Building on the theme of forgiveness, we as Christians must learn how to deal with people who hurt us. Hurt doesn’t necessarily mean they have committed some egregious sin, it could be a harmful word or a breach of trust; yet, it is a hurt that has influenced the relationship and can have a profound effect on our relationship with Jesus and our evangelistic witness.

Forgive and forget do not go hand in hand; forgetting our past and the pains that go with it are not an instruction ever given to us in Scripture. We are to forgive DESPITE the past, just as Christ has forgiven us. We cannot allow the memory of the past to hold our obedience, freedom, and peace hostage!

The transformation at the core of the Gospel is not a change of behavior but a complete and radical change of personhood; we are changed down to our very being. The Bible refers to this as “dying to ourselves,” but what does that mean? Today, we explore the mechanics of how Jesus transforms our past so we can follow Him in the present and in the future!

REDO can only happen if we are willing to surrender our lives in totality to Jesus. We have to be transformed so that we can move on from the pains of our past.

Transition is a hard circumstance to go through in any situation, but it is particularly difficult to go through transition after a heightened period of stress or chaos. The decisions we make during these times of transitions are directly correlated to “how” we view the world…are we in control or is God in control?

What does Christian unity look like in light of the transformation brought by the Gospel? Dr. David McCord shares with us through Colossians why unity in Jesus is grounded in our Gospel identity.

Our lives can be marred by long seasons of suffering, hardship, and even devastating pain; but, the enduring truth of God’s unrelenting faithfulness and goodness will see us through to the end. This is the foundation of the charge by Jesus to “overcome” this life, we do it not through our own power but through the faithfulness of God.

Instead of always looking forward at the problems that confront us and seem to have no viable solution, it helps if we will pause and look backwards to see all that God has done for us and through us because of His plans and purposes. In many cases, the best way forward is to stop and count our many blessings to remind us of God’s faithfulness.

God makes a way for His plans and His purposes to be accomplished on this earth. Ultimately, His will must be done and because He is truly sovereign, there is nothing that can stop Him. Therefore, if we are standing in His will…there is nothing that can stop us! BUT, that doesn’t mean it will be easy or that our life will be without suffering.

God is faithful to His promises and God is faithful to save us through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. We don’t have to wonder if He will save us, no matter how “bad” we think we are; God is faithful and just to forgive us because He has already taken your sin into account when Jesus died for you.