Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Broken but Forgiven" for Saturday, 27 September 2014 - Read Colossians 1:9-14

Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Broken but Forgiven" for Saturday, 27 September 2014 - Read Colossians 1:9-12 Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.
13-14 God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.
[God has] brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.(Colossians 1:13-14 (NIV))
One summer, my husband and I arrived home from a road trip to find large cracks in a window of our apartment. We learned that while playing with friends in the nearby courtyard, a young neighbor had kicked a ball that broke the window.
The boy was usually playing outside with other children, but now he was nowhere to be seen. We went to his home where he hesitantly came to the door, eyes downcast and shoulders slumped.
“We heard about the ball. It was an accident; it could happen to anybody,” we said.“ We forgive you.”The boy straightened. His eyes came up to meet ours, and he smiled.
When we make mistakes it’s easy to wrestle with shame and withdraw from our world. We may feel like we don’t deserve to be loved by God or anyone else. We sometimes have the sense that our faults are so big that they can’t be forgiven.
But God sent Jesus Christ to die for us and redeem us. This grace covers us. We can hold our heads up high and meet the future with confidence and the certainty that even in our brokenness, God forgives us.
Read more from the author.
"Rise Above It"
At 5:30 on a clear-as-blue-glass-sky June morning, photographers hailed tethered hot air balloons preparing to launch at the Tigard, Oregon Festival of Balloons. The seventeen heaven-bound balloons beamed at us, every color of the rainbow. Soon, the red, yellow, orange, blue, purple, green, and gold orbs lit up the morning sky.
Spiritual parallel: Gas heats air inside the balloon to 212°. The hot air inside, lighter and less dense than the cool air that surrounds it, lifts the balloon.  Likewise, as we let go of offenses, with a warmer, less dense attitude of forgiveness, we become buoyant.
God invites us to pray from heaven to earth. Instead of looking at circumstances with our own limited feet-on-the-ground view, the Holy Spirit inspires us to perceive,  think, and speak as God does—from above. When we’re tempted to be discouraged with those who let us down, we can reframe the situation by praying: Holy Spirit, what’s going on? What must I shift in my thinking to see him or her like You do?
In what area are you able to gain a godly perspective with the upward lift of the Holy Spirit? When you pray from above, what do you gain?  What do others gain?
The 45th Parallel is a series of blog posts that explores spiritual parallels in everyday sights. I invite you to email  a photo you’ve taken and tell how it illustrates overcoming; forgiving; encouraging; or our relationship with God. It may be featured in an upcoming blog post!(Lynn Hare)

Lynn Hare,, author and teacher, enthusiastically writes about overcoming, forgiving, encouraging, and discovering spiritual parallels in everyday life. A member of Oregon Christian Writers, she lives in Portland with her husband, Tim, of thirty-three years. Her inspirational pieces appear in numerous Christian periodicals. You can find Lynn’s messages at www.lynnhare.com or on Facebook.
The Author
Lynn Hare (Oregon)
Thought for the Day:
God’s mercy precedes our mistakes.
Prayer: Dear God, when we are feeling discouraged with our shortcomings and doubts, thank you for believing in us. Amen.
Prayer focus: Those who struggle with shame
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