Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Dealing With Past Failure And Guilt
But with you (speaking to God) there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. Psalm 130:4 ESV
A student caught cheating on an exam, stops going to church. A mother of a child with disabilities lives in constant torment, convinced that God is punishing her child because she lived with her husband for a year before they were married and conceived her child during that time. A senior citizen–the victim of three heart attacks–sends a large check to a man who was his business partner forty years before with a terse note saying, “I had to get this off my chest before I meet my maker…”
All three face a common problem–a troubled conscience producing guilt that tears apart their hearts and lives. Many today, not understanding the nature of God’s forgiveness, live lives that are full of frustration and self-condemnation. Take for instance, the man who wrote and said, “I am the most frustrated, confused, defeated individual you will ever hear about. I have a wonderful family, wife, 3 boys, and 1 daughter, all saved, yet I am so miserable. You said something on your program that may be the key to my need. You talked about forgiving yourself…. I just cannot forgive myself for…” He then went on to mention something that had happened years before.
Those skeletons in the closet keep making their lethal forays, stealing our peace of mind and leaving their muddy footprints in our lives. Most messages such as I have just mentioned revolve around moral problems, usually ones that took place a long time ago. They all result from the failure really to understand the nature of God’s forgiveness, which results in the inability to forgive yourself.
The next two minutes can free you from the shackles of a burdened conscience. Observe carefully. First–the case for God’s forgiveness is found in the pages of the Bible. If the Bible is true, as I believe it is, then forgiveness is based upon the nature and character of God Himself. In the pages of Scripture, God promises forgiveness to us provided we turn from our sin to a Savior and confess our need for forgiveness. Have you settled it in your mind that God would not lie? If you have, the next question you must ask is: Did I confess my failure to God?
David, a man who knew the guilt of moral failure, wrote, “But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.” (Psalms 130:4, NIV). Isaiah spoke of God, saying, “He will abundantly pardon,” (Isaiah 55:7). Micah wrote, “He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19, ESV). The New Testament says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Did you confess your failure? Some of you could say, “I have asked God to forgive me hundreds of times!” Well, did He do it? He promised to. Suppose your son came to you and said, “I did wrong, Dad, and I want you to forgive me,” and you said, “It is all right, son. I forgive you.” If he came to you the next day and said the same thing, and the next day, wouldn’t you say, “Son, I told you yesterday that I forgave you. It’s settled!”
Surely God must feel the same way when we refuse to accept the fact that when He forgives us, as though we had never sinned. Forgiving yourself is tremendously important, too.
Resource reading: Psalm 51:1-19
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/dealing-with-past-failure-and-guilt/
Hospitals told to beef up infection control as more health workers catch COVID-19
The Department of Health on Wednesday urged hospitals to implement tighter infection prevention and control policies as many health workers were infected with COVID-19 amid surge in infections.
"Because COVID-19 cases are increasing, many of our health-care workers got sick. That's why we are implementing stricter infection prevention and control management in each of our hospitals," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told Teleradyo in Filipino.
Data from DOH showed that new coronavirus infections among healthcare workers reached their highest weekly tally in the last 6 months.
From April 4 to April 10, the Philippines reported 399 new COVID-19 cases among medical frontliners. Of the new cases, almost half or 170 were nurses, 53 were doctors and 22 were medical technologists.
Coronavirus-related fatalities among healthcare workers also increased by 4 after not having any recorded deaths for more than a month.
To date, the total number of health-care workers who have contracted COVID-19 reached 16,510. Of those, 86 died and 628 are currently infected. The rest have recovered.
In the interview, Vergeire said the DOH regularly provided hospitals personal protective equipment (PPE) and other resources.
Health-care facilities are also urged to regularly test their employees for COVID-19, she added. The tests could be done every 15 days or every month.
Vergeire said the government also provided health-care workers additional incentives, additional hazard pay and risk allowance.
Medical frontliners must also be given accommodation and free meals when they are on duty, she added.
Funding source for Bayanihan 3 yet to be finalized, says solon
Economic managers have yet to find funding sources for the country's proposed third stimulus package for COVID-19 worth P420 billion, a lawmaker said Wednesday.
Lawmakers met with economic managers on Friday to discuss the matter and are expecting a list of potential fund sources by this week, said Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo.
"Ang main obstacle talaga is yung pagfinalize ng ating funding sources. Kapag yan po ay maplantsa na palagay ko mabilis na ang pag-approve, she told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.
(The main obstacle is finalizing our funding sources. When it's finalized, approving the measure will be quick.)
Government can get funding from savings under the 2020 budget, some P280 billion of which were not used as of December, according to Quimbo.
Another source could be savings of government-owned or controlled companies, she said. The administration can also borrow from the central bank, she added.
Under the proposed Bayanihan 3, a P1,000 cash assistance will be given to each Filipino, while aid will also be given to those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic and owners of micro, small, and medium enterprises, according to Quimbo.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/14/21/funding-source-for-bayanihan-3-yet-to-be-finalized-says-solon
Authorities shut down site illegally mining gold in Camarines Sur
A gold mining site allegedly operating illegally in Lagonoy town, Camarines Sur, was shut down by police and military on Tuesday.
The Joint Task Force Bicolandia said in a statement that about 200 mining shafts, 10 water pumps and generator sets were confiscated from the small-scale mining site in Sitio Pagsimbugan in Barangay Mapid, after being tipped off about the site, which allegedly operated without permit.
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) said besides the absence of a mining license, operators of the mine also violated Section 103 of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, specifically mineral theft.
The agency collected a sample from the site to verify if gold was really sourced from the area.
Police Brig. Gen. Bartolome Bustamante, director of Police Regional Office 5, said his office will implement a cease and desist order.
Authorities alleged that a communist terrorist group at the helm of the mining operation was also behind illegal logging activities in the area, citing the lumber seen at the mine.
Bustamante did not specify further.
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