A Moment of Hope

by David Chadwick Jesus is the Word. Made flesh. Who dwelled among humanity (John 1:14). His words will go down for all of time as the most significant words ever spoken. They perfectly reflect the divine heart of God for the world. Here is another example of some of Jesus's final words on the cross. In Matthew 27:46, he said, "My God, my God why have you forsaken me?" Jesus was quoting from Psalm...

by David Chadwick Over the next two weeks, we are looking at some of the final phrases Jesus spoke while on the cross. Final words are very important. When someone is nearing the end of life, the words they release are usually incredibly purposeful and poignant. Anyone in the presence of someone who is approaching the end of life should pause and take note of what is being said as their words tend...

by David Chadwick "Today you will be with me in paradise." Some of Jesus's famous last words found in Luke 23:43. Did you know that when Jesus was crucified, he was placed on the cross in between two thieves? These two criminals were undeniably guilty of their crimes. According to Roman law, they were justifiably receiving their deserved death sentence. Their punishments fit their crimes. Yet thei...

by David Chadwick Jesus is the Word (John 1:14). Because of this, any words he spoke in Scripture are profoundly important. However, as we learned yesterday, the words leading up to someone's death are often very rich, purposeful and profound. I have found seven of Jesus's "last words" in Scripture. Let's look at the first one today. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they...

by David Chadwick Over the next two weeks, I want to take you on an adventure to the cross. I want to look at the details, big and small, and help you understand the full meaning of Jesus's journey from the cradle to the cross. How are we going to do this? Each day, we will look at seven of Jesus's "last word" phrases that he spoke on the cross. Every word he spoke was rich in meaning, intentional...

by David Chadwick God can use it for good. No matter what has happened to you. No matter what pain you have experienced. No matter what pain has come your way. God can use it for good. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 is a remarkable verse that says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be ab...

by David Chadwick As we continue to explore the madness of unforgiveness, there are many questions that pop up. Here is a really important one. What about the imprecatory prayers in the Psalms? For those who may not know, many of the Psalms have what are called "imprecatory Psalms", ones where David cried out to God because he didn't understand why his enemy had been able to wreak so much havoc on...

by David Chadwick Do you know what one of the ways is that you can be set free from the madness of unforgiveness? One of the ways you know you've truly forgiven? You don't feel pain when you see your offender! After you've been hurt by someone, there's a very good chance that you will still hear about them from others. You might even hear that they are doing well or prospering in one way or anothe...

by David Chadwick There are so many layers to forgiveness. It takes practice, patience, and a deep pursuit of abiding in the presence of God. While forgiveness is radical, it's not careless. God's heart in teaching us forgiveness is for our good. It's not to make us a doormat to other people's poor treatment of us. It's to set our hearts free from the prison that unforgiveness wants to hold us in...

by David Chadwick 70 times 7. Jesus says that this is the number of times we must offer forgiveness to others. Read Matthew 18:21-22. Much of the entire chapter in Matthew 18 has to do with forgiveness. In Jesus's day, within Hebrew culture, the number of 7 represented the number of completion. Therefore, when Peter asked Jesus how often to forgive someone else, he inquired if God's idea of comple...

by David Chadwick You might be thinking after reading this title, "Wait a second, David. You mean Jesus's teaching on forgiveness applies even to my enemies?" Yes! Now, take a moment and read Matthew 5:43-48. Jesus clearly taught his disciples to forgive their enemies. And he wants us to do the same! He knew that the natural instinct when people get hurt would be to retaliate with a bit more venom...

by David Chadwick Today, let's walk through another good exercise that should help us understand more about forgiveness. Read Romans 5. Whenever I read the first part of Romans 5, I am immediately struck by the insurmountable grace of God. It truly is amazing. There is nothing like it in the entire world. We have peace and access to a hope in God that we never would have otherwise experienced (Rom...

by David Chadwick As Christians, can we judge people? We learned yesterday that the answer is, "Yes." However, there is a biblical way to do this. It must be done in humility and with the awareness that you, too, have sin that must be confessed. So, how do you go to someone who has hurt you? Let's take a look at Matthew 18:15. A real life example may look something like this. You have been offende...

by David Chadwick When it comes to forgiveness, there are so many steps to carry it through to completion. There is a fine line between discerning clearly what is good from what is evil, and being able to fully release someone of the debt they owe to you. On one hand, you must maintain a measure of conviction when something bad happens to you because it allows you to rightly judge truth from error...

by David Chadwick Forgiveness. It's one of the most powerful forces in God's creation. On the contrary, unforgiveness can easily hold people captive and destroy their lives. Let's keep looking at the madness of unforgiveness. What is the best way to stop unforgiveness? If possible, step over the offense. Proverbs 19:11 says, "Good sense makes one slow to anger and it is his glory to overlook an of...

by David Chadwick Continuing to unpack the madness of unforgiveness, let's talk about what forgiveness is and what it is not. Forgiveness is releasing someone else of the debt they owe you. Forgiveness is softening your heart to the ones who have hurt you. Forgiveness is remaining open, yielded and willing to respond to another however the Holy Spirit may lead you to respond. Remember the story of...

by David Chadwick Forgive yourself. Release God of anything you have wrongly blamed him for doing. And forgive others. Instead of just forgiving others by letting them off the hook of your wrath and anger. What if you actually forgive others the way you would want to be forgiven. After all, the Bible says to treat others the way you would want to be treated (Matthew 7:12). This is an absolute key...

by David Chadwick Unforgiveness will make you mad! Both frustrated and crazy! Yesterday we talked about the need to forgive yourself. Today, I want to talk about how you might need to forgive God. Now, hold on just a moment. This seems blasphemous, but it's not. Let me first say this…God can do no wrong. He is infallible and perfect in every way. However, we come into this world fallible, sinful a...

by David Chadwick Sometimes the hindrance to forgiveness can loom over your head because of the offender. Other times, you may experience a hindrance because you haven't learned to forgive yourself. 1 Corinthians 13 says that love does not keep a record of past wrongs. This can certainly refer to those who have hurt you. But it also refers to ourselves when we have done something wrong. We must no...

By David Chadwick The madness of unforgiveness is plaguing our world. You can see its effects all over the place. Bitterness. Offense. Anger. Rage. Depression. Despair. The enemy loves to take wounds and pain and use it to shut down the strongest of people. Remember the phrase that bitterness is like drinking arsenic and expecting the other person to die. It's one of the major ugly roots of unforg...

by David Chadwick The madness of unforgiveness will truly drive you crazy. But true forgiveness brings healing. But how do you know that you've forgiven someone? Sometimes it can be hard to know if you've truly forgiven someone. Does it mean you can be in the same room as them? Does it mean you would give them a hug? Does it mean you don't desire the worst for them when they cross your mind? Let's...

by David Chadwick Let me give you another insight that will help you better understand the madness of unforgiveness. Most people don't know how deeply they hurt you. I know this sounds crazy to say, but generally speaking, most offenses will feel far more intense to the person who experienced the offense. RT Kendall, an incredible theologian who wrote the book  Total Forgiveness , estimates in his...

by David Chadwick Forgiveness puts justice back into the hands of God. It allows you to bless those who curse you. Forgiveness also protects your heart! Unforgiveness leads to madness. God never intended for you to absorb the depth of pain that offense and bitterness place on a human being. It's a weight that's all consuming and crushing. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, fo...

by David Chadwick Choosing not to forgive will only leave you captive. Today, I want to talk about what it looks like to bless those who curse you. It is one of the clear commands Jesus gave to his followers in Luke 6:38. Let's be really honest with one another for a moment. Our flesh really does not enjoy blessing those who hurt us, does it? Especially when the pain comes with words that curse us...

by David Chadwick Let's continue to look at this topic of forgiveness. It is one of the main reasons Jesus came to the world. To forgive us from our sins. One of the major questions I get when it comes to the topic of forgiveness is, "How do I forgive when I still want to see justice for the wrong I experienced?" Take a look at Luke 18:1-8 for a moment. Jesus tells us in Luke 18:1 that he is givin...