Forgiveness | His Glory My Joy, a blog of Author Luana Ehrlich

From Sin to Forgiveness

March 20, 2024 Leave a comment

In my three Christian fiction series—Titus Ray Thrillers, Mylas Grey Mysteries, and Silas McKay Suspense—each of my protagonists is at a different place in his spiritual journey.

However, of the three, Titus Ray, a covert operative, has the most difficulty forgiving others for past mistakes.

Titus was brought to faith in Christ through the influence of an Iranian Christian couple in Tehran who hid him in their home for three months while he was on the run from the secret police.

Even though Titus grew up in “Christian” America, he knew nothing about Christianity. He came from a family who never attended church, who never mentioned God—except in a swear word—and who never went inside a church unless it was to attend a funeral.

Thus, it wasn’t surprising that Titus didn’t know how to live out his faith when he became a believer and returned to the States to resume his career at the CIA. However, he remembered the Iranian Christians read their Bible every day, so he purchased his first Bible and began reading the gospel of John.

From reading his Bible and being mentored by more mature believers, he gradually figured out how to control his volatile temper, and how to recognize the difference between deceiving others as part of his profession and doing so willfully to further his own agenda.

By far, the most difficult part of his Christian walk so far has been learning to forgive others—from his alcoholic father to other operatives who made foolish decisions that cost people their lives—but his journey toward real and lasting forgiveness only began when he heard these words from Ephesians 5:32: “And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

Jesus himself showed us the example when he was in the throes of agony on the cross and cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34.

Titus realized he was to forgive others even as he had been forgiven, for no one had ever wronged him as much as the Son of God had been wronged.

A lesson from a fictional character to real believers.

Categories: Christian Living, Forgiveness, God's Word, Grace, Mercy, Sin, Theology Tags: Believe, Bible, christianity, Cross, Easter, Faith, Forgiveness, God, jesus, Truth

Don’t Stay Away!

April 2, 2022 Leave a comment

There’s a verse of Scripture in Hebrews that gives me pause whenever I read it. It’s Hebrews 10:22, “Therefore . . . let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.”

Drawing near to God sounds like a terrific idea. So, why don’t we draw near? What makes us stay away?

Believers don’t stay away from God on purpose. It’s usually the result of not doing something, rather than actually doing something.

Not confessing sin.

After the writer of Hebrews described what Jesus did for sinners by his death on the cross, he writes in verse 27, “If we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” Unconfessed sin makes us reluctant to be near the One whose responsibility it is to judge sin. We’re afraid, so we stay away.

Not knowing truth.

The writer uses the word,”therefore,” before telling believers to draw near to God. That’s because he’s been explaining great truths having to do with the meaning of the Lamb-like sacrifice and what the shedding of Christ’s blood did for sinners. He says such knowledge gives us confidence to come before God. The reverse is also true. By not knowing what Christ did when He laid down His life for us, we have no confidence and cannot draw near to Him.

Not having faith.

The writer says we are to come before God “with full assurance of faith.” Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who draws near to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him,” While our faith in God is a gift from Him (Ephesians 2:8-9), we must be willing to act on that faith or we will never draw near to Him.

What happens when we draw near?

Hebrews 4:16 tells us we receive “mercy and grace to help in time of need,” and Hebrews 7:25 says those who draw near to God will discover, “He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Draw near. Take the pathway into His Presence made just for you.

Don’t stay away!!

Categories: Call To God, Devotionals, Faith, Fear, Forgiveness, God's Presence, Happiness, Healing, Hope Tags: Confess Sin, Draw Near, Faith, Truth, Wrath Judgment Fear God

How Can I Believe in God?

February 9, 2020 Leave a comment

Believe 1 I’ve never had a problem believing in God. It’s as natural to me as breathing.

That doesn’t mean I’ve ever seen God, or had an angelic visitation, or received some special sign from Him. I’ve never seen any writing on the wall or heard an audible voice, or had some tangible proof He’s real.

My belief in God comes from trust. I trust what the Bible tells me about God. Ironically, the faith to believe in Him, to trust what the Scriptures tell me about Him, is a gift from God.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Believing in God is not something I can do for myself. The ability to believe in God comes from God.

Any person who sincerely wants to know God will find Him. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13.

I believe in God because He created the desire for me to believe in Him; He provided the means for me to believe in Him, and He made the provision for me to believe in Him.

And, He didn’t just do it for me; He did it for you as well.

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Categories: Bible, Blessings, Devotionals, Faith, Forgiveness, God's Word, Revelation, Trust, Truth, Witnessing Tags: Believe, Faith, Trust, Trust God, Truth, Why Do You Believe In God

By His Stripes We Are Healed

April 15, 2019 1 comment

Jesus Christ in the holy cross

of black and blue and red
of gashes and slashes and stripes
of hits and harm and hurt

He stumbles and bows and falls
He crumbles and bends and kneels
He gasps and cries and moans

for healing and helping and teaching
for blessing and loving and keeping
for hoping and holding and saving

Isaiah 54:4-5
A Devotional Poem by Luana Ehrlich

Categories: Call To God, Devotionals, Easter, Faith, Forgiveness, Glorifying God, God's Love, Grace, Love, Mercy, Poems, Praise, Sin, Sorrow, Theology, Worship Tags: Cross, Cross Poem, Crucified Poem, Crucifixion, Easter Cross Resurrection, Jesus Death Cross

I Found A Reason To Celebrate This Week–Have You?

April 3, 2015 2 comments

I believe God wants us to celebrate the milestones of our life.

In the Old Testament, he gave the Israelites seven festivals of celebration each year. That’s a lot of celebrating! However, each festival was also a means of remembering the awesomeness of God and an occasion for teaching about the holiness of God.

In the New Testament, Jesus told his followers to celebrate the meaning of the cross and to do so by using unleavened bread and wine to remember his broken body and his shed blood. Unlike the seven celebrations of the Old Testament festivals, Jesus gave no restrictions on the number of times we could celebrate this event–“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” 1 Corinthians 11:26.

I recently celebrated the day I was born. Although I didn’t feel any differently on March 31st, than I did on March 30th, I marked it as special and didn’t treat it as an ordinary day.

Christians and Jews alike mark this week as special, but for Christians, the most important day this week will be celebrated on Sunday. If this spectacular event—which took place on Sunday some 2,000 years ago—had not happened, then this week would mean nothing. There would be absolutely nothing about this week to mark it as special. Why celebrate the death of a man who claimed to be God? Disillusioned people die every single day.

But this man, this Jesus, who said he was God, who claimed that He and Jehovah were one and the same, backed up those claims by coming back to life. After being pronounced dead, wrapped in a shroud, and placed in a borrowed tomb, He showed himself alive to over 500 people.

While certainly spectacular, resurrections from the dead had occurred before Jesus’ death and even occurred afterward–by His hand and power. But, whereas others resurrected from the dead later died, never to be alive on this earth again, Jesus ever lives!

“Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:34).

More importantly—at least for me personally—is the reason behind his intercession for me. The death he died on the cross was the punishment I deserved, both for my sinful nature and for my own willful sins. By accepting Jesus as The One who died in my place, as The One willing to intercede for me before God, I too will be granted eternal life. “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Now, that’s a reason to celebrate!

Who’s Going To Take Out The Trash?

October 21, 2014 Leave a comment

Do you remember any of the items you threw in the trash last week? Do you recall what you tied up in a plastic garbage sack, put inside a garbage can, and rolled to the curb a month ago? Probably not. They aren’t important now. That stuff is yesterday’s garbage.

That’s exactly how God treats the sins of His children. Those sins are yesterday’s garbage. Hebrews 8:12 “I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Since God is . . . well, God, it’s hard to believe He’s just going to forget this trash. As human beings, we remember our failures, our transgressions, our sins, our disobedience. Not so with God. Hebrews 10:17: “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

As difficult it is for us to accept God’s forgetfulness, one look at Scripture proves that God is both a God of forgiveness and a God of forgetfulness. Were it not so, He would have crushed Adam and Eve from the moment they believed Satan’s lie, not bothering to go looking for them, inquiring, “Adam, Where are you?” Were it not so, He would never have given the Ceremonial Law, providing cleansing from sin or the Mercy Seat for the atoning of sins. Were it not so, He would never have sent His only Son who said he was going to die an excruciating death, “for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:28.

Putting away the sin in one’s own life, is just like getting rid of any other refuse. First, it must be brought to the trash can. Bring your sins to God. Proverbs 28:15: “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

Second, it must be left there. Leave your sins with God. Hebrews 11:10-23: “. . . hold fast the confession of our faith, without wavering. . .”

Lastly, walk away. Walk away in God. 2 Peter 1:3: “His divine power has granted to us all that pertain to life and godliness.”

“I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake.” Isaiah 43:25. Why not allow Him take out the trash for you.

No one does a better job of it.