For the last 2 weeks we looked at forgiveness to others and forgiveness to ourselves. Today we look into what forgiveness is and what it is not.

1. Let me be clear on this Forgiveness doesn’t mean that a relationship will be reconciled.  Sometimes it will not be able to be rebuild because the person might have died or it might not be a healthy relationship to be involved in.
2. Also forgiveness is a process. Its not a once and done deal. Its also not a feeling, it’s a choice.
3. Forgiveness doesn’t mean you forget what happened.
4. It doesn’t mean that what the other person did was ok.

All this things are steps towards You becoming free. Joyce Mayer said once: Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.  It reminds me of the story of Corrie Ten Boom and how she shared in Munich Germany after the war about forgiveness. A prison guard from the Concentration camp she was in comes to the front and asks her to forgive him. It was really hard for her to do but she did. And when she did she felt a warmth of healing flow through her (read more of the story under this link). Yes in forgiveness she freed him but in turn she freed herself.

We like to challenge you today to choose freedom for yourself through forgiveness! Here is a prayer that we learned out of book at a seminar:

Lord, I forgive (name the person) for (verbally share every hurt and pain the Lord brings to your mind and how it made you feel).

After you forgiven every person for every painful memory then finish this by praying:

Lord, I release all these people to you and my right to seek revenge. I choose not to hold on to my bitterness and anger and I ask you to heal my damaged emotions. In Jesus name I pray. Amen

Hello friend

We hope you had a great week!! Jen and I were on vacation and it was so refreshing. We hiked and just spend time in the wonderful nature God created. I love being there and seeing his creativity. This week we will be back in the full swing of things. If you could pray for us to start of well. Thank you!!

We want to invite you to partner with God and us to bring community to people and through that Gods love in a way they never experienced it before. Right now we are in need of $1.300 more on a monthly base to cover all our cost. Pray about joining our team in this way! You can do it with any amount you would like. Find out more on how by clicking on this link. If you personally cant join us in this way could you share it with family and friends who might be interested in joining. Thank you for your help. Thank you to each one of you who is already part of our team. You are a true blessing!

Spend time with God this week to see if there are still open wounds in your life and ask him to help you forgive!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen
https://youtu.be/dAp9JJjwkFY

This video shares the story of Corrie Teen Boom in her own words that I shared on the top.

Last we week we wrote about forgiveness and how we are called to forgive others. But one part of forgiveness is to forgive ourselves and receive the forgiveness of the father.

I read a series of books about a guy who was really rich and started an organization which had the goal to support nonprofits. He gave away tons of money and helped many people through it. But later on in the books you find out that he mainly did it because he was holding himself responsible for an accident that happened years ago. He was trying to do good things to feel better, but the main thing he needed was forgiveness. He had to forgive himself for that accident. But as soon as he did it, it changed his perspective on things and he was able to totally do everything out of love instead of guilt.

This was just a story, but it’s true for so many people. So many people can’t believe they are worthy and loved because they carry around this hidden lie.

Why? If we don’t forgive ourselves, we walk through life with a feeling of guilt and a feeling that we are not worthy to be loved. Sometimes that makes us do good things just to show that we are worthy. We believe that His forgiveness is not good enough for us. It reminds me again of that quote of Brennan Manning that I wrote about A few weeks ago: “God loves you unconditionally. He loves you as you are and not as you should be. Because none of us is as they should be.”  We need to come to a place where we can receive Gods love and in turn it enables us to forgive ourselves.

Ask yourself those questions:

1. In which areas of my life do I have to forgive myself and believe God has forgiven me?
2. If you haven’t done so ask God for forgiveness and also receive his forgiveness!
3. Ask him to show you his love for you personally in a new way!

Hello friend

How was your week? Send us an update on your life!! We had a bay area YWAM Meeting this week and talked more about a conference that we are hosting in April. People from all over the world will come to learn and exchange ideas with each other on how to bring Gods love to their cities and make an impact. It will be a great week. Pray that the right people will come. This week Jen and I will be on a little vacation. We are excited to just be refreshed!

We want to invite you to partner with God and us to bring community to people and through that Gods love in a way they never experienced it before. Right now we are in need of $1.300 more on a monthly base to cover all our cost. Pray about joining our team in this way! You can do it with any amount you would like. Find out more on how by clicking on this link. If you personally cant join us in this way could you share it with family and friends who might be interested in joining. Thank you for your help. Thank you to each one of you who is already part of our team. You are a true blessing!

Don’t forget to start forgiving yourself!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Many years ago the movie superman returns was released. At one part in the movie Lois Lane wrote an article about how the world doesn’t need a Savior and Superman sees it. Shortly after that this conversation takes place:

Superman: Listen. What do you hear?
Lois Lane: Nothing.
Superman: I hear everything. You wrote that the world doesn’t need a savior. But everyday I hear people crying for one.

Intended or not the movie speaks the truth. Many people in the world are struggling. Many people are looking for someone or something that can help them through this time. Why are super hero movies so popular? Because people look at the heroes and it stirs up hope in them. Every person in the world wants a savior if they know it or not.

In a few days we celebrate Easter, the time when Jesus became the greatest hero of all time. He went so far to sacrifice his life for people that didn’t even deserve it Romans 5.8 just so they can be saved and reconciled with the father. Wow that is good news. Guess what: Each of us is one of them. And each person on this planet that doesn’t know him yet is one of them as well. So let’s use this Easter time to share with people the good news. There is a Savior out there who can really save you for good. Not just for the 80 or 90 years we live on this planet, no but for eternity. He is alive!!

Ask yourself:

1. Who is the person or people you want to share with?
2. Ask the father to show you a way on how to share it with them so they can understand.

Have a blessed and happy Easter!! He is alive!!

Hey our friend

Our week in San Francisco was great. We had a prayer time with a friend, I (Markus) was in a board meeting for the base, we had a neighborhood watch meeting and also celebrated the birthday of one of our friends. But of course we had all the usual things as well, but I don’t write about those as much since you already heard of them. This week is Easter. If you get a chance watch the movie Son of God to get your focus and mind towards what really matters. Jen and I really liked it.

Would you like to partner with us in a financial way? Right now we are in need of $1.300 more on a monthly base to cover all our cost. Pray about joining our team in this way! You can do it with any amount you would like. Find out more on how by clicking on this link. If you personally cant join us in this way could you share it with family and friends who might be interested in joining. Thank you for your help. Thank you to each one of you who is already part of our team. You are a true blessing!

Share the good news of Easter with someone this week!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen

Next Sunday is Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey while being celebrated by many. They ripped down pieces of palm trees to cover the streets to make it even more triumphal. But shortly after that probably the same people screamed out loud to have Jesus crucified. Why? Because He didn’t fulfill the expectations they had on him. Their idea was to have a life of freedom from the romans through his Kingship. But God had a way greater plan, eternal freedom. But if you are in a hard season in life like the people in that time, it is sometimes really hard to look at the bigger picture and its easy to be moved by circumstances.

But how can we change that? We need to keep looking at God and stay in close relationship with Him. Jesus said it himself I only do the things that I see the father doing (John 5.19). But the only way to do that is a daily connection with the Father.

Let us ask ourselves those questions.

1. What are things we are expecting of God?
2. What are things that didn’t come through the way we planned it? Did we ask God why?
3. Did we ask Him about the bigger picture?

It is important to ask those questions and to know what we stand for. If we don’t, it can be really easy to sway us away. Let’s not lose our focus on the things that really matter!

Hey our friend

We hope you had a  great week. We had a great German night, a wonderful game night, a celebration for 2 years encouragement group, a big fundraiser and a North Beach Team Staff Day. It was an eventful week, but amazing. Only 2 more weeks till Easter and we are making plans to celebrate it with our friends from our building. Maybe invite some friends over to your house for your Easter Celebration.

Would you like to partner with us in a financial way? Right now we are in need of $1.300 more on a monthly base to cover all our cost. Pray about joining our team in this way! You can do it with any amount you would like. Find out more on how by clicking on this link. If you personally cant join us in this way could you share it with family and friends who might be interested in joining. Thank you for your help. Thank you to each one of you who is already part of our team. You are a true blessing!

Refocus this week and make sure to keep your eyes on the bigger picture!

Have a blessed week

Markus and Jen