Verses

_Verses_

Titus 2:11 this way "God's readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation's available for everyone!"

"When you pray, I will listen" - Jeremiah 29:12

“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or God? Or am I still trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10 (NIV)

1 Kings 8:50 And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their conquerors to show them mercy.

1 Thessalonians 2:4 On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.

"Those who look to God are radiant, their faces are never covered with shame" - Psalm 34:5

Psalms 139

¹³ For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

¹⁷ How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
¹⁸ If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

Lamentations 3

²²It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. ²³They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness. ²⁴The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being (my inner self); therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him. ²⁵The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him, to those who seek Him [inquire of and for Him and require Him by right of necessity and on the authority of God's word].

“Whoever wishes to be great . . . must be the servant . . . just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life a ransom for many” (Mt. 20:26–28,

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (Rom.12:1)

"My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." - Psalms 73:26

I sent you to harvest where you didn't plant; others had already done the work, and you will gather the harvest." - John 4:38

Lord, work in me to keep me praying with my heart and mind full of the Word. (Colossians 3:16)

Lord, work in me real joy at all times so I truly rejoice always. (1 Thessalonians 5:16)

Lord God, you are at work in me both to will and to do your good pleasure. You told me to rejoice always and to pray without ceasing, giving thanks in everything. Give me the desire and the power to pray without ceasing in faith, never ceasing to joyfully give thanks to you. Fill me with your love, and cause me to rejoice always in the truth of your Word. (Philippians 2:13 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Corinthians 13:6)

When people revile and persecute me and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for Christ's sake, I rejoice and am exceedingly glad, for great is my reward in heaven, for so they treated the prophets who were before me. Mt 5.12

FORGIVEN

"When I don’t measure up to much in this life....Oh, I’m a treasure in the arms of Christ!! In this life I know what I’ve been.....But here in Your arms I know what I am...I’m forgiven... I’m forgiven! I don’t have to carry the weight of whoI’ve been cuz I’m forgiven!!" Can I hear an AMEN!?! Woo!

Forgiven

FORGIVEN

Well the past is playing with my head

And failure knocks me down again

I am reminded of the wrong that I have said and done

And that devil just won’t let me forget

In this life I know what I’ve been
But here in Your arms I know what I am
I’m forgiven I’m forgiven
I don’t have to carry the weight of who
I’ve been ’cause I’m forgiven

And my mistakes are running through my mind
And I relive my days in the middle of the night
And I struggle with my pain
And wrestle with my pride

Sometimes I feel alone and I cry
When I don’t fit in and I don’t feel like I belong anywhere
When I don’t measure up to much in this life
Oh, I’m a treasure in the arms of Christ ‘Cause ….

In this life I know what I’ve been
But here in Your arms I know what I am
I’m forgiven I’m forgiven
I don’t have to carry the weight of who
I’ve been ’cause I’m forgiven

The Message puts Titus 2:11 this way "God's readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation's available for everyone!"

I don't need to work my way to redemption or forgiveness, because I can never work hard enough. I will never be able to be worthy.

But Titus 2:11 tells me that God is ready to give and forgive. Regardless of what we have done and what we have been.

The chorus in the song Forgiven by Sanctus Real really speaks to my heart ...

In this life I know what I’ve been But here in Your arms I know what I am I’m forgiven I’m forgiven

I don’t have to carry the weight of who I’ve been ’cause I’m forgiven

Praise God I am more than redeemed, I am forgiven!

Prayer Team

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

"Changing the Outcome"

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"When you pray, I will listen" - Jeremiah 29:12

Power vs. rejection

God desired for me to handle this challenging and painful situation with understanding and compassion. He wanted me to pray for that person, and see them as His child who had made a mistake and didn’t realize how their words and actions affected others. He wanted me to forgive them.

“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or God? Or am I still trying to please men?

If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10 (NIV)

However, despite my procrastination in handling things God’s way, over the next few weeks, God repeatedly intervened and reassured me of His love. I stumbled across sweet Bible verses dealing with overcoming rejection. My weekly Bible study topic was on rejection, my daily email devotions touched on rejection, and my pastor’s sermon was about rejection that Sunday.

Could all of those things just have been incredible coincidences? Definitely not! I knew it was the awesome work of my Lord and Savior, who cared about me enough to let me know that He was with me during this time of turmoil. He gently reassured me of my worth in His eyes, and reminded me that I did not need ‘man’s’ approval, only His approval.

God’s love helped me to wash away the pride from my eyes, and allow Him to wash my soul with His mercy and grace. In His arms, I was reminded that I am His and that He loves and adores me despite my flaws and insecurities. As a result, I was able to take my focus off of my rejecter, and instead focus on my approver – Jesus.

Isn’t it so comforting to know that you never have to try to earn Jesus’ approval, and that you can live with a peace of mind knowing that He accepts you, no matter what.

Although Jesus may not always approve of our actions or choices, He always approves of us as a person whom He created, whom He loves, and whom He thought was important enough to die for.

Dear Lord, I pray for Your wisdom on how to deal with situations in which I feel hurt, rejected and worthless. Fill me with Your love so that I can love others, even when I do not feel loved in return. Please help me to remember that the only One who I need to seek approval from is You, and that it is in You alone, that I can truly believe that I am worthy and unconditionally loved. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Application Steps

Ask God for the supernatural ability to forgive your rejecter. Remember who you are in God’s eyes is all that really matters.

Reflections

Are you allowing the opinion of one person to affect how you feel about yourself?

Power Verses

1 Kings 8:50 And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their conquerors to show them mercy. (NIV)

1 Thessalonians 2:4 On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. (NIV)