written by Stephan Joubert
The European town was proud of their wealthy patron. As a respected member of the community he frequently sponsored local projects and feasts. One day he offered the people of his town an opportunity to invest money in a new business venture of his. Most inhabitants of the town saw this as an opportunity of a lifetime and invested all their life savings in this project.
Slowly one year passed, and then another, without any sign of the huge profits that were promised to all investors. Finally, the townspeople grew restless. Then the bad news broke — their patron was arrested in a neighboring town. He was convicted for fraud and thrown into jail. They lost all their hard-earned money.
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written by Stephan Joubert
How long do you remember all the bad things other people have done to you? For years? Do you ever close those dark notebooks wherein you carefully record other peoples trespasses, mistakes, and shortcomings? Do you go to bed angry night after night?
Well, here’s a newsflash if you struggle to apply amnesia to other peoples sins ‐ God often suffers from memory loss. He gladly forgets people’s sins, shortcomings, failures, wrong deeds, defects and factory faults. Hy doesn’t worry about everything people do wrong against Him from early to late, as we learn in Psalm 103. Even better, He forgets often, repeatedly, every time, over and over again. For whom does He do this? For everyone that knocks on his door in the name of Jesus.
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written by Stephan Joubert
In one of his books, Ernest Hemingway writes about a boy named Paco that flees from his father after a dispute and sets up home in Madrid. Later, when his dad is overcome with grief, he places an ad in the El Liberal daily: “Paco, all is forgiven. Meet me at Hotel Montana, noon Tuesday.” That Tuesday afternoon, 800 boys named Paco showed up! No, people are not as hard and cold as they sometimes seem. There’s still something of God’s signature visible in everyone. Forgiveness and tenderness are two of the most notable signs of this. None of us truly want to carry around bitterness and enmity, especially not against friends and family. It’s like a cancer of the soul. This is the reason that we so crave forgiveness. And the reason that God also gives it freely in the name of Jesus. You and I must follow suit.
