How many of you have a hard time letting go of a grudge? You deeply resent someone for something they said or did, and you refuse to forgive that person. You can’t forget it. You keep talking to others about it. You plot to get even.
 
Herodias held a grudge against John because he had pointed out sin in her life. “Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him…” (Read Mark 6:17-28).
 
Maybe none of us would go as far as Herodias with our grudges but often they cause us to live with great bitterness that causes us to lash out at others. How many relationships have been destroyed? How many times have we destroyed another’s character or reputation? Why? Because we would not let the thing rest until the opportunity to get even finally arrived.
 
Holding grudges can ruin your soul, the soul of others and bring great reproach upon Christ and His church. So, let's learn how God teaches us to let go of a grudge before we do anymore harm.
 
Be willing to forgive and forget.

• This is not an option (Mat. 6:12, 14-15).
• God teaches us to forgive (Eph. 4:30; Col. 3:13) and forget (Heb. 8:12).
• Read Mat. 18:21-35. Peter’s offer of seven times was generous, three times was the going rate, but Jesus teaches us to put no limits on our forgiveness.

 
Don’t keep a record of the wrongs you have suffered.

• Love refuses to keep any record of wrongs you may feel you have suffered (1 Cor. 13:5 “thinks no evil” – the word translated “thinks” here means “to take an inventory, count, number” according to Strong’s Greek).
• Does your spouse ever get historical? Not hysterical, but does your spouse like to bring up the mistakes you have made in the past, counting them off one after another?
• We need to leave those things in the past and quit bringing them up again and again.

 
Look for good in the other person.

• Love makes a diligent effort to see the good in the other person (1 Cor. 13:7 “believes all things” – thinks the best of the other person, gives that the person the benefit of the doubt rather than always being suspicious).
• Paul taught us to focus our thoughts on the good not the bad (Phi. 4:8).

 
Reject a “get even” spirit.

• Paul teaches us that a true Christian will make every effort to get along with others, doing them good despite how they may treat us, and let God take care of righting all the wrongs (Rom. 12:17-21).
• Paul followed his own inspired teaching when he was wronged (2 Tim. 4:14 “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works.”)
• Leaving it all with God, will bring peace to your heart but holding hatred in your heart will hurt you much more than all the injustices, wrongs and hurts you may have received from others.

 
Repent of your sins.

• Herodias needed to repent of her wrongdoing, and not take it out on the preacher.
• We must all sorrow in a godly way that we might repent of our sins when such is called for and lay aside our bitterness, jealousy, anger, vengeance and hatred towards others (2 Cor. 7:10).

 
Go to the person and work it out between yourselves.

• Follow the Scriptures and go to the one you feel has offended you and work it out between yourselves. Matthew 5:23-25 tells us what to do if we are in the wrong. Matthew 18:15-17 and Luke 17:3 tells us what to do if our brother is in the wrong.
• Privately, but personally confront the issue. Don’t talk behind their back and tell everyone else about it.

 
Grudge bearing can be serious and has eternal consequences. Let us always give diligence to follow God’s advice and eliminate holding grudges at home, school, or wherever they may exist…”looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled” (Heb. 12:15).
 
God could have held a lot of grudges against us, but He forgives and forgets it all (Heb. 8:12)! Won’t you receive His forgiveness, today?

(This article was adapted from "Nursing A Grudge" by Darryl Jocheus)

​Galatians 5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.”
 
There is faith. There is faith working. There is faith working through love. Only the latter can save our souls.
 
Faith is necessary for our salvation. If we do not believe we cannot be saved (John 8:4). If we truly believe we will trust (2 Corinthians 1:9-10; 3:4; 1 Timothy 4:10; 6:17; Hebrews 2:14) and obey (Acts 5:29, 32; Romans 2:8; 6:16-17; 10:16; Galatians 3:1; Philippians 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Hebrews 5:9; 11:6, 8; 1 Peter 4:17).
 
Faith working is necessary for our salvation. Faith without works cannot save; it is unprofitable (James 2:14-16). Faith by itself is dead (v. 17). Faith is made perfect by works (v. 22). We are justified by works, not by faith alone (v. 24). It is not our own works that save us (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:3-8) but the work of faith (1 Thessalonians 1:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:11), the obedience of faith (Romans 1:5; 16:26).
 
Faith working through love is necessary for salvation. We cannot be saved unless we receive the love of the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10). Salvation is for those who love the Lord (1 Corinthians 2:9; 16:22; James 1:12; 2:5) and the brethren (1 John 3:10, 14). Anyone who does not love does not know God (1 John 4:7-8). If anyone does not love the Lord, he will be accursed (1 Corinthians 16:22). If we leave our love for the Lord, we will lose our place with Him (Revelation 2:4-5).
 
What kind of faith do you have?

It was the worst snowstorm in Texas. We were not ready for it. Lives were lost. Many suffered and continue to suffer from it. This all on top of the continuing coronavirus pandemic. If you thought 2021 was going to be a better year, think again.
 
No, think a third time. Our blessings in Christ are not dependent upon the circumstances and conditions of the world in which we live. Nobody and nothing can take them from us. Unlike the temporal physical and material blessings of life, what we have in Christ is everlasting. Any one of the blessings of Christ is greater than all the things of this world put together.
 
We have been forgiven and set free from sin. We have been given a new life. We have a new family in the Lord. We have a heavenly Father who is always good to us. We have a Savior, Jesus Christ, who is our Lord but also our friend and fellow brother. We have the Holy Spirit, our helper and comforter, who dwells in us. We have brothers and sisters with whom we share a common faith and love. We have the privilege of prayer 24/7. We have the constant help and encouragement of God’s word and His promises.
 
This will always be an evil world because it is full of sin and death. It is not the way God made it and it is not what God wants for us. In His love, He sent His Son to rescue us from our sins and to give us eternal life. He will send Him again to bring an end to all things and to bring us home to His Father in heaven. For now, we walk in faith, waiting and watching for His coming.
 
We are not alone. We are not defeated. We are not without hope. This year, and every year, is better in Christ!

Matthew describes Jesus’ compassion for lost souls: “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).

• Jesus saw people.  He did not look past them, ignore them, or turn away from them.
• Jesus was cognizant of their condition.  They were tired and lost in the world.
• Jesus compared them to sheep without a shepherd.  They go astray, get into trouble, and are destroyed by enemies.
• Jesus was moved with compassion for them.  He understood them.  He sympathized with them.  He loved them.
• Jesus said what He would do for them: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). We are the sheep.  Jesus is the good Shepherd.  He did for us what we could not do for ourselves.  Without Him we are all desperately lost.

Do you know His compassion in your life? Do you have compassion for those who are lost in sin? Remember dear Christian, you and I were once lost as they are today.  It is our job to show them that there is Someone who cares and can help them find their way.

​Have you ever noticed how some always seem to be so upbeat and positive? It is not because everything is going great in their life, or that things are necessarily going better for them than everybody else. No, it is because they choose to be that way. They decide to look for reasons to be happy and to focus on the good things. In doing so they attract more of the same. It doesn’t just happen; they make it happen.
 
This is how Paul teaches us to live our lives. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). As a Christian we have every reason in the world to rejoice; today, tomorrow and every day. If, we choose to focus on the spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ. He has blessed us with the forgiveness of our sins, salvation from the bondage, guilt, and condemnation of sin, power over the temptations we face, strength to endure the trials of life, love that surpasses knowledge, peace that passes understanding, joy unspeakable and full of glory, and hope eternal. “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).

​Opening the letter of 1 Thessalonians, you will be immediately struck with one of the greatest blessings we have in Christ – the wonderful family of God!
 
“Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God” (1 Thessalonians 1:1-4).

​Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
 
We have all been blessed by what we have received from others. Perhaps, it was a gift that came just at the right time, just when you really needed it. Maybe you were surprised by a generous and wonderful gift that you could never have imagined. Or have you ever received a gift and thought to yourself, “What am I going to do with this?”. Even then you might say, “It’s the thought that counts.”
 
There is a blessing in receiving but according to Jesus the greater blessing is in giving. He said, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).

​That question may sound quite negative to you. It may sound more like a burden than a blessing. But God made it clear to Israel that His requirements were essential to their relationship with Him. God requires no less of His people today. To experience redemption from the life of sin and death, to know God, and to have an abundant, eternal life with Him, we, too, must meet His requirements.

​It was one of the darkest times in the history of God’s people. Because of their shocking sinfulness they suffered untold horrors from the Babylonians especially during the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. In Lamentations (3:21-25), Jeremiah mourns over them, but he also shines four rays of light from the LORD upon them to brighten their future.
 
Hope is the first ray of light: “This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope” (v. 21). Jeremiah brought a message of hope to the people. It was not a just the wishful thinking of a naïve optimist nor was it based on chance like that of the gambler. No, it was the LORD that he had in mind. His hope rested upon the LORD. Without Him there is no hope but with Him there is always hope.

​“To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours” (1 Corinthians 1:2).
 
If you constantly tell your child that he is a lazy, no good, loser he may very well grow up to be that very person. Certainly, we need to correct our children for bad behavior, but that does not have to define who they are. They need to know that they can become mature, productive individuals. When the apostle Paul wrote to the troubled church at Corinth, he began his letter by reminding them who they are and of their potential in the Lord. Even though he would go on to strongly convict them of their spiritual immaturity and rebuke their sinful behaviors, this was an encouragement and a strong incentive for them to strive to do better. We, too, need to be reminded of who we are.