Sin – BradRiley.Org

March 21, 2017

Everyone Needs Heart Surgery

“The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?”

Jeremiah 17:9

Heart-surgery-increases-death-risk-for-cancer-survivors-who-had-radiation-700x395 I turned in my heart monitor thinking I would finally find out why my heart rhythms were so crazy. I had worn it for a week. Every time I felt some strange rhythms I had to push a button that would record what my heart was doing. Each day I had to upload the data to the Dr.’s office so they could monitor anything dangerous. My last upload was Monday night, and Tuesday noon I went to turn it in to the office. I couldn’t believe what they told me. “Everything looks okay. There are some arrhythmias but nothing bad.” There had to be more to the story.

Have you ever gone to the Dr. only to get an answer you just didn’t feel was right? “Oh well”, I thought. I’m not a doctor so I guess it is what it is –but it just didn’t seem right. My heart rhythms had often been so crazy I thought it was going to leap out of my chest, and I would get extremely light headed.

Lent is a great time for heart surgery. It seems every year, come Lent, I need surgery. Thankfully not the physical kind, but certainly the spiritual. Jesus said it’s out of our hearts that all bad things come (Matthew 15:19). Sin is always conceived in the heart before it ever becomes an action we commit. All the things I’ve said or done that I regret throughout the year seem to come to my mind as I begin a serious time of examining my conscience during the Lenten season.

The prophet Jeremiah, along with all the prophets, tried to get the people of Israel to examine their conscience, but they would not. Jeremiah announced to the people of Israel they all needed heart surgery. He said their hearts were sick (Jer. 17:9), and if they didn’t have heart transplant, they were going to die. God would bring judgment upon them for their following after foreign gods (Jer. 17:27).

Tuesday afternoon, right after I had told the staff that the Dr.’s office said everything was okay – my phone rang. It was the Dr. It seems I had uploaded that morning’s data just before I turned in the monitor and they hadn’t seen that data. Their diagnosis was based on the end of the day before. The Dr. said He scheduled me to have a defibrillator put into my heart the very next day.

All was not well. The problems I was experiencing showed up on that last data upload Tuesday morning; they were dangerous rhythms call, Ventricular Tachycardia. I was in great danger of sudden death if I didn’t have a defibrillator implanted. It would be like having my own electric heart paddles shocking my heart from the inside should it stop beating during one those tachycardia episodes.

The good news is that the very next day, I received a defibrillator to protect my heart from dangerous rhythms. But, that only works on my physical heart. My spiritual heart is always at risk. What about you? How’s your heart? Lent is a great time to have “spiritual” heart surgery. Think of it as a cardiac checkup. We’re always in need of renewing our hearts. The really good news is, our God is a specialist at heart transplants.

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Ez. 36:26

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

My daily Lenten prayer – “Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit. ” NRSV

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March 9, 2017

Springs of Joy

“The statutes of the Lord are just
and rejoice the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear
and gives light to the eyes… By them also is your servant enlightened, *
and in keeping them there is great reward.”

Palm 19:8,11

Read Psalm 19

springs-of-joy-music-group Many people walk through life with heavy hearts. Some are heavy because of sadness or grief, some because of consequence. To some people Lent seems a time for sadness. They dwell upon their sin and sing “woe is me”. They think that in their sadness the Lord is pleased. While it is true that we should be sorrowful for our sins, it’s not true that we should dwell in that sorrow.

Lent comes in the Spring of the year for a purpose. God wants to remind us there is always new life waiting to spring up within us. Repentance should always produce joy, and it is that joy that should be our dwelling place, for joy comes from the Lord.

The Psalmist reminds us that God’s ways are not weary or hard. His laws are not boring or meant to keep us from enjoying life. In fact, God’s laws are the very source of our joy. When we learn to listen to the Lord and obey His teachings, he leads us in paths of refreshing. He renews our hearts.

Are you struggling to keep God’s commandments? Do they seem burdensome to you? Perhaps it’s because you don’t really understand them. Scripture says there is a way that seems right to man, but leads to destruction (Proverbs 14:12). Sometimes we see those who live in open sin and they seem to have everything, even joy. But, what they have is a fleeting moment of euphoria, not true joy. The consequences of their sin catch up to them sooner or later, and there is no real peace in their lives. Like the addict who feels serenity for the brief moments of a high, they soon come crashing down to a state worse than before.

Everything God asks us to do is always for our own good. Christians should be the happiest people on earth. We are always faced with choices of good and evil but they rarely look so stark. Evil is disguised in many ways to look good. If sin wasn’t fun, in some measure, Satan wouldn’t be able to entice us into it. But, to do the right thing always brings a feeling of peace and joy, a joy that comes from the Holy Spirit who confirms the right choices within us.

As you look around you at the signs of Spring, may you see the signs of God’s love and forgiveness washing over you in this Lenten season. Meditate on His statutes, and He will renew your heart with springs of joy.

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

My daily Lenten prayer – “Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit. ” NRSV

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March 8, 2017

Out of the Mouth of Babes

“I have considered my ways
and turned my feet toward your decrees.
I hasten and do not tarry
to keep your commandments.”

Palm 119:59-60

Read Psalm 119:49-72

Ralphies-soap-600x420 The taste of Life Boy soap in my mouth still lingers when I remember that day. I was sitting on the back steps of our friends’ house in Colorado Springs. My friend was teaching me to play a game. Every time you say a “cuss” word you get slugged in the arm. There were two points to that game; to see how many cuss words you can think of, and to see how tough you were in who could take the most hits.

My friend began hitting me harder and harder in rapid succession. I wondered what was going on. I wasn’t that good at cussing. In fact, he was hitting me way more times than one hit for each word, but I kept trying. There was a reason he was hitting me so much, as I was about to learn.

The most important thing in life is not that we live without sins or mistake; humans make mistakes, and all have sinned. The most important thing is that we learn to consider how harmful our sins and mistakes are, and pursue Christ’s forgiveness and cleansing.

In Lent, I find joy in examining my conscience to become more aware of any sin I’ve let creep into my life. While we should examine ourselves all year long, I’m thankful the Church calls us to a special season of cleansing and preparation. We can be cleansed of our sin whenever we confess, but we need to be reminded to prepare our hearts for the miracle of our faith; that we too have been raised from the dead!

The Psalmist speaks of the good that came from his afflictions, because through them he learned God’s more excellent way of living (Psalm 119:67,71). It’s true. We learn best from our hard times. What hard times are you going through right now? I promise you God has some valuable lessons for you to learn – if you look for them; I know I have. And, I continue to look for new truth from the Lord in all my tough times.

My friend hitting me so hard over and over was nothing compared to what happened after that. It was a tough time I will never forget. He wasn’t trying to hit me for each word I said, he was trying to warn me my Mother was right behind me listening at the door. As he motioned his head towards the door with a look of horror, I turned to see my Mother. Fear leapt in my heart. As a parent myself, I now know how sorrow filled hers, although at the time it I thought it more like rage.

As I recall, and I may be exaggerating a little, she grabbed me by the ear and pulled me into the bathroom. I can’t recall all that she said, but it had something to do with Christians don’t use that kind of language. Then she washed my mouth out with soap. The taste still lingers when I recall that moment. I learned my lesson. I wasn’t accustomed to cussing anyway, but I sure didn’t after that. But, most of all, as I grew, I learned to appreciate how much it hurt my Mother to hear those words coming out of her boys mouth.

When we sin, we hurt the Father’s heart. He made us for blessing and not for cursing (James 3:10). Our Father isn’t mad at us for sinning, but He is disappointed. He made us for so much more. This Lenten season, let us learn to live holier lives. Let us, as the writer of Hebrews said:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

My daily Lenten prayer – “Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit. ” NRSV

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December 13, 2016

What Will You Bring to the Pool?

Day 26

A Countdown to Listening to Jesus in the land of the Bible

A certain man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, knowing that he had already been there a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

John 5:5-6 CEB

Think of something you really want. Now, how much do you really want it? It had always been a dream of mine to go to Israel, to walk in Jesus footsteps. I wanted to hear Him say to me the words He said to others in scripture. I wanted to put myself in their place. That is a great part of pilgrimage, to put yourself into the time and space where Christ lived, where He walked and talked, and worked so many miracles.

I remember standing by the ruins of the pool of Bethsaida where Jesus healed the man who’d been sick for 38 years. We don’t know his age or what was wrong with him exactly. Perhaps he was sick from something he’d done, or as the consequence of some sin. We don’t know. What we do know is that he hadn’t always been that way. And we know that he longed to be healed. 38 years is a long time to be carried out by someone and placed by the pool in hopes of being healed.

Jesus, being God, never asked a question he didn’t already know the answer to. So, when he asked the man if he wanted to get well, Jesus knew that he did. His 38 years by the pool demonstrated that. But how much did he want healing? Would he be willing to obey whatever Jesus told him to do? When Jesus told him to get up and walk, being a Jew, he knew that was to break a Sabbath law. But being in the presence of God, and hearing Jesus command, he knew he must; it was his moment for healing. God had heard his prayers of all the years.

As we journey to the Holy Land, we will visit the pool of Bethsaida. When I was there, I remember thinking of all things I wish I’d done different in life, things for which I too wanted healing. Healing is for more than just our physical bodies, it’s for our spirits, and emotions as well.

What will you bring with you to the pool? As you look in to the ancient ruins and think of how so many came there for healing, remember that the one who created the world stood there one day and brought the greatest healing of all. There isn’t any water in the pool anymore, but Jesus didn’t need the waters of the pool to heal the man that day. What will you bring to the pool? The only thing you need to bring – is faith.

Day 26 has begun…

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

image credit: http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/jerusalem/the-bethesda-pool-site-of-one-of-jesus%E2%80%99-miracles/

What To Pack For Your Trip to the Swimming Pool

October 19, 2016

What Ever Became of Sin?

Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.

2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated… 9 For with thee is the fountain of life, in thy light do we see light.

Psalm 36:1, 2, 9

Words are a fascinating thing. They have an intrinsic meaning yet over time it seems the meaning can change. Societies change the meaning of words all the time as people begin to use them in ways they were not intended. The changes aren’t necessarily made on purpose and they don’t happen over night. Yet, they do change. I think one of the most dangerous yet consistent contributing factors to such change in words is a lack of education. When we fail to speak about things as they should be we are limiting the knowledge of those things for the next generation. I fear that is the answer to Dr. Karl Menninger’s question from the title to his classic book, What Ever Became of Sin?

Transgression is a fancy word for ‘sin’. The Psalmist speaks from his own experience. He knows he has sinned (transgressed) against God. You need only to read Psalm 51 to hear David’s broken and contrite heart as he confesses his sin to God. But how did David know his sin? He was raised by God-fearing parents who no doubt taught him the meaning of the word. He knew that his choices to satisfy his own desires rather than obey God’s law were sin. Sin is always a matter of our choices. While theologically there are sins of ignorance we commit as flawed humans, those are not the kind of sins David speaks about in the opening verses of Psalm 36. The sin that separates us from God and scars our conscience, the kind that speaks wickedly deep into our hearts is the sin we willfully choose.

Today, I believe we are in danger of completely losing the meaning of sin. Things understood as sin for millennia are now being tolerated in a measure that is even raising them to the status of normal behavior. Dr. Menninger knew and taught that there is no mental health without moral health. The present culture of death we see around us is crying out for someone to speak moral truth into their lives – but where are the preachers? Where is the message that sin kills and destroys from the inside out?

David knew in his heart that God could see his sin yet he couldn’t get to healing by himself. Without truth preached to him, he wasted away from within…

“When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long.” (Psalm 32:3)

It took the Prophet Nathan confronting the King, after his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, to bring David to repentance. When confronted with the truth of God’s word, David knew he must confess if he ever wished to be whole again, to have the joy of the Lord restored to his soul. I’m so glad Nathan wasn’t afraid to preach on sin.

What troubles you today? What aches deep within your heart? Perhaps it has been buried so deep you don’t even know it’s there anymore. Yet, you can’t explain the emptiness you feel inside. You can’t seem to understand why life is not fulfilling. I hope that doesn’t describe you, but if it does, allow me to be Nathan to you today. May the words of my mouth be for your edification, that you may not languish in sin, but know the joy repentance…

“Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” (Psalm 51:12)

“For with thee is the fountain of life, in thy light do we see light.” (Psalm 36:9)

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

image credit: http://joymag.co.za/article.php?id=519

September 15, 2016

Shame! Shame! Shame!

In thee, O LORD, do I seek refuge; let me never be put to shame; in thy righteousness deliver me!

2 Incline thy ear to me, rescue me speedily! Be thou a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me!

Psalm 31:1,2

As a boy, I often heard my father say, “Son, there’s no shame in being poor.” I’m not sure why he felt the need to tell me that so often. I never really felt poor growing up. I guess by American middle class standards we were at the low end of the spectrum, but I never felt any shame for not having what others had. When we feel shame it’s because we sense we don’t measure up to the standard around us. Though I didn’t feel shame for being ‘poor’ as a boy like my dad warned me not to, there came a time I did feel shame as an adult. Until then, shame was just a funny word that made me think of Gomer Pyle, the laughable US Marine of TV sitcom fame and his inimitable phrase, “Shame! Shame! Shame!”

What about you? Do you feel any shame for who you are, or what you’ve done in this life? It’s important for us to note that Jesus, in His humanity, never wanted to feel the pain of shame. In verse 1 we hear Him asking the Father to deliver Him from ever feeling shame. Psalm 31 is best understood when we hear it as Jesus’ final prayer from the cross. In fact, the words of verse 5 are the last words of Jesus on the cross, as St. Luke records them…

“Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.” (Luke 23:46 ESV)

Sometimes we feel shame because we compare ourselves to others and mistakenly perceive them as right or better than us. That sort of shame is unhealthy as it causes us to see ourselves as less than the beautiful child of God we are. However, shame does have a proper role to play in our lives. When we know we’ve sinned, we should feel shame, and it’s that shame that helps turn us toward the One who knew no sin and shame.

When you read Psalm 31, make it your prayer, even as David prophetically prayed in the Spirit of Christ. It is a prayer for deliverance from your enemies (verse 8), and it’s a prayer of lament for your sufferings (verses 9-13). But as you pray through the Psalm, be sure and hear a prayer of assurance also…

“3 Yea, thou art my rock and my fortress; for thy name’s sake lead me and guide me,” (Psalm 31:3)

Our only hope in this world is that in our relationship with Jesus Christ, God hears us. To be in Christ is to have a strong tower to run into in times of trouble. The 16^th Century Reformer, Martin Luther, in the midst of suffering and persecution found strength in Jesus as his strong tower. He penned these words in his great hymn of faith, ‘A Mighty Fortress’…

A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper he amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing.

Jesus is not only our pattern for holy living, He is also our pattern for enduring suffering. If you’re a Christian, you can be certain of suffering at some point in life. St. Paul taught Timothy assurance of such suffering when he said, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” (2 Timothy 3:12). Yet, the goal of our suffering in Christ should be as Jesus prayed in verse 1, “let me never be put to shame” (Psalm 31:1)

While shame can be a false guilt if it’s from thinking we’re less than what God created us to be, it can also be the result of knowing we’ve sinned, or done wrong; the latter of the two is good. It means we have a conscience and feel the conviction of God’s Spirit for our sin or wrong doing. When we feel that kind of shame we have a refuge we can seek that never fails, a mighty fortress we can run to, a God who loves us and doesn’t condemn us. Our Father is always willing to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all guilt and shame.

As a child and a teenager, I believed in Jesus because of what my parents taught me. But, as an adult there came a day I realized my shame for my sins. I looked in the mirror one day and didn’t see what I’d seen previously. I saw a guilty man who could no longer lean on the confession of what his parents had taught him. I was guilty of sin…many sins. Shame was no longer a funny phrase to me. It was in that shame that I saw the One who hung on a cross for me. I saw how Jesus endured such public shame and humiliation as none other had, and I realized He did it all for me…and for you too, if you’ll receive Him.

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

image credit: https://memegenerator.net/instance/69480653

September 6, 2016

Pure & Blameless?

6 I wash my hands in innocence, and go about thy altar, O LORD,

7 singing aloud a song of thanksgiving, and telling all thy wondrous deeds.

Psalm 26:6,7

Dove soap may leave you with softer, smoother skin after washing, but it leaves a nasty after-taste in your mouth. I was about 10 years old when my mother caught me playing a game with friends we were visiting in Colorado. The game was to say as many dirty words as you could, and for each word the other guy to your right would slug you in the arm. The more you cussed, the more you got hit. Pretty stupid, isn’t it? Well, the other kids talked me into playing, and sure enough, I got caught.

My mother didn’t hear the horrible things the other kids said, she only heard me as she came up behind us without being noticed. Moms are good at that sort of thing. I actually thought I was winning the game as the kid next to me began to hit me harder and harder, and faster and faster. He was actually trying to get me to shut up, as he saw my mother approaching. I thought I was going to lose my left ear as my mother grabbed it and pulled me off to the bathroom to wash my mouth out with soap.

Don’t you just hate how you feel when you know you’ve let the Lord down in your sinful behavior? I’m glad Jesus doesn’t wash our mouths out with soap, once was enough for me. Yet, how many times since then have I failed to honor God with my mouth in other ways? St. James reminds us our mouths should be vessels of honor…

“From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:10)

And, Jesus tells us what comes from our mouths is what comes from our hearts…

“…it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” (Matthew 15:11)

In Psalm 26 we hear the voice of Jesus proclaiming his innocence before the LORD’s Altar and having washed His hands before God. While Jesus is the only one who can claim such innocence before God, we too are called to be “blameless” before our God…

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” (Ephesians 1:4)

Through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, imparted to us by God to cleanse our hearts and make us pure and blameless, we too can pray as Jesus did in Psalm 26. We too can “sing aloud a song of thanksgiving”, and “love the habitation of thy house, and the place where thy glory dwells.” Our prayer in Psalm 26 should be to wash our hands before the LORD’s Altar, which means to repent, and to say, “But as for me, I walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me.” (Psalm 26:11).

Nothing in me felt pure that day in Colorado, not even my mouth after all the Dove soap. In fact, I felt dirtier than ever for falling to such peer pressure. What about you? Is your heart pure before God today, or does your heart convict you? Won’t you take your conviction to Jesus and let him wash you? Jesus will do better than just washing your mouth out with soap, He’ll cleanse you through and through. Repent and He will make you holy and blameless before Him.

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

image credit: http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Mom-Arrested-for-Washing-Kids-Mouth-With-Soap–64112132.html

August 4, 2016

The End Is Always Near

O men, how long shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? [Selah] But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him

Psalm 4:3-4

Have you anyone for whom you long to return to goodness and right living? Perhaps a wayward child or friend? They seem lost and you fear they shall not find repentance before the end of their days. David composed Psalm 4 as and ode to such feelings. He has confidence that God will hear his prayers and strengthen him in his distress, but still his heart yearns to see the return of his lost loved ones (vs. 1-2).

Prophetically, we hear the voice of Jesus calling out to the Father for His lost children. Jesus is the “Holy One” who was made “wondrous” (Septuagint version, vs. 4), the “godly” whose cry the Lord God always hears (Masoretic version, vs. 3).

It is a beautiful thought to know that Jesus is crying out to the Father for those who are lost. He knows the end is near. The end is always near for everyone. Whether Christ returns today to usher in the age to come, or if we die this day, our end is always near.

Are you one of His lost children? Perhaps you don’t even know how you got lost, you just woke up and found yourself far away from where you began. Take heart and know that Jesus is crying out for you to return to the Father. Have you any lost loved ones on your prayer list? Take comfort in knowing they’re on Jesus’ prayer list too.

There is a way to live that is righteous and good. Jesus says in the gospel the gate to righteousness is narrow and few are those who find it (Matt. 7:14). If you are struggling to make sense of life, won’t you tell your heartaches to your Father? God loves you and knows your concerns. Jesus is telling you it’s okay to be angry at the way things are going, but in your anger do not sin. Don’t blame God in your anger. Rather, lay down to rest tonight in repentance (vs. 4-5). Jesus will lead you in paths of righteousness. Remember, the end is nearer than when you began.

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

image credit: http://www.tshirtvortex.net/end-is-near-hollywood-apocalypse-sign-t-shirt/

June 15, 2016

Servants of Mercy

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

Matthew 5:7

As Christians, we talk a lot about grace. We’re saved by grace, and we couldn’t make it through a day without grace so it’s only natural that we think a lot about it. Brennen Manning, author of The Ragamuffin Gospel, a few years before his death said, “All is grace”; I love that thought. Grace is everything we receive from God. That means even the mercy of God is grace.

Mercy and grace are like flip sides of the same coin, though we often fail to see them that way. Not only is grace mercy, but mercy is grace. Grace is God giving us what we don’t deserve, and mercy is His not giving us what we do deserve, and that’s a whole lot of mercy when you consider what it is we deserve – death. St. Paul teaches us in Romans three that we’ve all sinned and that the wage of that sin is death. Isaiah 53 reminds us that we’ve all gone our own way. At our core we’re all selfish.

But, into our selfish, sinful lives Jesus comes in to save us with waves of mercy. He brings forgiveness and love that can’t be earned. But, He doesn’t stop there. He tells us to take His mercy to the world around us. In fact, he says it’s not an option for the believer to be merciful to others. Jesus said, if we want mercy, we better show mercy, because only the merciful “shall receive mercy”.

I don’t know about you but that really hits home to me. I don’t want to come to the end of my life and not see His mercy waiting there for me; I’m not good enough for that and I’ll bet you feel the same way. So, in view of our need for mercy, let’s all be servants of His mercy to the world around us. Let’s let those waves flow through us.

Grace and Peace,

+Pastor Brad

Prayer

Merciful Father, thank you for another day of life and the grace to live it well. Help me to be a servant of your mercy to all whom I meet. Amen.

Image credit: http://forthisverymoment.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-strength-of-mercy.html

May 26, 2016

What Sin?

Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, Lord, are good.

Psalm 25:6-7

Do you have some things in your past you wish you could forget – youthful indiscretions? Everyone does. Sin always has consequences, and learning from them is important. While we may not ever be able to forget our past, we can take comfort in knowing that God’s great love flows from His mercy and compassion.

Psalm 103 tells us God removes our sins from us as far as East is from West. The prophet Micah tells us He “cast all our sins into the depths of the sea”. Forgetfulness is a human characteristic. We forget many things, but then something triggers a memory and it all comes back to us. We feel the guilt and shame all over again. But, God does better than forgetting.

In His perfect character, once we’ve repented it’s as if our sin never existed. He doesn’t hold the memory of our sins against us, like we do to ourselves and each other. The waves of His mercy never cease to flow, washing over our us in what an old hymn writer called, “fathomless billows of love”. While we may not be able to perfectly forget our past, we can rest in knowing that in the Father’s mercy there’s no memory of our sin.

Grace and Peace,

+Pastor Brad

Prayer

Loving Father, thank you for not holding the memory of my sin against me. In your mercy help me to learn from my sin to live a life pleasing to you. Amen.

Image credit: http://baresouldaily.blogspot.com/2015/09/sea-of-forgetfulness.html