Solomon may also be warning us about how to be wary of hatred taking over our own heart. Hatred is not an emotionally healthy goal. It is th

"For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down" So begins a series of verses about the whisperer or the murmurer. The Hebrew word is ragan which means to murmur or whisper, to say under one's breath, to speak quietly. It can easily be extended to mean those who start rumors, who keep slander and gossip going. The point that is being made is that this type of person is a person to keep out of your employ because they just keep the

One of the only ways that we can conquer our resentments, bitterness, and desire for revenge is to go after our goals. If our anger at what

The greatest success comes out of our weakness, mistakes, and brokenness. Most of us want to hide out when we have messed up. But one of the

All of us are tempted to keep score of how many times a person is thoughtless or hurtful or inept, but this type of scorekeeping does not im

This is a very interesting descriptor of what internal emotions do to the external actions. When a person hates you no matter what they say

Moving on is the final step of true forgiveness. This is the step in the forgiveness process where most people will need to have constant di

To forgive others and ourselves completely, we must be open to allowing God to love us and extend love to others in new and powerful ways th

It's amazing how much there is to this little phrase, "Lord, forgive me..."? Often, I work with people who seem to be able to

Working through forgiveness and being healthy after we have suffered wounds, guilt, and pain will involve discussions with God about the goa

Going deep with God and working through forgiveness will involve mourning the wounds of the past that altered your future. Jesus tells us th

In prayer, Jesus is inviting us to dialogue with God about our wounds, guilt, and pain. Are there people in your life that you have not rele

True relationship with God begins with confession - agreeing with God about your sins. This is the first step of forgiveness.

"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." (Matt. 6:12) I hope you are enjoying this series on the Secrets of the Lord's Prayer, which is Jesus' answer to the disciples' question about how to go deeper with God the Father and have a more real relationship with Him. For past articles in this series, simply click HERE. This next verse, Matthew 6:12, is so rich and so deep that we will spend several weeks plumbing the depths of what Jesus is really saying

Proverbs 20:9 "Who can say, "I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin”?" There are four ideas that could be implied here: One, that it is impossible to ever completely cleanse yourself after you have committed acts of selfishness and sin. Second, that a person cannot be completely free of the corrupting influence of selfishness and sin. Three, only God can cleanse a person of their sin as a grace gift. Four, the impact of a person's selfishness and sin echo for a very