forgiveness

It’s Time to Level Up!

The Kingdom Light Finale – Ep. 1128

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Today’s program is the final episode of this podcast, The Kingdom Light – as we prepare to launch the new show next weekend on October 4th. Appropriately, we’re gonna talk about leveling up our game as Christians. Stay. Right. Here.

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Top of the stack this week… I have to say this first and foremost, y’all. That Charlie Kirk Memorial service last Sunday was ah-mazing! Best thing I’ve seen on TV in a very long time. Yes, it was touching to hear all the different stories from Charlie’s friends and colleagues. But more than that, it was a bona fide revival service.

There was wonderful praise and worship, led by Phil Wickham, Brandon Lake, Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, and others. It was like going to a genuine worship service, and the Holy Spirit showed up for it. You almost forgot it was a memorial service. You didn’t feel like you were saying goodbye to Charlie Kirk. It was a true celebration.

Then, one after another, members of our country’s leadership stepped up – not just to honor Charlie, but to proclaim the Gospel! Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, JD Vance, and more. They sounded more like preachers than politicians. I absolutely LOVED THAT!

But the best part of all, God bless her, was when Erika Kirk fought back the tears to say and do something incredible. Only with the help of the Holy Spirit can anyone do what she did. She forgave her husband’s killer, saying “it’s what Christ did and it’s what Charlie would do.” Wow. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Now I hear the naysayers. There’s no way she could’ve meant that. No one could possibly forgive the anyone who did something like that. Well folks, I believe she meant it. Charlie chose her to be his wife because of her faith, beauty, and intelligence. She has Jesus in her heart. The same Jesus who forgave all of us from the cross lives in Erika Kirk’s heart. Yeah, she meant it.

As Christians, we know that forgiveness is divine. And it’s also necessary to forgive others so that we can move past how we were wronged. The other option is to hold onto the heaviness of a grudge. Unforgiveness will destroy you. And walking with Christ requires us to forgive. Even still, that moment was certainly unmatched by anything else that happened on Sunday.

Of course, some on the left had their own take on Erika’s statement. Eager to malign her, they claimed she only forgave the man who murdered her husband – get this – because he was white. Seriously?! The notion is sick and demented. But it’s not surprising. These people who love to call everything racism know nothing about the concept of forgiveness. Evil has twisted their minds.

JIMMY KIMMEL

Following up on the Jimmy Kimmel debacle, he went back on the air this week, albeit on about 25% less stations. ABC affiliates owned by Nexstar and Sinclair have so far said they will be pre-empting his show. Nonetheless, Kimmel returned to TV and tearfully tried to walk back the offensive comments that got him suspended.

Some say Kimmel apologized, but others say it fell short of an actual apology because he never really said, “Hey, I’m sorry for what I said.” What he did say this week was that he never meant to make fun of a young man being murdered. Well, I don’t know anyone who thought he did that anyway. So, that really wasn’t the issue.

Kimmel then seemed to sorta retcon the actual offensive thing he had said. He claimed that it was never his intention to point a finger at a particular group of people and blame them for the murder of Charlie Kirk. His words last week, however, DID seem to point a finger directly at MAGA.

Though I will grant him this: Kimmel did mention Erika Kirk’s forgiveness of the killer as being a great example of someone who follows the teachings of Jesus, as Jimmy claims he does as well. To that, let me just say this: Jimmy, I sincerely hope that you do try to follow teachings of Christ.

I’m not gonna take the hard line some others have taken and assume he was being disingenuous. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. I’m not his judge. As a Christian, I am charged to LOVE Jimmy Kimmel. Erika Kirk made the point last Sunday very well that our response must always be one of love, not hate. So I’ll give Jimmy the benefit of the doubt, forgive him, and let it go.

That’s what we have to do, folks. Sometimes it’s hard to do that, I understand. But come on, think about it. If Erika can bring herself to forgive the man who murdered her husband, can we honestly not find it within our hearts to forgive Jimmy for something he said? Let’s be bigger than that. Let’s forgive. And the whole world will know us by our love. That’s a great way to level up our Christian walk!

WHAT WAS MEANT FOR EVIL

I’m gonna say this, and then I’m gonna move on. The death of Charlie Kirk did not at all accomplish what hell intended. As a man who was successfully reaching college age youth with conservativatism and Christianity, he became a target.

Hear me. For those who wish to continue brainwashing our youth, Charlie Kirk had to be stopped. He had to be silenced. But the end result was something else entirely. People who’ve never been to church are going to church now. Folks who never knew who Charlie Kirk was before have learned what he really died for, and it’s changing people’s lives for the better.

This is God doing something that I like to call changing the polarity. He took a negative and turned it into a positive. And that brings me back to my main point…

As Christians, we must be ready to act at a moment’s notice and change the polarity around us. Turning negative situations into something positive is another way we can step up our game as followers of Christ. How else do we do that? How else can we level up? We’ll talk more about that in just a minute.

Real quick though, I wanna give a free plug to the folks at Patriot Mobile. They aren’t a sponsor, they’re not paying me to say this, okay? This is a true and sincere testimonial from ME.

I switched my cell phone service to Patriot Mobile a few months ago, and am I ever glad I did! Not only did my coverage improve because they use all three of the major cellular networks’ towers, but they’re also American & Christian owned. I know when I pay my bill that my money is going to causes that agree with my own Christian conservative values.

Patriot Mobile supports veteran services, faith-based causes, and more. Check ’em out for yourself today at PatriotMobile.com – that’s PatriotMobile.com. Patriot Mobile, America’s ONLY conservative Christian wireless provider.

NEXT LEVEL CHRISTIANITY

So how do we take our Christian walk to the next level?

1. Forgive Every Offense

One big way, as mentioned a moment ago, is by practicing forgiveness. The Bible says we should be slow to anger and quick to forgive. Forgiveness is a central character trait of God, and it’s one we should live out at every opportunity.

2. Change the Polarity

Another way to level up, as already stated, is to be prepared at all times to change the polarity of a situation. Turn negatives into positives. See someone with a need, fill it. Smile. Be the brightest part of someone’s day. Be the catalyst that inspires a revolution of kindness. Make that your default position.

3. Be Bold in the Faith

Still another way is to be bold in the faith. Don’t shy away from opportunities to share with others what God has done for you. The light of your testimony can illuminate the path to Christ for others. Never underestimate the power of conversation and the weight of your personal experience with Jesus. Talk about it!

4. Learn to Share and Defend Truth

You can also level up your game by learning to share truth in love. Understand that speaking the truth of the Gospel to people is not hateful – it’s loving, and it’s our calling. If you see someone is headed down a bad road, warn them!

There’s so much garbage out there today that we have to counter with truth. People who have rejected truth open themselves up to believing all sorts of lies. Remember the following about truth, and learn to defend it.

It is the height of human arrogance – what we call hubris – to believe in such a way as to say, “Well, perhaps that’s your truth, but it’s not my truth.” There is no “your truth” and “my truth.” There is only THE TRUTH. And if it’s not THE TRUTH, then – by process of elimination – it has to be A LIE.

You can have your own beliefs and opinions, but that doesn’t mean those things are true. They might be true, or they might not. Truth has to pass certain tests to be proven true.

One test is this: If it’s true for one, it’s true for all. Truth is absolute. It is not relative or conditional. Truth is no respector of persons. If it isn’t true for all, it isn’t true at all. Truth is an essential standard of reality. In other words, truth is what grounds us to reality.

The moment you decide to take your opinions and beliefs and elevate them in status as to call them your truth, you become detached from reality. The term for this is delusional. This means you have chosen to reject what is true in favor of your own preferred lie. This is unfortunately a very common trap of humanism.

5. Study the Scriptures

Paul talks about it in Romans 1:18-32. I challenge you to read this passage over and over until it gets into your spirit. Studying the Word of God is one of the best ways to keep on leveling up your Christian walk.

6. Pray Continually

And, as I often emphasize, pray continually. Constant communication with God is the most essential thing in a Christian’s life. Without it, there is no relationship with the Father. Without that, we’re lost.

I pray that you will continue to grow in Christ, maturing in the faith, and always putting on the full armor of God. Stand strong in HIS power and might. Know that, yeah, the world will indeed hate you because of Jesus, but there is still no higher calling than to introduce people to Jesus. Are you ready to put all these things into practice and level up your walk with God?

Thank you so much for joining me for this podcast. The Kingdom Light never ends, but next week it will give way to something new. I hope you’ll join me for it as I begin the next chapter of GCM. Until then, God bless!

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Atonement

The Kingdom Light – Episode 1097

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Being at peace with God is a wonderful, restful and refreshing thing. Knowing you are forgiven, accepted and in right standing with your Maker is a powerful place that you never want to leave. The closer we get to Jesus returning, the more important it is to know you are right with God. On today’s program, I wanna deal with how we can have assurance that we’re ready to be called home.

First, let’s talk about discipline. I know, it’s not a fun topic. None of us likes having to admit we did something wrong. And being corrected is usually very uncomfortable. Hebrews 12:11 says this about the subject…

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

I remember knowing that my dad was going to discipline me as a child. We’d be away from home, and I’d done something wrong, and he let me know that once we got back home I’d be punished. That was the worst part – the waiting time before getting disciplined. But there was nothing like being on the OTHER side of the punishment – once everything was good again between my dad and I.

So how can we remain in that place where everything is good between ourselves and our Heavenly Father? Psalm 32 shows us the key to remaining in the place of God’s love and grace. It has to do with having a transparent attitude with God regarding our sin, admitting and confessing it openly with Him, rather than trying to defend our actions through rationalization. God sees through all that anyway, so our best course is to just be real and honest with Him.

Some believe this psalm was meant to be sung on the day of atonement. As it says in Leviticus 16:30, “For on this day He will forgive you, to purify you, that you be cleansed from all your sins before God.” Among the Jews, this is the holiest day of the year – Yom Kippur – when God is closest to his people. It is a display of tender mercies and fresh showers of God’s goodness and grace towards his own. It reflects the Creator’s passionate desire to reconcile creation to himself, to show the humble and the obedient his favor, and make a plea to the proud and disobedient for repentance and acceptance.

Psalm32:1-5

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. (Selah) I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. (Selah)

Here the psalmist recognizes the need for remaining transparent before God. When he tried to hide it, it ate away at him and would have eventually devoured him. But once he finally came clean and acknowledged his sin, God pardoned him. To be reconciled to God is to be reborn, refreshed, renewed – restored to right-standing with God. Entrusting your soul to God’s care, acknowledging your need of him, and emerging JUSTIFIED: just-as-if-I’d never sinned. This is a place of blessing that awaits all who choose to remain transparent before their Creator.

Psalm32:6-7

Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. (Selah)

This is the joy each of us have in Christ when we REMAIN HUMBLE before God. His Spirit is able to counsel, correct and instruct us. His word is made alive in us. And we are able to see his impact and blessing on our lives, and then rejoice in his faithfulness and love. For in this place, this place of ‘at-one-ment’ and right-standing, God’s Spirit says…

Psalm32:8-11

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”

As we navigate these last days in which we find ourselves living, we need the joy and peace of knowing everything is good between us and God. These scriptures have shown us the following key points…

To remain blameless before the Lord is to remain transparent before Him.
To remain transparent before God means we must humble our hearts and avoid vanity – that is, being defensive.
When we humble ourselves before the Lord, we fully acknowledge our sin and ask forgiveness.
When we confess to Him our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us.
Because of the completed work of Christ, once He has forgiven us we are AT-ONE-MENT with the Lord, righteous before God and at Peace with our Maker.

No matter what happens in the presidential election, the state of our nation or the world, peace is always ours when Jesus Christ is King of our lives.