Forgiveness

I sat in the hot tub tonight pondering my life and the lives of others. It is easier to look at the failings of others while being blinded to my own. Truly, there is a plank in my eye.

My mind wandered, as it always seems to do these days (wander, that is) to all the people and places and things and stuff that have wronged me in my life. How I hold on to the hurt and the pain of those times, events, places and people. How I let all of that infect me and darken how I view it all. Because they did such and such to me I have every right to feel about them the way I do.

I asked God, "Who do I need to forgive?". Before that thought even finished, one person and one organization in particular came to mind. It was like, "Lord, who do I....", and there it was. It is amazing how just their very names dredge up the hurt, the anger, the pain that these two have caused. And not just to me, but to others that I've cared about. And I sat there for a few moments feeling justified in my feelings towards them.

I then remembered that Jesus Christ was wronged (and continues to be wronged by me) more that I have ever been wronged or hurt by others. He gave his life in my place to satisfy the judgment of God that was rightfully placed on me. He forgave the ones who hurt him, caused him pain, and wronged him. He is my example of how far I need to go in order to forgive. I hear his voice from the Scriptures as he's being nailed to the cross, " Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." I hear Stephen, the first Christian martyr, echo the same words in Scripture as the religious leaders stone him to death for his testimony to them about Jesus Christ. In their examples my justification for holding on to my complete lack of forgiveness melts away. There is no room for anger, bitterness, hurt, etc., in the life of a Christian. How can I pray the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us(me) our trespasses, as we(I) forgive those who trespass against us." Lets throw the religious veneer off and say it like it really is in my life: "Please forgive me the multitude of sins that I wallow in daily and commit against You, while I hold onto every scrap of wrongdoing others do to me, that I may justify my anger and bitterness towards them."

I found myself finally being willing to forgive these two, and others. "I forgive them what they did to me. Please help me to not go back on this." What gain is there in holding onto this? Surely this life is temporary, and Jesus Christ will deal with all wrongs committed. Do I really need to help Him in this? Can I REALLY do the right thing here? Can I REALLY be GOD? Better to leave judgment to Him, and Him alone.


Okay, I'm done. Now, I'm going to change directions here and add this nifty little video that has absolutely nothing to do with what I've just written here. It's a new kung fu movie starring Donnie Yen playing Ip Man, the Wing Chun Grandmaster who taught Bruce Lee. Enjoy!!!

The things they do with rope these days.

Unique Wedding March

THIS is what it's all about!

Beautiful

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Philippians 4:8

Walk this way...

This short post is meant to be a gateway for the raging masses and adoring fans of Curtville, who, sadly, don't know where to find one of the most greatest preachers and Bible scholars in the world today.

People...may I introduce Pastor John MacArthur. Check out his ministries website www.gtycanada.org. I particularly like watching his TV episodes and listening to his sermons. His books are "pretty okay to!" - Mr Miyagi (if you have to ask who Mr Miyagi is may I suggest renting The Karate Kid). The Lord Jesus has, without a doubt, used this man (John MacArthur, not Mr Miyagi) in my life.

Enjoy the site y'all.

The 'net in the Deck

Here I sit. Madly typing away. I'm not typing quickly or in a fast way when I say "madly". I'm typing and I'm mad. Why? Because things in my little world are not how I want them to be. This is the kind of person I am - the reactor. I react to pretty much everything. So, what is the latest thing attracting my ire? The internet!

Out here in the outback know as Waldeck I have "high speed" internet. Of the many things I knew would change when we moved here from Calgary I thought the internet was not one of them. I have suddenly noticed within the last two weeks how crappy my internet connection has become. You see, I am a gamer. I love computer games! I am into one right now, Call of Duty 4, that I play online. Well I have been noticing lately that whenever I try to play I am not able to get onto a server because I have a high ping rate. When I say "high", that's exactly what it is. I surfed the net to get some answers about this and other gamers say their high ping rate is in the 150 to 200 zone. Well, that's my normal ping rate. My high has been 2500 to 3000, but mostly in the 1700 to 2300 range. What does this mean for poor ol' Curt? No winding down at night in my man cave destroying evil foes and bad guys. Why is this so? I pay for "high speed". Should I not get what I pay for? Are there different "high speeds"? Who determines what is high speed? Is there a range? I had high speed in Calgary and it was a rare exception that I could not get onto a game server to play. Out in Waldeck, forget about it!

So, this little tragedy plays out, and I am its mad victim. I don't mean that I'm going mad, I mean...you know!

*sigh*