Not Worthy For You To Call Me Son

I've seen it in some churches for years. The truth is told on Sunday mornings and then somehow , some way , for the interested , they manage to apply that truth to their lives by the next Sunday. Only some times they stumble. Some times they are really wanting to apply God's word but they stumble. Can they holler , "Hey, wait up, I've stumbled !" ? Of course not. You are not suppose to stumble. What is wrong with you any way. So they come in to church next Sunday , disguising the bruises that happened when they fell , and hope that somewhere along the line they will be able to catch up. Some day.

The vision statement of my church is this , Jesus said it best in Matt. 12:20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.

I sure hope that means you can holler ,"Hey, wait up, I've stumbled."

I think it does.

When Jesus told me to forgive my enemies He certainly was not commanding me to do something that He would not do Himself. In fact , because He did everything as the Father wanted Him to do, I know His Spirit now empowers me to do as He did.

My flesh really does not want to forgive my enemies. However, I am putting my confidence in God. I do not give the control of my life over to my flesh. I give it to God.

I am very thankful for another word of testimony given by a very famous lady, Corrie Ten Boone. She tells of a time when one of the prison guards who had treated her and her sister so badly , came to one of the meetings she was speaking in. He had become a Christian. Corrie Ten Boone knew that the thing her heavenly Father wanted her to do was forgive this man. She says in her testimony that in her mind she prayed , Jesus help me forgive him, and as she raised her hand to shake his , by the time their hands touched she sensed the power of the Holy Spirit helping her to forgive him.

It is testimonies like that that give me hope. My word of testimony is , " I am trying very hard to raise my hand."

Jesus said when we pray we are to say this to Our Father in Heaven, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.

So I will. I thought today of myself being as the prodigal son. All stinky and ready to leave the pig sty. All I have to do is go home and be a servant, it will be better than it is for me now. Only I know He isn't going to let that happen. He wants me to be a son and I am going to have to do as a son. Am I going to let Him forgive me , when I do not want to forgive someone else who has done the same thing ?

I think when Paul wrote the just shall live by faith , he meant just that. I will raise my hand to shake the hand of my enemy in faith, believing that by the time it touches his , the work that Jesus Christ did for me on Calvary will manifest itself through my life.