The Discipline of Forgiving

   There are times where people hurt us. People lie, people betray, people don’t listen, people don’t seem to care, and much more. We are all sinful beings. We are not perfect. We all make mistakes. But, when someone does make a mistake or hurt us, what are we to do? Simple answer: forgive. Simple yes, but not always easy to do.

   One time a friend of mine hurt me. The friend lied to me. In my heart, after the friend told me, I had already forgiven them. I had prepared my heart for such a thing to happen in advance. That doesn’t mean that I wasn’t still hurt by the friend’s actions. It just means I was able to extend mercy in that moment. 

   Other than the hurt and a bit of anger, the biggest thing I struggled with after the event was guarding my heart. I had been hurt by my friend. Trust had to be rebuilt. There was a time where guarding my heart was easy. But as the friend began to show how remorseful they were, I began to break my guard down. I wanted to let them back in. I wanted to trust them. But how could I? Wasn’t a time of discipline needed for that friend to understand what they did to me?

   I had to find a balance. I am not my friend’s judge, God is. I had to follow Hebrews 12:11 “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 had to keep my heart disciplined. Again, trust had to be rebuilt.

   I also had to remember Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.” I have failed as well. I made mistakes and God’s mercy was extended to me. The discipline was not mine to give. God is the judge. He had already forgiven my friend, but that didn’t mean that growth was not needed. That didn’t mean that my friend would not have to go through a time of discipline from God. 

   Healing was needed for both my friend and me. When I had gotten through my mourning, confusion, and anger I had felt peace. I felt the spirit in my heart again. What my friend did was wrong, but in the end, it made both of us stronger. It helped us both grow in our spiritual walks.

So, when someone wrongs you, what do you do? Is there anyone you need to forgive?

Vlog link: https://youtu.be/MpnUBCxBZe8 

Mountains of Bloomsburg Finale: Choices Made

   Ahda and you reach the stone bridge that goes across the lava. You walk across and see Ubel step out. Ubel smiles and looks at Ahda. "Ah, I have waited a long time for you my friend." Then Ubel looks at you, "we had a deal. My servants will help you get home." Little creatures who looked like Ubel came out and led me toward trees on Ubel's side of the lava river. You kept going past trees and suddenly a branch grabs you, then another, and another. You realize you've been tricked. 
   Now you watch helplessly as Ahda is with Ubel. Ahda steps forward, "why did you want me to come here?" "I just wanted to talk with you and see if I could help you out." Ahda raised his eyebrows, "How could you help me? Gottes has given me everything already." "Everything?" Ubel remarked. Ahda sighs, "Well he has not given us your area of the mountain." "That's right, Gottes has given you dominion over all of his creation... except for my area." 
   Ahda glances over at Ubel's area. Right now you see Ubel, his minions, and his dominion for what it really is: a wasteland. You try to scream to Ahda to run but the tree covers your mouth. Ahda looks and sees lush, green trees. He sees golden fruit as well.
   "You do have a very nice area, but Gottes has given us so much." Ubel nods his head,"yes, but he has not given you everything." Ubel pulls a golden fruit out of nowhere and bites into it. Juice dribbles down his mouth and he licks his lips. "Haven't you ever wondered why I am able to do what Gottes can do? Why I am able to grant wishes just like Gottes?" Ahda nods and looks at the fruit in Ubel's hand.
   "I can do that because I have knowledge. Whoever eats fruit from my dominion has knowledge like Gottes. Would you like some fruit?" Ahda grabs the fruit, "Gottes told us not to eat your fruit but it looks good." "Why wouldn't Gottes want you to have what is good? Why wouldn't he want you to have knowledge like him?" Ubel says. 
   You watch in horror as Ahda bites the fruit. The juice dribbles down his face. Suddenly Ubel jumps on Ahda. Ubel's minions race away from you and across the bridge. You realize you've made a horrible mistake. 
   From the sky you see a flash of light then you hear the crack of wood breaking. Jordan, the Engel, has set you free. He takes you to the very top of a mountain. "What has happened?" You ask. Jordan frowns, "Ubel now has dominion over the mountains because Ahda disobeyed Gottes." "What can we do?" Jordan looks down the mountain at the destruction. "We cannot do anything." "Then it is hopeless?" "No, Gottes has a plan" Jordan said has he touches your head.
   Your mind suddenly sees a man who was unlike any other man. This man died to defeat Ubel. You did not understand why another man's death would defeat Ubel but then you see the man raised to life. The man the crushes Ubel. You see many people following this man and being saved from Ubel. You also see Engels and Ubel's minions fighting each other for all eternity. Then Ubel is finally defeated.
   Your mind comes back to Jordan. "What do we do now?" "Choose to follow Gottes and tell others about him." You look down at the village and see a massive dragon like creature destroy the entire village. "Where will we live?" "Wherever Gottes calls you to. He will be with you, if you choose to follow him."
   Would you have chosen to eat the fruit to gain knowledge? Would you have followed God back then though it would be harder now? Will you tell others about what God has done for them?

   Proverbs 14:12, Genesis 3, Galatians 2:20

Mountains of Bloomsburg Part 4: Helping Ubel

   Ahda, Kaine, Abek, and you continue walking through the mountains. The terrain has gotten rougher and you are running out of supplies. You begin to wonder if this trip is truly worth it. 
   As you walk you think about the conversation you had with the tree and then with Ahda. He told you that Gottes created everything and provides much for us. But Ubel, who was once an Engel, turned on Gottes. Now Ubel tries to defeat Gottes through the people that Gottes created. That's the reason why no one goes into the mountains, because Ubel's dominion is there.
   Ahda suddenly stops, "we should probably get some rest for the night." You, and the rest of the crew, lay down. You try to sleep but can't. You realize that you can no longer put any of these men in danger, but you must get home. You quietly grab your pack and continue on. 
   You turn a corner after walking a while and see a rushing, river of lava. There is a stone bridge that goes across the lava river. Against your better judgement you walk across the bridge till you reach the other side; but you don't step off the bridge because you see someone move on the other side.
   "Come out!" You yell. A golden creature comes around the mountain. It had the feet of a cow but stood up like a man. Its torso and head looked like a man as well, "hello." The creature said. "Who are you?" "My name is Ubel." Realization comes to your face. This is the creature that turned on Gottes. It is also the creature that could help you get home.
   Ubel smiles, "I am not what you were expecting?" You shake your head. The bull legs are a little odd but he was beautiful. "Why have you come here?" "I need to get home." Ubel nods, "I see, and Gottes did not answer your request." Again you shake your head. "Well I would love to help you. See, I'm not like Gottes who does not answer requests I like to help others."
   Your heart starts pounding. You realize that you could be going home now, but you also have a knot in your stomach. You know something is not right but you want what you want. "Will you send me home now?" "Friend, I would love to do that but I cannot." "Why not?" You say as your hope begins to fade. "My power is very limited here and I do not like to use it if I do not have to. But, if you could do something for me in return then perhaps I could help you." 
   You know that you could turn back now. You could go back to Ahda and then back to the village. But instead you say, "what do you want?" "Bring Ahda to me. I wish to talk with him about how things are going in the village. Perhaps I can help him as well." Now you are confused, "you want me to get Ahda so you can help the village?" "Yes, I want to be able to help Ahda gain understanding. I am contained to this area of the mountains. I have so few people to talk to and help. But if Ahda comes, and sees how helpful I can be, then I may have a friend to talk to and share knowledge with."
   You think about the deal. That's not so bad; Ubel is trying to be helpful. You wonder why people say that Ubel is so bad. He seems to want to give people what they want. Then you remember the tree's words about how Ubel is evil. You look back at Ubel and suddenly see a bull with matted, black hair standing up. His eyes are red and his nostrils are flaring. You rub your eyes and open them again. Ubel had changed back to the gold bull man.
   "You just want to share knowledge with Ahda?" Ubel nods. "Fine, I will bring him to you," you say. Then you turn around and head back to camp. You hope you made the right choice.
   If you could get whatever you desired by helping Ubel would you choose to follow him? Are you ever tricked by something that seems good but is actually bad? How can you remember to follow God no matter what?  

   Proverbs 14:12, Proverbs 16:9, Isaiah 30:21

Mountains of Bloomsburg Part 3: On the Fence

   You continue walking through the forest. As you walk, you have a tight grip on your sword. You have no idea what you may meet in this place.
   You come to a clearing and you see a tree. You put your sword away and walk over to the tree. Then you remember how Ahda said that "things that seem normal in the mountains probably are not normal, or safe." You do not want to risk getting hurt by going into the clearing. You see a stick that must have fallen from the tree, pick it up, and run back to Kaine.
   Ahda breathe a sigh of relief as he sees you come back. He asks you, "do you have the stick needed to heal Kaine?" You hold up the stick. Ahda looks at it and frowns, "you must get a branch that was just pulled off the tree. This one doesn't have sap. Please go back to where you found this and ask the tree for a small stick. Kaine is getting worse."
   You quickly run off but your thoughts go back to your conversation with Ahda. He said to ask the tree for a stick... why would you need to ask the tree? You try not to think about it.
   Finally you make it back to the clearing. You draw your sword and slowly walk up to the tree. "Excuse me," you say in a soft voice, "are you home?" No one answers and you breathe a sigh of relief. 
   Suddenly, a face appears near the trunk of the tree, "who disturbs my slumber?" You try to back up quickly but a branch lashes out and grabs you. The tree picks you up and looks at you, "I have not seen something like you in a long time. What is your name?" You whisper your name to the tree. The tree nods, "and whose side are you on?"
   Now you are confused, whose side are you on? What does that mean? The tree is still staring at you so you figure you should answer. "What do you mean, whose side am I on?" The tree just stares at your for a little, "I mean that everyone has a choice. You are either on Ubel's side or on Gottes' side." 
   Realization comes to your face. Ahda mentioned these two people before and said that in the mountains the danger of the war from both of these sides is real. You realize that if you answer this question wrong you could die. "I am on no one's side." The tree shook his head, which was actually like shaking his whole body. "If you are not on a side you are on Ubel's side." You shake your head, "I am not a part of this war. I just want to save my friend. Please help me save him." 
   The tree sighs, "I can tell that there is no trying to reason with you. I encourage you to ask more questions of your friends who are here. You must learn more about this if you are to survive the mountain. For your friend, you may take one of my branches." 
   The tree sets you down and reaches a branch out. You break off a branch and the tree squeezes his eyes in pain. "Thank you," you say. "Don't thank me, thank Gottes who provies." You nod and run back toward Ahda and Kaine. You just may have to ask more about this war...
   If the tree asked you "whose side are you on," what would your answer have been? If you don't know whose side you are on will you ask more questions to figure out whose side you want to be on?

   Revelation 3:15-16, Matthew 12:30, Matthew 5:13

Mountains of Bloomsburg Part 2: Clakes and Fear

   You walk through the village searching for the man you just met. Suddenly you see Ron and you run up to him. Ron smiles at you, "How are you doing today?" You smile back and say, "I'm doing well but I have a problem. Can you help me navigate my way through the dark side of the mountain? I need to get home." Ron's smile turns into a frown, "no one ever goes into that part of the mountains, it is forbidden." 
   A man who was walking by comes over to you, "hello my name is Ahda. I couldn't help but overhear, I have never been in that part of the mountains but I've studied it. I could help you." You agree to have Ahda help you and some other men, Kaine and Abek, agree to come.
   You walk through the mountains. You turn around and take one last look at the village. Suddenly it gets really dark. Ahda turns around, "it normally is dark in this part of the mountains." He hands you a torch. Kaine and Abek take out torches as well. You take the time to light the torches and continue on. You wonder if you will ever reach Ubel's part of the mountain. 
   Ahda stops, "it is night, we should stop to rest." You look at the sky. It looks the same as it did an hour ago, dark. Ahda smiles, "I kept an eye on the few shadows you can see in the mountains. That's how you know what time it is. Kaine will take the first watch. You should get some rest while you can." 
   You lay down and close your eyes. No sooner do you do that than you hear someone scream. You wake up and see Kaine grabbing his leg. Ahda turns to you, "he was bitten by a Clake." "What is a Clake?" You ask. "It is a creature that crawls on its belly, has 2 legs along each of its sides, has leathery wings, and sharp fangs. When it bites you it makes you see your greatest fears. The only cure is sap from one of the trees on this side of the forest." 
   Ahda put some cloth over Kaine's wound. "I need you and Abek to go look for a tree and bring back a stick with sap in it when you find one."
   You and Abek run off. You hope that Kaine will be alright. All you can think about is the fact that if he dies it will be your fault.
   Would you have agreed to go on a hard journey with strangers? Who do you go through the journey of life with? If the Clake bit you, what would you see? How can you stop having that fear?

   Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 119:105, Isaiah 41:10