Making the choice to forgive when someone has caused you unspeakable pain is one of the most challenging decisions you may ever face. The good news is, while forgiveness won’t erase your pain, it will most certainly set you free. My father was very abusive towards me while I was growing up. I had a very traumatic childhood because of … Read More
Since the movie, I Can Only Imagine hit theaters, I’ve had imagination on my mind quite a bit lately. It’s something I’ve been talking about with others and something I’ve written about in a Bible Study journal. For Christians, our ability to “see” the unseen is vital to our walk with the Lord in this world. But how we do … Read More
What Bart Millard and His Mother Can Teach Us About Unforgiveness “Did Bart Millard ever talk to his mother again after she left?” That’s the question I asked myself after watching the film, I Can Only Imagine. When you’ve only got a minute of screen time to tell a years-long story, details can often be hard to find. Thankfully, … Read More
He was on a boat, headed for America when a massive storm rose up and began ravaging the boat. Immediately, he became scared out of his mind, frightened for his life, and started negotiating with God. “God, I can’t die. If you just let me live through this, I promise I’ll …” In the middle of his panic, he looked … Read More
A few years ago at our church in Las Vegas, we did a sermon series on forgiveness. The first three weeks dove into forgiving the people who have hurt you. This was a wildly popular topic and our attendance shot up each week. What surprised me the most happened in the fourth week; that’s when our audience exploded. The fourth … Read More
Pastors are supposed to be thick-skinned creatures, called and equipped by God to withstand the fiery darts of Satan-whether they manifest in the outright hostility of an unbelieving culture or the thinly veiled criticisms of a dissatisfied churchgoer. But, if you ask any pastor who’s been serving the Church for more than 10 minutes, they will have a handful of … Read More
I had lots of problems, but sex issues weren’t amongst them. “You need to go to this sex addiction and issues group.” My friend kept insisting, but I didn’t understand why. “The main idea of the group,” my friend explained, “is to forgive your parents. Most sex issues and addictions stem from issues with a parent. This group will help … Read More
We know from the teachings of Jesus that forgiveness is necessary to the Christian life, but how does that perspective change when a person has deeply hurt you? What if they hurt someone you love, show no remorse, or do not believe they were even in the wrong? How can we learn to forgive someone who does not deserve it? … Read More
Most of us have experienced a moment when we look in the mirror and do not recognize the person we see. Every time I looked in the mirror, all I could see was a monster, someone who had shattered lives. -Darryl Davis We know God’s grace is great, but when it comes to specific shortcomings – our own unique shame … Read More
By Kyle Idleman They both sinned, in very similar ways, with a very similar effect. You might say even oddly similar. Except the rest of their stories could not be more different. Why? Because one missed out on the grace of God.
