FROM THE KEYBOARD

No matter what circumstances you find yourself in, never underestimate the power of God to bring beauty from your ashes, to rebuild hope from hopelessness, to birth new life out of seeming death, and to paint the perfect picture of redemption with...

Receiving a Word from God will never contradict the Word of God. When He speaks, He speaks from the framework of His Word and every voice we heed needs to be ran through the filter of Genesis to Revelation. "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11).

The Word of God is our charge into wartime, our armor for warfare and our weapon of war. In other words, it charges us to take charge, it armors us to withstand a charge, and it is our weapon to discharge against the enemy who thinks he's in charge. "This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare…" (1Timothy 1:18).

To forgive doesn't mean you condone the offense. To forgive means you are willing to "let go" of the hurt so that bitterness cannot grow in your heart. And since God forgave us through Jesus Christ on the cross, it's through His mercy that we can forgive any trespass against us. "And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us" (Matthew 6:12).

If grace grabbed me, then grace can grab thee. In other words, Christ is able to save anyone, from anywhere, who has done anything. One just needs to turn from their sin and come undone by the love of the Son. "However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life" (1 Timothy 1:16).

Our past does not make us ineligible, no matter what we have done. In fact, with repentance, our past keeps us humble and reminds us of the mginitude of what Christ has done. "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief" (1 Timothy 1:12-13).