notes from lisa...

I was just thinking about prayer and many might think I spend a minute time praying for myself and those around me...in comparison to what I spend most of my time praying for, that is probably accurate. I stand guilty as charged. I personally feel as if I and those around me are so blessed that my prayers could be put to better use, elsewhere. I spend the majority of my time praying for people I don't know--have never seen, and probably never will, at least in this life. However, I look forward to hearing the stories of the miracles and help that God provided to them, when we all see Jesus, as a result of my prayers and the prayers of countless others. It excites me to know that one day I will get to hear how miraculously food was provided in a village that previously had none, and they heard the Word of God, and believed as a result of the miracle which gave them the faith to recognize that He, alone Is God. I look forward to the stories of Boko Haram, the Taliban, ISIS, and Al...

There really is no true love without forgiveness. After all, the ultimate love was shown to all mankind in the forgiveness of sins, by death at Calvary. We see, very clearly, the role of the Forgiver as He grants forgiveness to sinners and those of us (all of us) in need of repentance. As we come to Him in repentance with hearts filled with contrition, seeking and asking for forgiveness, He freely grants it. It is His desire to give us the keys to the Kingdom. Our human relationships resemble (or at least they should), the divine model. Not only the Forgiver, but the seeker. Our tendency is to focus all of the responsibility on the forgiver--the person who has been wronged. We place this great burden on one party to forgive, but not much is required of the person who committed the sin/fault. That is so opposite of Jesus' teaching. In Luke 17, Jesus teaches on forgiveness: " And Yeshua said to his disciples, 'It is not possible that offenses shall not come, but ...