Forgive Us as We Forgive Others
June 9, 2009
Note to self
April 9, 2009
By Joe Thorn
Dear Self,
Like Israel, you tend to forget the most basic things. Important things. You need constant reminders. So, find ways to remind yourself about these things that matter. If you aren’t intentionally setting the truth before yourself you will forget.
You’ll forget what you were (a slave to sin, a child of wrath, a dead man walking).
You’ll forget what you are (a disciple of Christ, a child of God, a new creation).
You’ll forget what you are made for (the glory of God, the good of my neighbors).
You’ll forget what you’re sent to do (make Christ known, make disciples).
You’ll forget it all.
And when you forget these things - you get into trouble. So erect something like “memorial stones” that will remind you of all these things (and more). Get back to personal journaling, preach these things to yourself, share them with your kids, and help others to see and savor them wherever you can.
CBS: Slain pastor’s wife expresses forgiveness for his killer
March 27, 2009
(Video HT: Denny Burk)
Satan’s Legal Team
March 19, 2009
By Mark Altrogge
Satan and my conscience make an unbeatable legal team. They know all the facts. They know that I responded impatiently to Jen last night. That my devotional times have been lukewarm recently. They know that I spent way too much time surfing the Internet yesterday (why do I always do that?).
Plus, they’ve got a rap sheet on me that covers my entire life. My past sins, failures, idolatry – all there, plain as day.
They present an unbeatable case. How can I fight the facts? I know I’m guilty, they know I’m guilty. What’s left to argue about?
And so they present their case against me. I sit down to read my Bible and the accusations begin.
How dare you approach God, you filthy sinner? You really think God is going to hear you today? With the week you’ve had? Think again pal. God isn’t interested in you today. Come back when you’ve cleaned up your act.
How do I answer such allegations? How do I respond to such accusations? By agreeing with the charges.
Satan’s case has one major problem: we’re not in the courtroom anymore. A verdict has already been rendered concerning me.
Read the rest
Movie trailer: As We Forgive
February 21, 2009
(HT: Vitamin Z >> Dan Cruver)
Man Asks Entire Town for Forgiveness for Racism
February 11, 2009
(Video HT: Ochuk)
Book review: As We Forgive: Stories of Reconciliation from Rwanda, by Catherine Claire Larson
February 2, 2009
Timothy McConnell, Common Grounds Online
Amazon: As We Forgive: Stories of Reconciliation from Rwanda
‘Christians who espoused forgiveness did not forgive Ted Haggard,’ filmmaker observes
January 17, 2009
Alexandra Pelosi (HT: Sharper Iron)
‘Mutilated Christian girl, 10, forgives attackers’
December 22, 2008
A story from WorldNet Daily (HT: Gene Veith):
“Hindu extremists may have burned a 10-year-old Christian girl’s face, inflicted shrapnel wounds on 40 percent of her body and forced her family to hide in a forest and flee to a refugee camp in Orissa, India, but her plight hasn’t shaken her faith and thankfulness to God this season …”
Read the entire story.
“A Theology of Hugging”
October 28, 2008
At the Scriptorium, Matt Jenson discusses steps to reconciliation and forgiveness, drawing insight from a treatise by theologian Miroslav Volf, Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation.
“At the core of Volf’s argument is a description of reconciling embrace. Embrace has a fourfold rhythm to it: ‘opening the arms, waiting, closing the arms, and opening them again’. Where Volf thinks first of embrace in reconciliation, I’d like to reflect on it with reference to the rhythm of relationship in general.
1. Opening the arms.
This is the fundamental move of openness, vulnerability and desire for relationship without which the embrace of reconciliation and fellowship is impossible. Here one opens and offers oneself to …”
Review: Chris Brauns’ Unpacking Forgiveness
October 17, 2008
“Brauns offers teaching on forgiveness that counters much of the mainstream of Evangelical thought. Nowhere is this shown more clearly than in his discussion about the conditional nature of forgiveness.’”
A time to forgive?
October 10, 2008
Mollie Ziegler shares the fascinating account of a Christian man who admitted to committing rape and murder years after the crime, and the issues his case raises:
“His confession closed the case of the 1979 murder of 19-year-old Tracy Fresquez. He was sentenced to 20 to 60 years. His wife divorced him. His two children, now teenagers, grew up without him. And now he’s up for parole.”
The original story from KansasCity.com is here.
