Many people feel stuck in their past even when they respond properly because they still struggle with the memory of their failure. Let me take a moment to encourage you.1. What should I do if I don’t feel forgiven?We must remember that our emotions are only reliable to the degree that they reflect biblical truth. After we have confessed our sin to God and to the appropriate people, we need to focus on what God’s Word has instructed us to believe about our status before Him, and what our Lord has done to make that status possible. We do that by remembering three things:1) God is a forgiving God – Ps 103:122) Jesus focused on forgiveness even while dying on the cross – Luke 23:34; 23:433) God promises to forgive His children as soon as we come in repentance and faith – 1 John 1:9One of the purposes of the Lord’s table, is to remind us as believers that our sins are forgiven because of 4-fold work of Christ in His Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, and at Pentecost. We need to choose to live in the promises of God’s forgiveness whether our emotions accept that reality or not. Guilt is a … READ MORE

We are reminded in John 14:2 ” In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you.” In telling the disciples this truth, he was emphasizing our oneness with the Father. Notice that there is only one house designated here with many dwelling places. Heaven is not just blocks of streets lined with mansions, it is one house with many rooms so that we may live with our Heavenly Father and He will provide for our needs. We as believers will live in the Father’s house because we are one with Him and members of the same family. We must remember, however, that we do not begin to live in this relationship when we go to heaven, we begin living in this unique oneness with the Father the moment we choose to follow His Son. Today, your Heavenly Father, will watch over you and provide for you in so many ways. May we rest in the knowledge of His goodness! … READ MORE

FATHER, what does this name conjure up for you? This should be a term of endearment, but instead in our society it has become a term of derision. Many young people today, have no idea who their father is, let alone understand what it means for God to be our heavenly Father. Yet that is the term that Jesus told the disciples to use when they pray in Matthew 6. It stands to reason that if we want to know what God is like we should listen to what Jesus said about Him. More than any other concept of God, Jesus knew Him as His Father. God is the very essence of that term. I think it is important that we take a few moments and remind ourselves anew of the blessing of being called a child of God. Since according to Romans 8:14-17 we are adopted into the Family of God, we have the privilege of referring to God as our Abba, which is a personal term reflecting trust, dependence, intimacy, and love. Once we were sinners living in fear; now we are children in the care of our heavenly Father, and as a Promise we are reminded in … READ MORE