Happy New Year 2012

Some collection of funny pictures to welcome 2012 New Year :)

THE GOLD WRAPPING PAPER - An Inspiring Christmas Story

Once upon a time, there was a man who worked very hard just to keep food on the table for his family. This particular year a few days before Christmas, he punished his little five-year-old daughter after learning that she had used up the family's only roll of expensive gold wrapping paper.

As money was tight, he became even more upset when on Christmas Eve he saw that the child had used all of the expensive gold paper to decorate one shoebox she had put under the Christmas tree. He also was concerned about where she had gotten the money to buy what was in the shoebox.

Nevertheless, the next morning the little girl, filled with excitement, brought the gift box to her father and said, "This is for you, Daddy!"

As he opened the box, the father was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, now regretting how he had punished her.

But when he opened the shoebox, he found it was empty and again his anger flared. "Don't you know, young lady," he said harshly, "when you give someone a present, there's supposed to be something inside the package!"

The little girl looked up at him with sad tears rolling from her eyes and whispered: "Daddy, it's not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was all full."

The father was crushed. He fell on his knees and put his arms around his precious little girl. He begged her to forgive him for his unnecessary anger.

An accident took the life of the child only a short time later. It is told that the father kept this little gold box by his bed for all the years of his life. Whenever he was discouraged or faced difficult problems, he would open the box, take out an imaginary kiss, and remember the love of this beautiful child who had put it there.


In a very real sense, each of us has been given an invisible golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends and God. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

Why and how to forgive?

What is Forgiveness? And is it important for us?

What is forgiveness really means...

Saying "Sorry" by mere words doesn't means that  you have forgiven other person. We think by "saying so", it is so.

But is God fooled by such?
Is there ever a place where we can escape His penetrating gaze?
Does He not see the secret meditation of revenge or the bitter hatred behind the nice smile?
Since when is He impressed with mere words when hearts do not match?

To forgive somebody is to take away his guilt. As a result, anger against him and the desire for punishment are also taken away. When God forgives us, He declares us "Not guilty" and takes away the wrath and punishment we deserve. This is the same thing we should do towards those we forgive.

What does Bible say about forgiving ?

Mark 7:6 -8

⁶ He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:    “‘These people honor me with their lips,
   but their hearts are far from me.
⁷ They worship me in vain;
   their teachings are merely human rules.’^[b]
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.

Matthew 6:14-15

¹⁴ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  
¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Matthew 5.23-24

²³ “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you,  
²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Luke 17:3-4

³ So watch yourselves.
   “If your brother or sister^[a] sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them.  
⁴ Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying 
    ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

Have we forgiven really ? 
Though we think we have forgiven from our heart, most of us are unable to forget what the other person did. So does it meant that we have not forgiven them ?

We must be realistic. As long as our brain is functioning well, we will not be able to deliberately forget anything. The more we try to forget it, the more firmly rooted it becomes in our mind! But God does not ask us to forget it. He asks us to forgive the other person from the heart as explained above.
The devil is also not going to let you forget your hurt in a hurry! He will keep reminding you again and again about how much you have had to suffer, how evil it was of the other person to do this to you, etc.! But he will go away after sometime if he finds that you are not responding to him. Each time you resist his suggestions, you will find that the power of the temptation becomes less and less, till finally it stops bothering you.

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

Matthew 18:21-35
²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” ²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.^[a]
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold^[b] was brought to him.  
²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’
²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.^[c] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.  
³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.
³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’
³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Credits

http://www.c-n-c.org/faqforgiv.htm

http://www.biblegateway.com/

Bible stories - Forgiving

Colossians 3:13

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.(NIV) 

Forgiving Brother

Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25, 27, 32, 33)- Forgiveness Bible Story

The twins Jacob and Esau were very different from one another. One was a man’s man. Esau loved outdoor activities like tending the sheep and hunting. Jacob preferred to stay at home and learn from his mother.

One day Esau came in from the field famished. He begged Jacob to give him something to eat. In return Jacob sold a bowl of soup to his older twin in exchange for the birthright. Esau traded the larger portion of their inheritance for a bowl of beans. (Genesis 25:29-34)

The deception continued. Time passes; Isaac became old and blind, and felt he might die soon. So he called Esau and asked him to hunt an animal, make his favourite dish, and then he would bless Esau before he died. Rebekah overhears this and plans to trick her husband. She tells Jacob to kill two of the family goats and she'll make the food, so that Jacob can receive Isaac's blessing instead of Esau.

Jacob responded to his mother with possibly the best line in the bible: "But my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a smooth man." He worried that Isaac would feel him and know he was the wrong son. Rebekah had a solution: she dressed Jacob up in Esau's clothes, and put the goat skins on Jacob's hands and neck to make him seem hairy.

Jacob went to his blind father and claimed to be Esau. Here's the dialogue:

18 So he went to his father and said, “My father.”
And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”
19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”
20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?”
And he said, “Because Yahweh your God brought it to me.”
21 Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.
24 Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?”

He said, “I am.”

Jacob received the blessing of his father Isaac through this trickery.

Inevitably, Esau returned from his hunting and approached his father. Isaac realised he'd been tricked and was furious. But he'd given all his blessing to Jacob, and so Esau could not receive any blessing. Unfortunately, Isaac explained, Jacob is Esau's master now. But Isaac prophesied that one day, Esau would break the bondage of Jacob's mastership.

In the end, Jacob had to run for his life. He fled to another country to find his mother’s relatives who would care for him. It was many years before he returned to his own family. When he did, he heard that his brother Esau was looking for him. The deceiver Jacob was scared. He devised a plan so that his brother could only destroy half of Jacob’s wealth if he was caught. (Genesis 32)

After splitting his assets into two, he prayed and then rested but since he was too scared of Esau, Jacob couldnt sleep. So he got another plan, he made half of every animal (Goat, donkey, sheep and camel) in his herd then had a servant for each group and sent them one by one with large gap and instructed the servants to tell Esau that there are much presents coming for him still and also his brother is coming to visit him. He thought this may decrease the anger in Easu on Jacob. 

Just when Jacob decided he had done all he could do and was hoping to finally get some much needed rest, a man came out of nowhere and started wrestling with him. They wrestled all night long!

Just as the sun was peeking out over the distant hills, the man grabbed Jacob's thigh, dislocating it and causing him a great amount of pain. The man asked Jacob to let him go, but Jacob didn't.

Jacob turned to the man and said, "I'm not giving up that easily! I won't let you go until you bless me!" He kept wrestling, even though he was badly hurt.

The man asked, "What is your name?"

Of course, Jacob replied: "My name is Jacob."

The man said, "Oh no. You will no longer be called Jacob, which means deceiver. Your new name will be Israel, which means prince. From now on, you will have power with God and power with men."

Jacob asked, "Who are you?"

The man replied, "You don't need to ask who I am," and he pronounced a blessing over Jacob.

Jacob didn't need to ask who the man was. He already knew that the man he had been wrestling with was not a man at all; rather, he was an angel of God, or maybe even God himself. Jacob named the place Peniel, meaning, I have seen God face to face and lived to tell about it.

           The sun was high up in the sky when the angel left Jacob. Even though Jacob hadn't had any sleep, was in a great deal of pain, and even walked with limp, it didn't seem to matter. He had a lot more courage because he knew that God was truly with him.

When they finally met, Esau ran to Jacob and hugged him and kissed him and showed forgiveness and mercy. He had so forgiven Jacob that he was surprised Jacob would even think that there might be hard feelings between them. (Genesis 33)

Forgiving Father

Prodigal Son (Luke 15)- Forgiving Bible Story Between A Father and a Son

Jesus taught a story that illustrates redemption, love and forgiveness in Luke 15:11-32. It is commonly called the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

There was a man who had two sons. The oldest was obedient and content to live with his father. The younger couldn’t wait to get away from the family to live life on his own terms. When he was able, he went to his father to ask for his portion of the inheritance. When he got his money he ran off to a far away land. Jesus says that the young man wasted his money in wild living. A short time later the economy bottomed out and the man had no money, no job and no friends. He was willing to take whatever job he could get and ended up taking care of pigs for a farmer. He was so destitute that he was willing to eat the pig feed to stay alive.

The young man wised up and realized that he had a loving father who treated his servants better than the boy was currently living. He decided to return home as a servant to the father. At least he would have food to eat. Little did he know, his father was expecting the boy’s return. As soon as the father saw the young man on the horizon, he ran to him with open arms of forgiveness.

Though the boy returned with hopes of just being a servant, the father accepted him as the son he always was. The boy was forgiven and restored to his former position in the family.

Luke 15:11-32 (NIV)

¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons.  

¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

   ¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 

¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.

¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.  

¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 

¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 

¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 

²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

   “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 

²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 

²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.  

²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 

²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.  
²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.
³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.  
³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’


Jesus examples forgiveness

Woman Taken in Adultery (John 8)(NIV)

It is early morning, and Jesus is at the Temple, ready to teach whoever comes to listen to him. Some respected Jewish leaders bring a woman to him. She has been found guilty of adultery

The leaders (scribes and Pharisees) challenge him to find a solution to a problem: what is to be done with this woman, who has been found guilty of adultery, a capital crime? Jesus parries their question by asking them, in essence, to examine their own consciences to see if they themselves are guiltless. One by one they leave, and Jesus tells the woman to go, and not to sin again.

³ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group  

⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  

⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 

⁶ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

   But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”  
⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.  
¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said.
   “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
 

Forgiveness is an attribute of God that we are consistently taught in the Bible that we too can demonstrate to others.