Word in Christ

Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). There are times in life when dark clouds of sorrow and disappointment descend on us. The death of a loved one or breaking off a long-standing relationship - these experiences are traumatic. It feels as if a part of your life has died. When this happens, some people find it practically impossible to fill the void. The result is that they sink into inconsolable mourning. This can have devastating effects on their lives, and can be detrimental to their emotional, intellectual and spiritual well-being. It would be foolish and insensitive to say that you should not mourn because you have been separated from someone or something precious to you. On the other hand, it is important to know that with Christ's loving support, you will be able to deal with your sorrow and loss. It is unthinkable that God did not experience sorrow when His Son died on the cross, or that Jesus would not have mourned at the grav...

Bishop Sandy Millar speaks of a time when he was walking along the beach and he noticed how the sand had been churned up by the footprints of those who had gone before him. The next morning the footprints were all wiped away by the sea. He sensed Jesus saying to him, 'That is a picture of forgiveness.'  Or to use another analogy, forgiveness from Jesus Christ is like deleting the file of all the bad stuff in our lives.  Forgiveness is never easy. We all know how hard it is to forgive others. However, we often assume that forgiveness from God is almost automatic. On her deathbed, the Empress Catherine the Great of Russia (1729-1796), said, 'I shall be an autocrat: that's my trade. The good Lord will forgive me: that's his.'  In the passages for today we see the very high cost and huge blessing of God's forgiveness. As P.T. Forsyth (1848-1921) pointed out, first, you have to know the 'despair of guilt'. Then you can ...