"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" 2 Corinthians 9:15 (NIV)

Forgiveness.  It is one of the most beautiful words in the English language.  It brings to mind images of freedom and release from bondage.  When you owe a debt, you are in a form of bondage.  When a debt is forgiven, you are no longer held responsible for that debt.  You are free.

Most of us can relate to the concept because we have debts that we owe.  All of us, though, owe a sin debt that we are unable to pay.  A songwriter once put it this way: I owed a debt I could not pay.  Jesus paid a debt He did not owe.

Think for a moment about the largest debt you have.  For most of us that would be the mortgage on your home.  If you are the average homeowner, the debt on your home is somewhere between three and four times what you make in a year.  Imagine what you would feel like if you checked the mail today and found a notice from your mortgage company saying they had decided to forgive the debt you owe on your home.  I don't know about you, but this Baptist would do a little dancing and shouting over that!

Someone was telling me the other day about a recent edition of the Oprah Winfrey show that originated from Macon, Georgia.  On this show, Oprah was featuring items that she felt were the perfect Christmas gifts.  All totaled the gifts amounted to about $7,000.  At some point during the show, she announced to the studio audience that each one of them would get all of the gifts delivered to their door.  Needless to say, the audience went nuts!

Why is it we can get so excited about material and physical things but not so about spiritual things? If Christ is your Lord and Savior, you have had a debt forgiven that dwarfs your home mortgage!  If you belong to Him, you have been given a gift that makes Oprah's refrigerator with a built in HDTV look like pure junk!

We have just been through the Thanksgiving season, a time where we all took stock of our blessings and thanked God for all He has given us.  There is no doubt that we all have so much to be thankful for.  But at the top of our gratitude list should be God's gift of grace - the forgiveness of sins and the free gift of eternal life.

Because of Jesus, we are forgiven!  Our sin debt was paid in full.  Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Little Girl Lost

By Marybeth Whalen

 “’Come back, wandering children!  I can heal your wanderlust!’

‘We’re here!  We’ve come back to you.  You’re our own true God!’”

Jeremiah 3:22 (MSG)

Devotion:

This morning I was walking out of the library with my toddler trailing behind me.  As I walked through the sliding glass door to the parking lot, I turned to look behind me and my daughter was gone.  She had seemingly vanished into thin air.  I began to call her name, my eyes darting around from the inside of the library to the parking lot ahead, then back to the corners of the lobby I was standing in.  If you have ever lost a child, you know the panicky feeling that instantly wells up in your heart.  I rushed back inside the library and asked the librarians if they had seen her come back in.  They said no, but one went to look in the children’s section.  My heart was racing and my blood pounding as I ran back out to the lobby, calling her name over and over, louder and louder. 

“Lord,” I prayed, “please help me find my precious daughter.  Please don’t let anything happen to her.”  I thought of random scenarios of what could have happened.  Every news report I have ever seen, every newspaper article featuring missing children flashed before my eyes.  The librarian came out to where I was standing and asked me if I had checked the stairs.  I eyed the set of stairs set off to the side of the lobby, reasoning that she wouldn’t go there.  It couldn’t hurt to check, I decided.  I walked up the stairs and rounded the corner to see that precious little face looking back at me.  She was sitting on the stairs the whole time, listening to me call her name in a panic.

I swooped her into my arms and hugged her tightly. “Why didn’t you answer me?” I asked.  She looked back at me with her big blue eyes, studying my face like I had lost my mind.  To her, she was never lost, just enjoying a new hiding place. 

As I have thought of that moment when I knew she was gone, I have pictured her listening to me call to her, but not answering my cries.  She had made a wrong turn and was out of my sight.  I know all the dangers in the world.  I know how careful I must be with my precious child.  But she didn’t see the harm in trying out something new, investigating something different. 

How many times have I been like my little girl?  How many times have I ignored my Father’s voice, choosing my own way instead of answering His call?  How many times have I been lost and didn’t even know it?  How many times has He sought me out, even when I was unaware of the dangers that were lurking? 

We all lose our way.  The important part is not that we fall short, but how we respond when we do.  Do we cry, “I’m here Daddy!  Rescue me!”  Or do we try to answer our own questions and solve our own problems?  Do we need to rely on God more and ourselves less?  Do we need to allow Him to pull us from our hiding place and hear His voice say, “I’ve been looking for you, my precious daughter.”  Today I saw myself in my child—in desperate need of being found, of being searched for, of being drawn out of my hiding places, of being protected from the things I foolishly think are safe.  Today I saw my Father, so willing to do all those things—to go to the ends of the earth if that is what it takes, to send His own Son to die in my place, to swoop me up into His arms and say, “I am so glad I found you.”  It’s good to be found—even when you didn’t know you were lost. 

Dear Lord, thank You for searching for me and not giving up when I have been lost but didn’t even realize it.  Thank You for calling my name and loving me enough to draw me out of my hiding places. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Related Resources:

“Becoming a Woman of Influence” message on CD, taught by Marybeth Whalen

Marybeth’s Blog

Who Holds the Key to Your Heart? by Lysa TerKeurst

Do You Know Him?

Application Steps: 

What are your hiding places?  Write them down as God brings them to mind.  Ask Him to help you stop hiding.

Reflections: 

Is there someone in your life who needs you to pray today’s scripture as a promise for their life?  Do you need to pray today’s scripture, responding with, “I’m here!  I’ve come back.  You are my true God”?  If so, don’t delay in praying that prayer aloud today. 

Power Verses:

Job 28:10-11, “He tunnels through the rock; his eyes see all its treasures.  He searches the sources of the rivers and brings hidden things to light.”  (NIV) 

Psalm 143:9, “Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord, for I hide myself in you.”  (NIV)

Psalm  32:7, “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.”  (NIV)

Proverbs 31 Ministries

616-G, Matthews-Mint Hill Road

Matthews, NC 28105

www.Proverbs31.org

The White Elephant

By Susanne Scheppmann

“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence.” 1 John 3:18-19 (NIV)

Devotion:

‘Tis the season for parties. The invitation reads, “Bring a white elephant gift.” A white elephant gift doesn’t require much thought or money. It can be an inexpensive trinket, a used household item or a gag gift. These white elephant get-togethers create laughter and light-hearted camaraderie.

However, there exists another kind of “white elephant” social gathering—the type where everyone knows there is a relational conflict that exists within the group, but no one acknowledges it. This pachyderm problem might occur within families, between co-workers, or in a neighborhood. The more everyone pretends the white elephant issue isn’t there, the bigger the unseen problem grows. The denial is like feeding peanuts to a live elephant—it grows larger and larger.

Do you anticipate this type of white elephant intruding on one of your upcoming festivities? Do you dread being in the same room with a particular person? To my own distress, I usually attend at least one event where the unwanted guest arrives, blowing its silent trumpet and begging for peanuts. However, God does not intend for us to ignore the problem. He wants us to seek His wisdom and guidance. The Lord wants us to pray and consider carefully how we might apply the following scriptural principles to help prevent or dissolve the uninvited intruder of tension from our personal relationships:

• Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:18, NIV)
• Pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. (Romans 14:19, NASB) 
• If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:18, NIV)

Let’s decide beforehand how God would have us handle any uncomfortable situation that might steal away the joy and peace of a Christmas festivity. If the white elephant isn’t gift-wrapped, it doesn’t belong at the party. So don’t pack any invisible peanuts in your holiday attire, but love as Jesus loves—with action and truth.

Dear Lord, I anticipate at least one party where a “white elephant” sits in the room. I ask that You teach me how to handle any situation like this with love, truth and action. Reveal to me if I contribute to the issue in any way. Lord, help me to reach out to everyone in Your love and compassion. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Related Resources:

Perplexing Proverbs by Susanne Scheppmann

The Five Languages of Apology by Dr. Gary Chapman and Jennifer Thomas

Listen to or Read Today's P31 Radio Show

Do You Know Him?

Application Steps: 

Consider your upcoming holiday events. Identify any potential “white elephants” that might be present. Pray over the event and ask the Holy Spirit to direct your words and actions. Ask God to evaporate the “elephant” and to resolve the relational conflict that might be residing in your heart.

Reflections: 

Does the same “white elephant” return every year?

How do I play a part in feeding it and allowing it to grow larger?

Is it possible that I could be the cause of the white elephant?

Power Verses:

Psalm 40:10, “I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.” (NIV)

3 John 1:3-4, “It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (NIV) 

Proverbs 31 Ministries

616-G, Matthews-Mint Hill Road

Matthews, NC 28105

www.Proverbs31.org

Rob Galbreath
Lancaster, New York, USA

I assure you that you can say to this mountain, "May God lift you up and throw you into the sea," and your command will be obeyed. All that's required is that you really believe and do not doubt in your heart. Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.  Mark 11:23-25 (NLT)

It is amazing how many people know the first two verses in this passage of scripture, and yet so few pay attention to verse 25. We all know we can have the faith to move a mountain. So why don't we? When's the last time we've moved a mountain? I haven't seen anything on the news lately.

As it says. "But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against..." Ouch, that hurts. Does that mean we have to forgive people before we can expect things to move? Yes, it does.

Proverbs 3:34 in the New Living Translation says, "The Lord mocks at mockers, but he shows favour to the humble." Aren't we called to account for everything we do? Then why are we holding grudges against each other?

Many times God has sent the Spirit to help me counsel people via the Internet. I have found on many occasions that individuals expect the person they're arguing with to apologize to them and to forgive them.

If I am expecting a person who has held a grudge against me to forgive me, then there's definitely something wrong. In many cases both sides are expecting an apology from the other. In other words, everyone's waiting for an "I'm sorry" from the other.

We simply must not hold grudges against people! If I think another person has a single grudge against me, then I ask for an apology. If another person hurt you, you apologize. For what? For holding a grudge!

We need to remember to be quick to listen and slow to speak, and not to argue about something that's happened a while ago, but instead to apologize. We need to humble ourselves, so we are not called to account for it.

Lord, humble our hearts. Keep us true and give us the courage to forgive others. Show us anyone against whom we may be holding a grudge. Reveal to us anyone who has been hurt by our words and actions