“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8 ESV)

An old saying you often hear is, “Forgive and forget!” But, when someone hurts you deeply, it's impossible to do! You just can't do it no matter how hard you try. In fact, the very act of trying to forget an offense only brings it up again and actually reinforces it. So, what do you do?

Don't forget it, just forgive it!

You choose to do what’s right no matter how you feel, because it is the correct and loving thing to do! “Love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8b ESV).

That's what Jesus did for you and all humanity on the cross! He did not feel like doing the right thing. In fact, He felt just the opposite! He sweat great drops of blood in anguish about it (Luke 22:44). He had a way out, too, Hecould have called thousands of angels to rescue Him, (Matt. 26:53), yet, He didn't! He chose to do the right thing because of love (John 3:16).

Look beyond the offense

You choose to do the correct thing because you look beyond the fault to see the bigger picture on the other side of it.

When Jesus was on the cross he cried out, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!” (Luke 23:34 KJV). He chose to look beyond their fault and see their need!

“When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.” (Is. 53:11 NLT)

Expect God to make good come out of it

Keep in mind that God always sees the big picture of things. He has all the facts, and can make good come out of any situation no matter how it looks to you. Expect Him to!

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28 NIV) And yes, this is another wonderful promise!

Tim Tebow

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16 NKJV)

This is undoubtedly the best known promise in the Bible. You see John 3:16 posted prominently in many places, such as on billboard signs, on the sides of buses, on bumper stickers, and even painted on people's faces and bodies, at televised sporting events.

But, sadly, most people don't understand what it means!

Let's define the words within the verse

- For God (the creator, Himself)

- So loved (cared for deeply and affectionately)

- The world (the whole of human civilization)

- That He gave (He freely transferred the possession of)

- His only (the only one He had)

- begotten Son (born son)

- that whosoever (whoever, anyone, any person)

- believes (truly accepts, wholeheartedly trusts, puts confidence in)

- In Him (the Saviour, Jesus Christ)

- should not perish (not destroyed, not permanently lost)

- but have everlasting (eternal, endless)

- Life (intimate relationship with the living God)

Make it your personal promise!

John 3:16 is a very wonderful and personal promise! You can personalize it and apply it to your life this way: AddYOUR NAME everywhere you see an asterisk * below.

"For God so loved*  that He gave

His only begotten Son, that if*

believes in Him. *  should not perish

but*  shall have everlasting life."

Signed in His Blood, Jesus Christ

Why God did this wonderfulthing

Most people have heard John 3:16, but not the very next verse, John 3:17, which explains clearly why God sent His Son into the world.

"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:17 NKJV).

God sent Jesus to save the world!

You must receive Him for yourself

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." (John 1:12 KJV)

 It changed my life!

I received Jesus Christ into my life 40-plus years ago while driving down a busy road! I had just read a little gospel booklet that I had found in a glove compartment. It explained to me how to pray a simple prayer of faith to ask Jesus for forgiveness and to be my Saviour.

I prayed, "Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for me!  I believe in you and need you! Please forgive me of my sins and come into my life. I invite you to be my Saviour! In Jesus Name, Amen!

That simple prayer changed my life dramatically forever that day! 

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." (James 1:5 NIV)

The Bible says that God WILL "generously give you wisdom" if you simply ASK Him for it without wavering (James 1:5-6).

That is a very important promise for you to take advantage of!

Just look at all of its benefits listed in Proverbs 3:13-19

"Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place." (Proverbs 3:13–19 NIV)

 To recap:

1) Better returns than silver and gold!

2) More precious than rubies!

3) Nothing you desire compares with it!

4) Long life!

5) Riches!

6) Honor!

7) Pleasant ways!

8) Paths of peace!

9) A "tree of life"

10) You're blessed!

Wow! Wow! Wow! That's why the next verse says ...

"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding ." (Proverbs 4:7 KJV)

Therefore, make getting wisdom your principle thing! It's just that important! ASK God for it, and then you will get to enjoy the many wonderful promises that come along with it!

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." (Eph. 1:4 NIV)

Did you know that God chose you to be adopted into His family? It's true, and that was His plan all along!

And wait, there's more! 

And, on top of that, He has made you "holy and blameless in his sight!" When he looks at you, He looks right past any kind of blemish and only sees you as His perfect child, made that way through the cleansing blood of His Son, Jesus Christ!

And why did He do this?

Because he loves you! (John 3:16). You are chosen and loved by God! And he backs it up, not simply with words, but with His power, with His Holy Spirit, and with His deep conviction!

"For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction." (1 Thess 1:4-5 NIV)

So, hold your head up high with complete confidence! After all, look who your adoptive father is!

"If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31 KJV)

The answer to that question, of course, is "No one!"

Because God is God and no one, or anything else, is greater than Him! He paid a lot to redeem you (John 3:16), and He will not allow anyone to take what is His (which is you!)

That is made very clear in the very next few verses.

"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Rom. 8:32-34 KJV)

In other words, He has your back, and that's a huge promise!

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled." (John 14:27 KJV)

 A wonderful tool!

God gives you peace and it is a wonderful tool to help you in your decision making. It has saved me many times from making wrong decisions. 

 Check your heart for peace!

When I have to make a big decision I check my heart to make sure I have God's peace about it. Sometimes, everything looks perfectly fine on the surface; I can't see anything wrong, yet I don't have peace about the decision. When this happens I stop and wait. Often, the answer becomes clear later and I am then very glad that I didn't move forward without peace.

 Let the peace of God rule!

"Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” (Col. 3:15 KJV) This is good counsel to follow! 

 It could even save your life!

I have a friend who was scheduled to fly to Africa for a speaking engagement. He was very excited about going and everything was arranged and looked good. But, just before he was to leave, he felt a sudden heaviness in his heart about going and no peace about it. So, even though he had already purchased his ticket, he decided not to go.

Soon after, he was very glad he had decided to "let the peace of God rule in his heart," and not go on the trip to Africa, because the airplane he was scheduled to be on crashed and all passengers perished!

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you." (Psalm 32:8 NIV)

Susan and I recently took a short vacation with our daughter and her two, five-year-old, twin girls. As we walked along together at the busy airport, the girls stayed between their mother and us, and they continually looked up to make sure we had our eyes on them. And, of course we did, because we love them! We made sure they knew where to go at all times, and that they we're always safe.

In the same way, God has "His loving eye" constantly on you. He will "instruct you in the way you should go!" And, that's a powerful and comforting promise that you can take with you wherever you go!

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." (2 Peter 1:3 NIV)

Wow! The Apostle Peter says in this passage that God "has given us everything". That is a straight forward promise! It's a done deal! But, I believe we don't always remember that wonderful fact. At least in the lyrics of some of our church worship songs anyway!

 Worship music words that are "anti-promise" bother me!

I "usually" love to sing the worship songs at church. There are so many great ones. Accept, occasionally, when the words are unbiblical or inappropriate for New Testament believers.

For instance

I travel a lot, and visit many churches, so I get to hear lots of worship songs. A song that seems to be popular right now has words that say, "God come down!" (And, it's repeated over and over many times). It has a great tune and is easy to sing.

My problem with it? God has already come down!

He did it in the form of Jesus, who is "God with us". (Matt. 1:23) And, He has clearly promised, "I will never leave or forsake you" (Heb. 13:5). And, when we receive Him, he comes to live inside of us (John 1:12, Gal. 2:20,  Rom. 8:11).

We do not have to ask God to do what He has already clearly said He has done in His Word! And, when we ask Him to give us that which He has already clearly supplied, it demonstrates a lack of faith! It doesn't build faith, it does just the opposite!

When songs with these kinds of words are sung at churches I attend, I just think about what the Word of God actually says instead of singing along (I do this discreetly of course). I understand, too, that God understands the intentions of the heart, and that is good news.

So, why are we asking Him (in some of our worship songs) to do what He has already done? I've pondered this question many times.

One possible answer

Perhaps we are just forgetful and need reminders about what the Bible says about these things! Our promise for today says, "His Divine power has given us all that we need," which is certainly true! But, further down in the same passage, Peter says the following.

"So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them ... ." And, "I think it is right to refresh your memory..." (2 Peter 1:12-13)

He says the same thing twice! Perhaps it's because we often forget basic truths we shouldn't forget.

It's through knowledge

The last part of a this promise says that God has supplied our needs "through our knowledge of him." And, that is a reminder that we must study the Bible so that we are knowledgeable about what He has already done!

"May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thes.5:23 NIV)

According to the Bible, you are made up of three distinct parts: Spirit, soul, and body!

Understanding what this truth means to you personally, and as a follower of Jesus Christ, has great potential to help you tremendously!

Defining your three parts

1) Spirit

The part of you that you cannot see because it is invisible.

 Your spirit is like a radio or TV signal in that you cannot see them either, yet they exist and are very real. The Bible says that what you see (the physical world) is only "temporary" and what you cannot see (the spiritual world) is "permanent." (2 Cor. 4:18)

This spiritual-world concept is a little hard for some to comprehend because they cannot physically see the spiritual world. But, it is true! The Bible tells us that God, Himself, is "spirit" and that we must "worship Him in Spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).

Inside each one of us is our own spirit which is the part of us that gets transformed when we become "born again". Jesus explained this truth to Nicodemus in John 3:1-12.

Made brand new and perfect!

You become a new creatures by Jesus, (2 Cor. 5:17), your spirit becomes instantly brand new and perfect, (1 John 4:17, 1 Cor. 6:17, Eph. 4:24)

And after that your spirit is sealed, protected, and kept by the Holy Spirit.

"After that you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." (Eph. 1:13 KJV)

2) Soul (your mind)

The part of you that thinks and reasons, which is your human mind.

 Your mind is not transformed instantly as your spirit is, when you receive Christ. Youmust continually work daily to bring your thinking into alignment with God's Word, which is a lifelong process (Phil 1:6). This continual process "renews your mind" and enables you to "prove (demonstrate) what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." 

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Rom. 12:2 NKJV)

This process, or lack of it, explains why some born again Christians continue to struggle with fear, sin, and addictions, even though they are actually redeemed. The better you get at "transforming your mind" and bringing it into agreement with God's Word, the more victorious you will be in life and as a Christian.

3) Body

The physical part of you.

Your body, the third part of you is the easiest part to understand because you can see and feel your human body. If I ask you how you feel you can easily know and tell me. If I ask you if you are cold or warm, you can easily answer.

This part of you, (your body) is not transformed when you become a Christian. If you are fat, skinny, tall, young, or old, when you are born again, you will be that way afterwords. The Bible calls your body "the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19), and also only temporary as in "jars of clay" (2 Cor. 4:7). We are told to take care of our bodies and someday they will die and our spirits will leave them (2 Cor. 5:6).

There will eventually come a day at the appearing of Jesus that our bodies, too, will be transformed and we will then have brand new transformed ones, (2 Cor. 5:3).

To recap

The Bible says, "as long as we are in this earthly tent" (your body), you must work to do everything you can do to serve God faithfully until He returns, (Heb. 3:14-18).

You must study your Bible to discover God's truths (2 Tim. 2:15) and apply them to your thinking to transform your mind (Rom. 12:2).

You must pray for and about things (spirit), (1 Thes. 5:16-18).

God will do it!

And, finally, the next verse following today's promise about your spirit, soul, and body says that God Himself, will make it happen for you "He will do it", because He is "faithful!"

"The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it." (1 Thes. 5:24 NIV)

And, that too, is an amazing and wonderful promise!