The Titus 2:4 Project

I learned how to ride a bike when I was about 7 years old. I followed my brother for miles and miles while our mother thought we were home watching cartoons. I spent long days pedaling around my hometown with one of my best childhood friends. I’ve ridden bikes as an adult—even with my children strapped into plastic seats perched above the back wheel. I’ve been comfortable on a bike most of my life. Until now. Now I have a fancy, expensive bike with weird little discs where pedals should be. It has Bluetooth shifting for the gears. This bicycle cost more than my first three cars— combined . Naturally, I got all the right gear: the padded britches, the zip-up jersey with pockets on the back, the padded gloves, the aerodynamic helmet, the blinking LED lights, the phone holder so I can watch my mph and stats on an app… and the pretty shoes with little holes that lock into those funny-looking pedals to help me get more power from each push. So why am I suddenly uncomfortable on ...

A grudge is a noun.  At least in the way I'm talking about it today.  It's a thing.  Imagine, for a moment that a grudge is shaped like an orange....which makes sense if you're holding a small grudge.  But what if you're holding a really, really big grudge?  It might be shaped more like a boulder.... very heavy and hard to carry.  Not easy to hide, either.  There's a direct relationship between a grudge and un-forgiveness.  We can't profess to have forgiven someone and carry a grudge.  Would you agree?  A grudge is a manifestation of un-forgiveness.  And to live with un-forgiveness is (as many have heard it said, I'm sure) to eat poison and wait for the other person to die.  It's doing more damage to the one holding on to it that the perpetrator. Whomever wronged us has probably all but forgotten about it.  But we diligently hold on to our grudge...carrying it with us where ever we go.  If it's a small g...

None of us is perfect.  We are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)  So if God is willing to forgive us...who are we to withhold forgiveness from each other?  A recent discussion with my ladies small group Bible study really got me thinking about this subject.  Forgiveness, just like love, is a decision - not an emotion.  Deciding to forgive someone for hurting you doesn't mean that the pain and heartache just blow away like a tumbleweed.  Some pains may take years to get rid of.  Deciding to forgive is more like trying to chop down a tree.  You can get rid of the biggest, most visible part, but after a while little stems start popping back up from the ground and you can keep mowing them over so you can't see it...but until you deal with the roots, it's never truly gone. God is the ultimate landscaper.  He knows how to deal with pesky roots so that the things we want to be rid of will be gone...forever....