{"id":4592,"date":"2012-02-02T01:08:39","date_gmt":"2012-02-02T01:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/?p=4592"},"modified":"2012-02-02T01:56:33","modified_gmt":"2012-02-02T01:56:33","slug":"turning-loose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/?p=4592","title":{"rendered":"Turning Loose…….."},"content":{"rendered":"

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I’ve been going through a very difficult spiritual battle, the details are not important, except to God. \u00a0Let’s just say I’ve been observing people doing terrible things, and injustices to others. \u00a0I’ve struggled and struggled with what my response should be. \u00a0Not too surprising my first response was my almost always first response, go into John Wayne mode. \u00a0I am a child of the fifties growing up on Roy Rogers, the Lone Ranger and Hop Along Cassidy. \u00a0In the old western movies when trouble came up the hero always loaded his carbine, and his Colt .45 and rode into town ready to vanquish the bad guys! \u00a0In real life it’s not so simple, especially for a Christian. \u00a0We live in a world where people can do some really bad things, things that can make us wild with anger, but that is not how God has asked us to respond. \u00a0The ultimate answer is to ask what would Jesus do? \u00a0The answer is usually very counter to our nature, or even what we would like to do! \u00a0But God’s way is always the better way!<\/p>\n

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I was feeling sorry for myself, feeling I had been mistreated and unfairly treated. \u00a0I was asking God if I could settle the matter my way. \u00a0God’s answer was NO! \u00a0 I reminded Him of just how much I had been wronged, big mistake! \u00a0He lovingly reminded me of what His Son Jesus, had done to Him.<\/p>\n

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Here was this man, Jesus, He was the Son of God, He was the most powerful being in all creation. \u00a0He was accused of things He didn’t do. \u00a0He was mocked, spat on, and beaten severely, finally he was nailed to a cross to hang there until He took His last breath. \u00a0He never spoke, He never condemned His tormentors, Some of His last words were when He looked down and those that nailed Him on that cross and said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” \u00a0He didn’t get even, He didn’t exact even more pain on them than they had put Him through. \u00a0In spite of the fact that He was falsely accused, and sentenced to death, He never rose a finger against His accusers. \u00a0Were it not for one fact I would reject His example. \u00a0 He was on that cross because of me. \u00a0He had to be crucified to pay for my sins. \u00a0He could have called it all off, and refused to die for me, but He didn’t.<\/p>\n

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Today I drove up to Lexington, Kentucky and visited a wonderful little church, the Vinyard Community Church. \u00a0This church is a mission church reaching out to the needs of their community, with help for all kinds of people facing all kinds of \u00a0problems, from hunger to poverty, addictions to hopelessness. \u00a0I was very impressed with how well they have heard the teachings of Jesus. \u00a0They are not concerned about a lot of things many churches are concerned about today, they are concerned about God’s children, and being obedient to Him! \u00a0When we were leaving a friend of mine, a brother in Christ, turned back to Mark Lewis, the young man overseeing the church for the afternoon, and said to him, “Keep telling them how much God loves them!” \u00a0Mark said, “we don’t have to tell them, we’re showing them.” \u00a0What a powerful message, what a wonderful answer to my searching. I need to stop telling and start showing<\/p>\n

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I’ve come to a decision, the one I know God wants me to make. \u00a0I am letting go of my anger and my hurt and releasing the people that have hurt me and others. \u00a0Tonight I will bow by my bed, like a little child, \u00a0and ask God to forgive \u00a0me for judging those that have wronged me. \u00a0I will further release them into God’s care and let Him deal with the circumstances I’ve faced. \u00a0I will go a step further and commit to pray for the people that have wronged me and others. \u00a0I’m not doing this because of some inner greatness, but because that is what Jesus did \u00a0for me, and the example He set on the cross. \u00a0I will not do this in my own strength, but in His.<\/p>\n

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The path we walk here is a spiritual battle. \u00a0The enemy will use others to try and bring you down, out of His loving arms. \u00a0Don’t take the bait, stay in the safety of His love. \u00a0Judgement and retribution are not ours to dispense. \u00a0Those that refuse to face God, confess their sins, and continue in their walk further away from God, will face His judgement, not ours.<\/p>\n

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I was once walking though a very difficult time like this and was very angry at the way I felt God was treating me, I was being foolish, but I told a Godly friend that I felt it was not fair. \u00a0In his wisdom offered a solution. \u00a0He said, “I have a prayer that will solve your problem.” \u00a0I said what is it? \u00a0He responded, “Get on your knees and tell God you want what you deserve.” \u00a0I’m unwilling to pray that prayer, I don’t want what I deserve, because, in all honesty, I don’t deserve anything. \u00a0I’d much rather have the gift of His grace and love. \u00a0Tonight I’m turning it loose<\/span>, and putting it into God’s hands.<\/p>\n

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Be well, and at peace, in Him,<\/p>\n

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the pilgrim<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  I’ve been going through a very difficult spiritual battle, the details are not important, except to God. \u00a0Let’s just say I’ve been observing people doing terrible things, and injustices to others. \u00a0I’ve struggled and struggled with what my response should be. \u00a0Not too surprising my first response was my almost always first response, go […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chronicles"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4592"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4596,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4592\/revisions\/4596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/billfortney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}