I Can't Remember

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, 

and remembers your sins no more. Isaiah 43: 25, NIV

A woman was having visions of Jesus When church authorities heard of her claims, a bishop was commissioned to examine both the woman and her revelations.

'Is it true, ma'am, that you have visions of Jesus?' asked the cleric.
'Yes,' said the woman.
'Well, the next time you have a vision, I want you to ask Jesus to tell you the sins that I confessed....'

The woman was stunned.

'You actually want me to ask Jesus, to tell me the sins of your past?'
'Exactly. Please call me if anything happens.'

Ten days later the woman notified her spiritual leader.

'Please come,' she said.
'Did you do what I asked?'
'Yes, bishop..'

The bishop learned forward with anticipation. His eyes narrowed.

'What did Jesus say?'
She took his hand and gazed deep into his eyes.

'Bishop,' she said.
'These are his exact words: I CAN'T REMEMBER' (The raggamuffin Gospel, pp116, 117).

Fictitious? Perhaps. Truth? Indeed.
For a century ago these words were written, "if you give yourself to Jesus, and accept him as your Saviour, then sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous....and you are accepted before God just as if you had not sinned" (Steps to Christ, p.62; italics supplied).

"I am he who remembers your sins no more." So speaks God. So speaks grace. And so we must speak and act, if we would experience genuine community. For you see, a "graceless" community is an oxymoron. For it is no community at all. A "pious fellowship," perhaps - but it is not community, genuine community. For only grace can resurrect community.

And that is why the chosen must keep returning to the foot of the cross. For the truth about grace is that I will never extend to you, fallen as you are, until I experience it in me, fallen as I am. The cross always precedes the Resurrection. I can't resurrect you until grace has restored me. "Peter, do you love me?" "Oh, Lord, you know that I love You." "Good. Now go and love the fallen back to Me."

And they will come back to him when you and I extend to them forgiveness, He has already extended to us. "I can't remember." Great news - for it is when we say the same to each other that we resurrect our brother, we resurrect our sister, and we revive our community!

Taken from
The Chosen: God's dream for you by Dwight K Nelson

"Forgiveness is the fragrance a flower leaves on the heel of the one who crushed it."

This is my Moment!

This is my Moment! by Wesley Knight

Dr. Wesley Knight shows that no matter how far or messed up our lives have become; Jesus will do all He can reach us and save us. His setting is Mark 5:1-9

Scripture: Mark 5:1-9

Click here for the sermon

Please note: Video was removed but MP3 Audio file is still available. 

True Love

True Love

True love is not a strong, fiery, impetuous passion. On the contrary, it is calm and deep in its nature. It looks beyond mere externals, and is attracted by qualities alone. It is wise and discriminating, and its devotion is real and abiding.
Love, lifted out of the realm of passion and impulse, becomes spiritualized, and is revealed in words and acts. 

Love Is a Precious Gift From Jesus

Love is a precious gift, which we receive from Jesus. Pure and holy affection is not a feeling, but a principle. Those who are actuated by true love are neither unreasonable nor blind.
There is but little real, genuine, devoted, pure love. This precious article is very rare. Passion is termed love.
True love is a high and holy principle, altogether different in character from that love which is awakened by impulse, and which suddenly dies when severely tested.
Love is a plant of heavenly growth, and it must be fostered and nourished. Affectionate hearts, truthful, loving words, will make happy families and exert an elevating influence upon all who come within the sphere of their influence.

True Love Versus Passion

Love ... is not unreasonable; it is not blind. It is pure and holy. But the passion of the natural heart is another thing altogether. While pure love will take God into all its plans, and will be in perfect harmony with the Spirit of God, passion will be headstrong, rash, unreasonable, defiant of all restraint, and will make the object of its choice an idol. In all the deportment of one who possesses true love, the grace of God will be shown. Modesty, simplicity, sincerity, morality, and religion will characterize every step toward an alliance in marriage. Those who are thus controlled will not be absorbed in each other's society, at a loss of interest in the prayer meeting and the religious service. Their fervor for the truth will not die on account of the neglect of the opportunities and privileges that God has graciously given to them.
That love which has no better foundation than mere sensual gratification will be headstrong, blind, and uncontrollable. Honor, truth, and every noble, elevated power of the mind are brought under the slavery of passions. The man who is bound in the chains of this infatuation is too often deaf to the voice of reason and conscience; neither argument nor entreaty can lead him to see the folly of his course.
True love is not a strong, fiery, impetuous passion. On the contrary, it is calm and deep in its nature. It looks beyond mere externals, and is attracted by qualities alone. It is wise and discriminating, and its devotion is real and abiding.
Love, lifted out of the realm of passion and impulse, becomes spiritualized, and is revealed in words and acts. A Christian must have a sanctified tenderness and love in which there is no impatience of fretfulness; the rude, harsh manners must be softened by the grace of Christ.

Taken from Adventist Home Chapter 7 True Love or Infatuation

10 Days in the Upper Room

Day 9 - Joyful Thanksgiving

This is one of ten brilliant video revival series by Mark Finley and Co, 

entitled 10 days in the upper room.

Lord you're holy by Helen Baylor

A beautiful song of praise and adoration to our Almighty God!

Stand Out from the Crowd

Stand out from the crowd

A man walking into a bank held the door open for the lady behind him. Instead of thanking him, she said, ‘You don’t have to hold the door because I’m a woman.’ Smiling, he replied, ‘I’m not doing it because you’re a woman, I’m doing it because I’m a gentleman.’ As believers we do what we do because of who we are ‘in Christ’, not because of how society thinks we should act. John says, ‘…The Holy Spirit…lives within…so [we] don’t need anyone to teach [us] what is true…’ (1John 2:27 NLT). In his book ‘Hope Again’, Chuck Swindoll says: ‘In the Marine Corps…our troopship carried us…onto Japanese soil…For many of us, it was our first visit to a foreign country. We were surging with excitement…Our company commander called us together…and…said…“Remember, for the first time in your lives, you’re the foreigners. This isn’t your country or your culture…you’re the minority. These aren’t your fellow citizens; they don’t speak your language. They know nothing of your homeland except what they see in you…Act in a way that the Japanese people will gain a good impression of your country.”…As Christians,…our citizenship is in heaven…We belong to the kingdom of God…We need to be on our best behaviour, otherwise people will get a distorted perception of what our homeland is like…Our earthly culture is pagan to the core…God left us here for a purpose…to demonstrate what it’s like to be a member of another country, to have a citizenship in another land, that we might create a desire for others to emigrate.’ Think about it!

Follow God's Wisdom, Not Your Own Feelings

Follow God's Wisdom, Not Your Own Feelings 

For the Lord gives wisdom: out of his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.  Proverbs 2:6

Life is no fun when we let our feelings run the show. Feelings change from day to day, hour to hour, even moment to moment. They often lie to us. In short, we cannot trust our feelings. 

But we can choose, as Christ followers, to ignore false emotions and live by truth and wisdom. Let me give you some examples. Perhaps you have found yourself in a crowd of people and felt as though everyone was talking about you. That doesn't mean they were. Maybe you feel that nobody understands you, but that doesn't mean they don't. You may feel misunderstood, unappreciated or even mistreated, but that doesn't mean you are. 

These are only feelings. We need to be mature, disciplined, Holy Spirit-controlled people, determined to walk in the Spirit. It takes a constant act of the will to choose to do things God's way rather than our way. 

Even though we may feel occasionally bombarded by negative emotions, we cannot allow those feelings to control and spoil life. Instead, we
can choose to follow the truth-godly wisdom, knowledge and understanding. 

Dear God, 
my feelings often go against Your wisdom and try to deceive me, but I won't let them run my life. Guide me with Your truth so that I can stay connected to You, and not be run by my constantly changing emotions.