Topic > Relationships > Forgiving Others/Reconciliation >
Who Would Give This Bride Away?
It was the night of our first planning meeting for our wedding. All of us involved in the preparation were all buzzing with ideas and enthusiasm, right until the pastor turned to me and asked, “Who would be walking you down the aisle?”
My Friend Left the Church Because of Me
“I need a break from church and from y’all to think about what happened,” a good friend wrote in a text message to me one day. And with that one message, Jasmine* never returned to my church again.
How Can I Love the Church that Hurt Me?
Seven days after I came into the world, my dad became the pastor of the church that I would grow up in. Unlike my siblings, I never knew a time when my Dad wasn’t a pastor.
The Secret I Hid From My Sister That Could Tear Us Apart
On January 4, 2016, I genuinely thought my life was falling apart. I remember sitting on my couch, alone in my apartment.
Love keeps a record . . . just not a record of resentments
The Bible tells us that love keeps no record of wrong. But that doesn’t mean there’s never any value in keeping good records and writing things down! Today on Discover the Word, we’ll discuss how love keeps a record, just not a record of resentments. Join us today for Discover the Word!
Stay Awhile
During a discussion of The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, a teenager said he prefers his stories in books rather than movies. When asked why, the young man replied, “With a book, I can stay there as long as I want.” There is something to be said for the power of lingering in a book, especially the Bible, and “inhabiting” the stories there.
Hebrews 11, often called “the faith chapter” of the Bible, mentions nineteen people by name. Each one traveled a road of difficulty and doubt, yet chose to obey God. “All these people were still living by faith…
Taking the First Step
Tham Dashu sensed something was missing in his life. So he started going to church—the same church his daughter attended. But they never went together. In earlier days, he had offended her, which drove a wedge between them. So, Tham would slip in when the singing started and leave promptly after the service ended.
Church members shared the gospel story with him, but Tham always politely rejected their invitation to put his faith in Jesus. Still, he kept coming to church.
One day Tham fell gravely ill. His daughter plucked up the courage and wrote him a letter. She shared how Christ…
What I’ve Gained From Memory Loss
The very poor memory of the fish, Dory, in the Pixar blockbuster Finding Nemo, may make her character cute and loveable to most. On my bad days, however, she is my celebrity doppelganger.
The Day I Forgave My Abusive Father
I used to hate my father. In my eyes, he was a compulsive gambler, a hypocrite and someone not worthy of being a father.
Should I Forgive?
I arrived early at my church to help set up for an event. A woman stood crying at the opposite end of the sanctuary. She’d been cruel and gossiped about me in the past, so I quickly drowned out her sobs with a vacuum cleaner. Why should I care about someone who didn’t like me?
When the Holy Spirit reminded me how much God had forgiven me, I crossed the room. The woman shared that her baby had been in the hospital for months. We cried, embraced, and prayed for her daughter. After working through our differences, we’re now good friends.
In…
How A Preacher I Didn’t like Convicted me
“But if not for the grace of God, I am finished!” said the speaker at my church one Sunday.
Why Forgive?
When a friend betrayed me, I knew I would need to forgive her, but I wasn’t sure that I could. Her words pierced deeply inside me, and I felt stunned with pain and anger. Although we talked about it and I told her I forgave her, for a long time whenever I’d see her I felt tinges of hurt, so I knew I still clung to some resentment. One day, however, God answered my prayers and gave me the ability to let go completely. I was finally free.
Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith, with our Savior extending…
A Family Crisis that Redeemed Me
Three years ago, I was involved in a family dispute. My willful, unforgiving, and prideful character deeply hurt my family and it reached a stage that I eventually left home.
Loving like Jesus loves
Tough love is true love. But it’s not always comfortable. Today on Discover the Word, the group will finish their two-week look at Paul’s short New Testament letter to Philemon and examine how we love. It’s the last conversation exploring a “Plea from a Friend”! It’s a tough request that tests how serious Philemon was […]
Why I Kept Failing to Truly Forgive
Forgiveness always felt like a mind game. When people hurt me, I would tell them that I forgave them. But the truth was I was rarely able to move on from painful experiences.
