Come Alive (Audio)

Full forgiveness isn't an easy task. It requires effort from you to show grace to someone who's wronged you, and strength to continue in relationship with them while removing the fault from your interactions. In today's message, Pastor Mark will ask you to exercise complete forgiveness in every situation, no matter how difficult it is! The alternative is partial forgiveness, which doesn't forget the wrong and clings to the pain. This only leads to more problems down the road, with those unresolved hurts resurfacing at inopportune moments. It's better to forgive and let go of the pain now, and begin to live in the freedom from the wound!

Are you currently fighting with someone? Is there a person in your life with whom you are estranged? In today’s message, Pastor Mark reminds you of the fragility of life so that you may get the motivation you need to seek reconciliation. Never forget that when you are volleying harsh words and insults at someone you love, you are not guaranteed the next minute of breath, let alone tomorrow. Don’t allow your words be unloving ones… ever! Jesus taught that if it is in your power to make peace, you should make peace. Jesus also commanded His people to be forgiving and to love others with God’s sacrificial limitless love.

Have you ever tried to give good advice only to have it completely rejected? In today’s message, Pastor Mark points out that sometimes even the best most Godly advice isn’t followed. Sometimes folks seeking your ear don’t want their problems to be fixed. They are instead more interested in scoring points and winning an argument. Unfortunately, when you encounter such people, it is best to stay neutral and not involve yourself in their conflicts. The people that you should pour into and invest in are those that not only want to hear God’s perspective, but also are also humble and willing to do what Jesus says.

Jesus calls all of His children to be peacemakers. Part of peacemaking is understanding what causes conflict and then providing solid Biblical wisdom to those seeking God’s counsel. In today’s message, Pastor Mark warns you to never take sides on an issue until you have heard both parties speak. Scripture points out that you can only rightly discern what’s really going on between two feuding people when you hear each person speak. Then, once you’ve obtained information from both parties, you can better counsel each one in love on the right course of action to solve the conflict and reconcile.

Sin can lead to shame, not just for the person who committed the sin, but also for the people that sin affected. You, today, might be dealing with shame that someone else's sin caused. You might even have some sins that you've locked away and tried to keep secret, but they just aren't staying quiet! Today is a great day to dive into anything that's causing you grief! God wants to open up those areas of your life that you've been trying to avoid and begin the healing process. As you listen to Pastor Mark's message today, let God bring to mind the thing He most wants to work on, and let His grace and love fully envelop you!

Sin is part of every person's life, even yours. You may not like to admit it, but sin happens everyday! It can be as small as a little white lie, but everything that's done outside of God's will is something that needs to be dealt with. The tendency of most people, though, is to sweep it under the rug. You want to hide it, from other people and from God. In today's message, Pastor Mark will ask you to take that sin out of its hiding place and hand it over to your Creator! He already knows about it – you really can't hide anything from God. You'll feel much better once you've revealed your wrong and accepted grace to cover it!

God wants you to be close to Him. He knows that the best life there is can be found standing next to Him and leaning fully on Him. Sometimes, He needs to take extreme steps to remind you of that! A lot of times it seems easier to wander away from God toward whatever you think will be better – something you might even be replacing God with. Whatever it is, it'll only provide temporary pleasure. Pastor Mark will encourage you in today's message to set aside the things or people you're running after and step closer to God. Let Him do the necessary work to create a better you, the person He knows you can and need to be!

What sort of seeds of sin are you planting right now? They may be small and seemingly insignificant, little missteps that you can't see any harm in. In today's message, Pastor Mark will remind you that any sin, no matter the size, is STILL sin! You can't hide it in the dirt hoping no one will ever notice. One day, maybe awhile from now, those seeds you planted will grow and become visible! Today is a great day to start fresh! Dig up those seeds of sin and confess them to God, right now! He already knows about them, and He's already forgiven you, and He wants you to take the steps to remove them from your life permanently!

Misunderstandings can easily lead to unnecessary, vicious battles. They ought to be avoided when possible, and handled graciously and humbly when necessary. God has prepared you in His word with the wisdom you need. In 2 Samuel 10, David and Hanun had a misunderstanding that led to outright warfare. Pride, suspicion, bad counsel and stubbornness will always lead to heartache and death. Life will has necessary battles enough. Avoid the danger of needless pain and deal with life's misunderstandings with humility and patience. In today's message, Pastor Mark will give us a biblical guide to handling misunderstandings.

2 Samuel chapter 10 is almost a case study in what not to do when you have a misunderstanding. King David sincerely tried to comfort King Hanun of Ammon, and who completely misinterpreted David's intentions. Suspicion and bad counsel got the best of Hanun. He humiliated David's diplomatic envoy of servants. When he realized his mistake, instead of humbling himself and speaking earnestly with David, Hanun escalated the situation in pride - causing a full on war. Misunderstandings in life will happen; but in today's message, Pastor Mark will encourage you to avoid the pitfalls of pride and handle it humbly.