One of the most powerful aspects of the Gospel is God’s forgiveness. Theologians describe God with the word omniscience. It means he has all knowledge and wisdom past, present, and future. It is said that nothing is hidden from God. The scriptures declare that he knows the end from the beginning. Yet, when talking about God’s forgiveness of sin the Bible uses several descriptors that show he chooses to forget what he forgives. Read these verses again and let the message of forgiveness sink in. 

Psalm 103:12 “¹²as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (NIV)  

Micah 7:18-19 “¹⁸ Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. ¹⁹ You will again have compassion on us you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. (NIV)

Isaiah 43:25 “²⁵I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” (NIV)

Isaiah 44:22 “²² I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me,for I have redeemed you.” (NIV)

There are many other passages that speak of his forgiveness but for sake of space I will only reference a couple more: Read Isaiah 12:1-2 and 2 Corinthians 5:17-21. Perhaps the most amazing thing about grace is that because of it, God chooses to not remember our sins, transgressions, iniquities, and failures. He chooses to forgive and forget. 

Another mind-boggling aspect of forgiveness is just how unbliblical unforgiveness is. In fact, unforgiveness is so unlike God that the word unforgiveness does not even appear in the Bible. Go ahead and check… See, I told you. It is not in there. A further mind-boggling truth is that unforgiveness is so unlike God, that he warns believers that we must be as willing to forgive others as he is to forgive us. A refusal to do so, moves us away from God’s forgiveness. To see this spelled out in scripture read: Matthew 6:14-15, Mark 11:25-26, Matthew 7:1-2, Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13, James 2:13, and the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:21-35. 

Every day that we live on this earth we make choices.  Things happen, we make decisions, and that shapes our life.  It’s that simple, but do we put enough thought into how we react to things that happen to us?

WE have all faced trials and have wrestled through the struggles of life. 

Some our struggles are extremely tragic … some, by comparison, are less traumatic. But they are all real … the Bible refers to these struggles as trials. 

Trials = struggles; adversity; affliction; sorrow. 

They are inevitable – “Whenever” not if 

They are unpredictable – “Face trials” – 

They are not all the same – “Many kinds” – Idea of multi-colored trials – They come in all shapes and sizes.  

The Illustration of the potato, egg and coffee bean.

You can put all three into a pot of hot boiling water.  They will face the same test of hot water but yet you will get three different results.

The potato went in strong, hard and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak. 

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

In life, things happen around us, and things happen to us. The only thing that truly matters is your choice of how you react to it and what you make of it. Learn, adapt and choose to make the best of each experience.

Pastor B

Brian Whitelock 

Youth and Discipleship Director

Church of God in Hawaii

-Prayer Force Focus for the Weeks of

September 24 – October 07, 2023

Pastor Manuel and Petra Padilla

Sinai Church of God

Aiea, Oahu

PASTOR’S PRAYER AND PRAISE

·        We need prayer for the souls coming to church, and for wisdom and evangelism.

·        We also would like prayer for the Hispanic community in Hawaii.

·        I would also love prayer for my kidney transplant. 

PRAYER NEEDS ACROSS THE STATE

·        Pray for Brother Winston Elliot as he has suffered a fall that required hospitalization and he also contracted COVID-19

·        Pray for the people of Maui and the Lahaina church in their ongoing efforts to rebuild their lives after the wildfires. 

·        Continue to pray for Brother Tom Tioaquen for his ongoing health

·        Pray for Pastor Brown’s ongoing health concerns.

·        Pray for Sister Claudia as she ministers in her church

·        Pray for Pastor Hoopai for her ongoing heart condition

·        Pray that Brother Padilla can find a suitable organ donor for him as he undergoes dialysis for several hours every day.

May God bless you abundantly for your faithfulness.

In Christ's love,

Pastor Evan and Lucy Palmer

Prayer Force Leaders