“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

God takes forgiveness seriously.

Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:13).

Jesus, in expounding the need for forgiveness taught, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15).

God takes forgiveness seriously. Why? Why does forgiveness matter so much?

The reason why God calls us to forgive others is not because others deserve forgiveness but because you deserve peace. There is no peace without forgiveness. That is the way it is with us and God. And that is the way it is with us and others.

We forgive because forgiveness is the pathway to experiencing God’s peace.

Who do you need to forgive today? Who has been the stumbling block to you experiencing God’s peace?

Go to God and release them and yourself from turmoil and experience God’s peace by forgiving them.

“LORD you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago” (Isaiah 25:1).

There is not a single time in the Bible where God is not the object and the purpose of worship. There is not a single instance in the Bible where God worships something or someone. God is always the one being worshiped.

That makes sense, right? Of course that’s right. God is God after all.

I am glad we all agree on that.

Think about the last several times you went to worship at your home church. Think about your attitude and posture regarding God.

• Did we show up to worship doing our best to be found pleasing to God? Or did we show up thinking, “Ok, God. I’m giving you an hour. Impress me.”
• Did we prepare ourselves with our heart, soul, and mind to be ready to worship God and honor him in our worship? Or did we show up thinking, “I wonder if the sermon and the music will be any good?”

Who’s worshiping whom?

I think we all get that God is the one to be worshiped. But we have skewed and perverted the practice of worship because of our consumeristic attitudes.

It’s not that sermons and music shouldn’t be good. But that’s not why we gather to worship. The staff and I work hard to do our part to make sure that the sermons and the music is indeed good. We do everything we can to rid distractions from worship. But, ultimately, the reason why we gather to worship is simply because God is God and God is worthy of our worship. Because God is God, we show up so that we can be found pleasing to God.

Friends, God is God. God is the one to be worshiped. In every single instance in the Bible, God is always the object, the subject, the recipient of worship. We are to be found pleasing to God in worship.

So, here are some practical take aways:

• Show up in time. You wouldn’t make the President of the United States wait for you. Show proper respect. Show up in time.
• Show up with an expectant heart. After all, God is going to be present. And God wants to bless you and love you.
• Show and be present. Don’t be looking at your phone. Don’t check the scores. You are in worship service for one reason and one reason only: to worship God. So, do that. Be fully present. Worship God!

“God is not human that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19).

God ALWAYS answers prayer. There is never a prayer God does not answer. God always does what he promises.

But, if God always answers prayer, how come not all prayers are answered in the way we want them?

Great question.

Here’s the thing. The faulty thinking in the above statement is that we think the only legitimate answer God must give to our prayer is “yes.”

But that is ludicrous. If God were to answer all our prayers with a yes, God is not God. We are God. And God is merely our servant. Not only that, can you imagine how even more messed up our world would be if God answered everyone’s prayer in the way we want them answered? Yikes!!!

God always wants what is best for us. Because God loves us, God answers our prayers in the following manner:

1. God says “No” when our request is wrong. It would be ludicrous for God to give us something that is dangerous just because we asked for it. If a young child asks for a gun, no parent in their right mind would get a gun for their child. When the request is wrong the answer must be “No!”
2. God says “Wait” when the timing is wrong. When a child asks if they can drive, the answer isn’t a “No”, but “No for now.” When the child grows older and passes the driver’s license test, the answer changes.
3. God says, “Grow” when we are wrong. When a child asks that we should favor them over their siblings, a loving parent can’t answer that request with a “yes.” When we are wrong, the loving answer to such requests is to say, “Grow up, son. Grow up, daughter.”
4. When the request is right, the timing is right, God says, “Yes!” Go for it!!!

These are all legitimate answers to prayer.

God is faithful to answer ALL prayers. God loves you. God wants what is best for you. Trust in God’s answer to your prayers.