Repentance and Forgiveness

Matthew 3:8- "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance."

2 Peter 3:9- "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."

Recently, I have felt convicted to contact an old friend and apologize for the way I had treated her in the past. Her (she will remain nameless) and I weren't been super close, but we had grown apart in our friendship as time went by and I needed to be honest with her and ask her if she would forgive me for the way I had treated her. Now, this is not something that was very easy for me to do I admit, but after having my devotions this morning, it was something that was left on my heart to confront and I knew I had to contact her and ask her for forgiveness.

You know, I have to say that it is so easy for me to show love for others around me who are kind and sweet to me all of the time. But what is hard for me to do is to show love for those whom I may have a disagreement with on minor or major issues. I know that may sound silly, but it is really something I have to work on and have recently felt a conviction over. Maybe for most people, they can show great love towards those who dislike them or those whom they "perceive" in that way, but for me it is a rather difficult thing to do. Regardless, I have been really moved by a few verses that help me remember to show love to others around me and I must keep those verses close to my heart in order to live in love daily.

There are many verses in the Bible about love, but a particular one that provides me with comfort is Ephesians 5:2, "And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." In order for God to forgive me of my sins, I must ask for forgiveness from those whom I have hurt and it must be a sincere apology.

This verse also really speaks to me because God first showed his love to me and I need to show my love for him by loving others around me which is also one of the greatest commandments. Maybe what I shared earlier was too personal, but when I thought about what to write for my post on Friday, this particular message immediately came to mind.

Something else that I try to keep in mind is that I need to treat others in the same way I would want them to treat me: which is showing love, kindness, gentleness, etc. This is something I feel that the Lord continues to work on in my life and I just wanted to share that with you today.  :)

Before I end this post, I wanted to add a link my hubby found from a friend. This link will take you to the singer/songwriter's blog called Owl City (that's not his real name but is band name). Have you heard of him? He does a lovely cover of the song My Hope is Found. Here is the link: Owl City.
You should check it out!!  :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday and happy weekend!!

Thank you for stopping by!