Jimmy drank too much at the party and embarrassed his wife Lisa. Next morning he felt bad and asked her to forgive him. She said she would, yet she kept bringing it up. One day, in discouragement, he said, "I thought you were going to forgive and forget." She said, "I have, I just don't want you to forget that I have forgiven and forgotten." Do you forgive like that?

Keeping score only works in competitive sports; it's disastrous in relationships. There's so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us, that we'll spend much of our lives learning to forgive and forget. And forgetting is harder when the offence is great. Small offences can be forgiven quickly; big ones require a healing process. But until you make the decision to forgive, the process can't even begin. How can you "Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you"? Paul answers, "Clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others" (Colossians 3:12-13 NLT). To practise this kind of forgiveness you must focus on a person's worth, not their weaknesses. You must turn your heart away from what was, to what can be.

Reconciliation. It is and has been the sweeping expanse of God's movement through history. Satan and sin separates; God brings back together.

God is in the reconciling business. First, He's reconciling the world to Himself in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:19). Secondly, He's reconciling us to each other.

"So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, [neither Republican nor Democrat, (and anything else you may want to put in here that can divide us, like Catholic and Protestant, home-schooler and public schooler, Caucasian and African-American, Hispanic and Asian, mega-church and home church)] for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26-28)

Christ Jesus creates family. He wants us all together. He wants us to resolve conflict, find common ground, downplay our differences, put ourselves in each other's shoes, and learn how to be all things to all people. And by the way, that is not Christian people he's talking about being all things to. Paul says he wants to be all things to all people that he might by all means save some, so he's talking about people who are not saved. He's talking about so identifying with unbelievers that his identification with them will help them eventually come to a place of belief. That would mean understanding why people don't believe instead of calling them out for not believing. This erases the "us/them" kind of mentality common in so many Christian circles -- an "us/them" mentality that has given us a bad name among unbelievers.

It's "us and them" that makes us judgmental. It's "us and them" that sets us apart in our own minds. It's "us and them" that always leaves someone out. It's "us and them" that makes us haughty.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What You Bring in the Door."

Now, David was in the middle of an unforgettable experience as we read 1 Chronicles 16. He had led the Jewish people in bringing the holiest object in the world to the new capitol of Jerusalem. It was the ark of God. This was the center of the Lord's personal presence on earth at this point in spiritual history. After years of its being gone, David leads in the return of the ark and he sets up a tremendous leadership structure and worship program that everyone was just beginning to celebrate. But he left behind him memorable events in Jerusalem to go on another mission - he went home.

Our word for today from the Word of God, 1 Chronicles 16:43, "Then all the people left, each for his own home, and David returned home to bless his family." Not only did David bring blessing in public ministry, he brought blessing with him when he walked in the door at home. Do you? You see, each day when you return to your family from wherever you were that day you bring something in the door with you - stress, tension, or peace. Selfishness and looking to have your own needs met, or unselfishness - looking to help people meet their needs. Do you bring positive, encouraging talk, or negative, critical talk? Do you bring coldness or affection?

In many ways you set a tone when you walk in the door and you'll probably have to live with that tone for hours to come. After a stressful day it's just human nature to walk in with a pretty self-focused mind set, carrying the garbage of the day, which we then proceed to dump all over our loved ones! But, wouldn't you like to put your name in our word for today? "________ returned home to bless his or her family."