023 Bulletin Articles

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  Wrestling with Self Forgiveness (Part 3)

  Just because one has sinned does not mean that that is what one is. Christ does not casually destroy His new creation! If the Christian sins, Christ has made a way for him to be forgiven to maintain his novel status (1 John 1:7). Sin does not have dominion over the child of God (Romans 6:14). The Christian may come back to the deep wells of forgiveness as much as he needs to overcome the sin that is in his life (Matthew 18:22).

  June 25, 2023 Bulletin Articles

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  Wrestling with Self Forgiveness (Part 1)

  We need to know that God loves us and forgives us. Sometimes people say to themselves, “God could never forgive me for what I have done.” That is a lie. He gave the highest price that He could give for us, His only begotten Son. Why would He hold back on us when He was willing to give everything for us? That is Paul’s point in Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” God is generous in forgiveness.

  June 11, 2023 Bulletin Articles