Past pain must be dealt with properly, using the mighty spiritual weapons that destroy strongholds in our lives. If not, past pain can be triggered unexpectedly in our lives, cause damage, and severely hinder us from following the plan and the destiny that God has for each of us.

Saul was determined to arrest anyone who dared profess that Jesus was the promised, risen Messiah. Clearly, he was not a great target for street evangelism. In fact, there is no indication he would have even entertained a conversation about conversion to Christ. That is, until Jesus stopped him dead in his tracks. 

Crazy thoughts, wrong thoughts, impure and ungodly thoughts, fearful and anxious thoughts pop into our minds, without any cause or warning. So how can we ever ensure that we think on “good” things?

While it is His will to bless us with things to richly enjoy (Romans 8:32; Matthew 7:11), He doesn’t owe us. That is, we are not “entitled” to anything! He is not a genie that exists for our pleasure; rather, we exist for His pleasure.

If we are going to reach our potential as individuals and as the Body of Christ, and fulfill the assignment that God has for us, we must embrace the power of team.

Dissension and disagreement are everywhere these days, laced with vitriol of the worst kinds. It is almost impossible not to see it. Lines have been drawn, sides have been taken, and people have concluded that if you are not with them, you are against them. Unfortunately, it’s seeped from politics even into the church itself, so that a type of spiritual cancel culture is followed, rather than the biblical Golden Rule of love thy neighbor as thyself.

Starting in 2020 our “normal” was crushed, shutting down everything – businesses, schools, churches, family reunions, vacations, weddings, and funerals. Dreams, plans, and pursuits were shelved. As a nation, we struggled to deal with new fears that included not only death, but financial loss, and the disruption of our life’s normal rhythm.

But eventually, we adapted. We figured out how to navigate the unchartered waters of wearing masks, social distancing, and family politics. And just as we here in the Northeast U.S. were ready to move forward, Hurricane Isaias hit. The power went out, the internet shut down, and the adaptations we made to cope with the pandemic were cut off. Life was once again interrupted.

Wherever you were, there was likely something else to deal with. One thing is sure, we have all had to learn resilience the hard way, and how to endure in faith like never before. But what the enemy meant for evil, God can turn around for our good (Romans 8:28; Genesis 50:20).

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Jesus’ statement challenges the idea of working hard and climbing the ladder of success, and confronts the current of independence and materialism that is foundational to our modern society.

Some men are amazingly strong; in fact, their feats seem superhuman! We admire their physical abilities, like 7’9”, 510lb Agnus MacAskill, who could lift a 2,800lb ship anchor to his chest, and could carry barrels weighing 300lbs under each arm. Or Alexander Zass (Ironman Sampson), who escaped from prison four times because he could bend bars of steel with his bare hands. Then there was Louis Cyr, who stood a mere 5’10”, but in 1891 legitimately won a tug-a-war against four horses. But my favorite strongman of all time is John Holtum, known as the Cannonball King. Holtum would stand in front of a cannon and catch a 50lb cannonball with his hands and chest, as it was shot into the air.

Now that’s strong! We find them fascinating because they represent strength and invincibility – people who seemingly can’t be defeated. And in that sense, they are much like temptation in our lives. It’s humanity’s oldest problem, going all the way back to Adam.

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“Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven’” (Matthew 18:21-22).

One of the reasons why so many of us love the Apostle Peter is because we can relate to his most obvious weakness – foot-in-mouth disease! Afterall, he was the disciple who had the audacity to rebuke Jesus for saying that He was going the cross. And we can usually excuse his blunders as enthusiasm and bravado, because at least he was sincere.

But in Matthew 18, I doubt very much that Peter was asking a sincere question; rather, it appears to me that he was fishing for a compliment. He'd been following Jesus long enough to understand that Jesus was always promoting forgiveness. He not only taught it, but he personally demonstrated forgiveness by the way he handled sticky situations (John 8:1-11; Luke 7:36-48).

Peter would have known that the rabbis and the religious culture of the day taught that you only had to forgive your brother three times for sinning against you. After that, you were not required to forgive him anymore. Or as we call it, three strikes and you’re out!

Perhaps Peter thought to himself, I know how I will impress Jesus, He’s really into forgiveness, so I will ask Him if I should forgive my brother up to seven times – a super abundance of forgiveness! And I would guess he was expecting Jesus to compliment him for “getting it.”

But as we know, that's not what happened.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven’” (Matthew 18:22).

I believe Jesus was really saying Peter, forgiveness is not what you think. It's not about keeping score. It's a lifestyle decision that is a defining characteristic of all My followers, and a foundational principle of the Kingdom of God.

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“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Have you ever questioned why moral scoundrels prosper, and wondered if it really pays to live a life of integrity?

According to Matthew 7:13-14, there is a reward for seeking the narrow gate with integrity, while the wide gate of compromise – cutting corners and taking shortcuts – leads to destruction. This verse is referring to the promise of eternal life if we choose to follow Christ, but we can also apply it to our everyday lives.

In modern times, integrity is rare. Integrity is what compels us to do the right thing, even when there is no one looking and regardless of the personal cost. If we’re honest, we struggle with integrity because in reality, it usually seems like the reverse of Matt. 7:13-14 would be the truth.

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And let’s be real, one of the emotions we often feel stirring up in our hearts when we believe God sees everything, is anger that, if He sees it all – all the tragedy, all the needless suffering – then why doesn’t He do anything about it? We don’t often handle this anger correctly. We usually try to curse it, or maybe we rehearse it, but God wants us to release it and learn to trust Him in all things.

A spiritual dry spell is a drought, not where there is no physical water, but where there is no living water. And the emptiness or barrenness it causes creates a hole in our hearts that we want to get out of, but we don’t know how. No matter what we try, we keep going around the same mountain over and over again, feeling hopeless and helpless.

Poor choices can create a bondage to ill health that literally steals away years from the life God has promised. The good news is, even if we have made seriously wrong choices regarding our health in the past, God wants us to get free and move on.

Christmas is a perfect opportunity to learn a lesson or two from the way Joseph and Mary navigated a most unexpected detour in their lives. While the birth of the Messiah was ultimately a supreme blessing, they had to lean into God, and trust Him to work it out.