Pause: with Pastor Aaron

I hate when I mess up.  In my desire to do the right thing, I hate when I give up the fight and simply resort selfishness.  I know better, and I should do better.  It separates me from fellowship with God.  I'm left to do life on my own.  I can live in this state, disappointed in myself and embarrassed to see God, or I can not... Today I choose to not.   Today I choose to not let the enemy have one more moment interfering with my fellowship with God.   Today I choose to say yes to God and no to sin and its influence and its authority in my life.  Today I embrace a God who promises He will never leave us, and He will never let us go (Heb 13:5b).  Today I embrace forgiveness. Forgiveness is not an every depleting vault.  Forgiveness is a state of being.  Forgiveness is a statue or a tower standing tall against the skyline.   Forgiveness is about reconciliation.  Forgiveness occurs when I turn from my own direction to...

How is forgiveness gained?  I remember a conversation with a young man in my church in Monongahela who was convinced that forgiveness was a result of an apology.   It had to be sought, and could not be offered unless it was.  Others have proposed to me that we have a state of forgiveness before the Lord and when we sin we only need reconcile to that state and we are made right again with Him.  In that case no real apology is needed - simply a turning away from the previous deed and an awareness of identity in Christ.  Still yet others look to Scripture and see verses of a God who can withhold forgiveness based upon our withholding forgiveness from others.  Thus a person must be practicing the very thing they are asking God to do for them. This may be one of those places where each position is a little right.  Each position may be a lot of wrong dependent upon what the outcome is that the person who forgives wants.  Some truths we have to fa...

We need to acknowledge the elephant in the room.  It is a sin to hold onto grudges. There I have said it.  It is a sin to hold onto grudges.    I can hear the replies of people who would argue.   "Wait a second! You don't know what they did!"  "I have forgiven, but I will never forget!" "I have to make sure that they can never hurt me again!" "I have to make sure they will never hurt someone else again!"  All these responses, I am sure, are seen as legit by the ones who make them.  Deep hurt breeds harsh responses.  Any of these responses can make a lot of sense, except... I once was told, "Hurt people hurt people, but healed people heal people." By holding onto a grudge, do you find yourself on the healed side of the spectrum, or on the hurt? By holding onto a grudge, are you committing yourself to healing others around you, or are you hurting them?   It doesn't matter if you don't intend to.  Does it really ma...