This Easter, I’m undone as I consider the forgiveness of Christ. I can’t help but to feel all the feels every time I read about the crucifixion of Christ.

As we ponder this week, let’s ask Jesus a few questions. I believe it’s this Easter that He is walking us into greater freedom and hope. Sit in your prayer time with your journal. Take each of these questions that I'm posting below to the Lord. Then just listen and follow the prompting in your heart.

Pray: Jesus, thank you for the new covenant. Thank you for your precious blood that sealed my deliverance and freedom 2,000 years ago. Thank you for the stripes upon your body that heal my body. Thank you for showing me the way to live and love.

Jesus, I want to experience greater freedom this Easter and live in your promises. 

Q: Jesus, I want to start with me. Do I need to forgive myself? Do I need to forgive any past offence, shame, guilt or action that is keeping me in bondage or regret? (Write them down and the confess, repent and ask for forgiveness. Then joyfully say: I receive your forgiveness. Then ask again until nothing else comes to mind.)

Q: Jesus, are there any past offences, pain, or hatred I carry toward another person? (Repeat the process above.)

Work your way through this process in the quiet of your prayer time.

Now here is the REAL TRUTH. This type of prayer takes work. This process takes time. I find most Christians won’t do it on their own. It takes courage and often tears to work through this. It takes significant effort to really pray effectively. So my question to you is, will you do it?

Here is the REAL, REAL TRUTH. This process works. Make the time. It’s worth every effort of prayer to step into greater peace, greater freedom, and GREAT LOVE.

On Friday we will look at the last area of forgiveness that most believers don’t know they need.

Okay, please someone share with me. Is this series helpful? I know it’s deep but it is truly the Christian life. This is the path of wisdom. This is the path toward freedom. This is holiness.

See you in the comments. Blessings, great encouragement and love, Lynn

What I know for Sure: Scriptures and how to view our emotions and how to walk out our faith. How to trust God for your loved ones.

Take a listen to this short message. Have a brilliant day!

The Forgiveness of Easter

SUMites, what if we prayed and we witnessed supernatural healing? What if we pray and we send back a hurricane? What if we pray and demons flee, or we pray and see life return?

I want all of these things to occur when I pray and I believe we are able to participate in these miracles because I’ve experienced most of them. I share some details about these stories in the book, Enforcer.

What does forgiveness prayer really look like? Could our unsaved spouse perhaps be saved? Do we need to forgive our unsaved spouse, family member, unsaved neighbors?

It appears obvious that when we look to the cross, we witness the forgiveness of our sins. We know, as believers, that Jesus died, shed His blood, making atonement, that we are forgiven by the Father. Our Father then welcomes us home from the badlands of prodigal living and rebellion.

But I want to direct our study to another person that day on a cross. A criminal, a guilty man, who was crucified next to Christ.

Luke 23: 38-43 And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”

40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Remember earlier in the day Jesus says this, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Luke 23:34

It's mind blowing to me that as Jesus hangs, tortured on the cross paying for this convicted criminal’s sins, he's asking the Father to forgive him. And in a simple response to the man who asks to be remembered, Jesus says to him, 

The law of forgiveness is in full effect and demonstrated here. And what is fascinating is this man didn’t need to make a profession of faith. He wasn’t baptized or sprinkled. He merely asked to be remembered and Jesus speaks, assuring him of his eternal salvation in that moment.

This implores me to pause and consider the great compassion of our God. It makes me ponder just how wide and long and how far-reaching is the forgiveness of Christ. I’m compelled to consider that there may be many who are saved but not living like we expect but Jesus loves them and we will see them in heaven.

Jesus hung on a cross for them. He shed His blood to redeem many. He came to show us the way and many will find their way even if we don’t understand how this works here on earth.

Hmmmmmm, the things that make you ponder the Kingdom of God and our Lord Jesus this Easter.

I hope this helps you to ponder the depths of forgiveness and what happens when we choose to forgive others. Perhaps our forgiveness opens the door for a person to receive Jesus.

Wow, just Wow.

Oaky, thoughts? See you in the comments. Blessings, Lynn

Hello, dear friends. Ian from autumnal Sydney here. Autumn is my favourite season and even though we’re almost halfway through it, we’re only beginning to feel those early morning chills that remind us that summer is past, and a new season is upon us.

How has Lent been for you all?

It’s a healthy practice to review one’s progress. Even if you haven’t chosen to specifically acknowledge the season or fast, asking yourself the question whether you feel you are drawing closer to God is always a healthy option. Life with God is a long journey, with ups and downs and everything in between. Like any relationship, our one with our Creator follows a similar trajectory as the journey. At times we feel especially close, at other times, perhaps distant and sometimes a little ambivalent.

What we can always be certain of is that God never leaves us, even if He is quiet. His Word tells us this: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Stepping out of the Wilderness

Even though wilderness seasons can be long; we only must look at the 40 years the Israelites experienced before stepping into the promised land; they will come to an end.

Last week’s lectionary readings for the Fourth week of Lent spent some time in the book of Isaiah where the prophet shared some good news for those of us who are wandering in the wilderness. Read along with me these encouraging words in Isaiah 43:

“I am the Lord, your Holy One,
    the Creator of Israel, your King.”
¹⁶ Thus says the Lord,
    who makes a way in the sea,
    a path in the mighty waters,
¹⁷ who brings forth chariot and horse,
    army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
    they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
¹⁸ “Remember not the former things,
    nor consider the things of old.
¹⁹ Behold, I am doing a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
    and rivers in the desert.
²⁰ The wild beasts will honour me,
    the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness,
    rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
²¹     the people whom I formed for myself
that they might declare my praise.” (v 15-21 ESVUK)

As one commentator said, “When God made a way out of Egypt for the Israelites, he didn’t allow their enemies to follow. Yet if Israel dwelt too much on her past, the painful memories of slavery in Egypt could continue to harm her.

God got his people out of Egypt, now he wants to get Egypt out of them!” (Hannah Heather, 24x7 Lectio 3 April 2025)

As you read these verses (perhaps do it a few times if you’re able) do you get any sense the Lord might be nudging you towards the ‘[new] way he is making in the wilderness’ for you? Isaiah even asks the question, ‘do you perceive it?’ Did you notice that?

Do you perceive something?

May I encourage you to spend some time over these next day’s talking to God about what ‘new thing’ he might be doing for you? Maybe the ‘new thing’ won’t miraculously appear at Easter or even soon after, but I’d encourage you to keep pressing into see what the Lord is sharing with you about what he might be inviting you into.

Would you mind if I pray for us all?

Loving Lord, Holy God, we love you, we worship you. We thank you that you are always at work in and through our lives. You are always inviting us into something new. Please give us ears to hear and hearts to perceive what it may be that you’re inviting each of us into. Lord, we want to know. We want to follow you out of our wilderness and into the promised land that you have for each of us.

Thank you, Lord. We love you, we praise your holy name, Jesus.

Amen.

Happy Easter, my friends Be safe, don’t eat too much chocolate and dig deep through the wonders and challenges of Holy Week, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.

Grace and peace

Ann here!

Some moments in SUM life give me a giggle.

I've recently started going to a new church. This church is very ... jolly, to use a good British word. The music is loud and upbeat, there are flashing lights and colors, and the room is jam-packed with people.

I like it. It's like going to a party for God. The Kingdom of God is joyful, so I embrace this flavor. Here's a photo.

That's me in the white dress in the bottom left corner of the photo. And, in front of me are two women from my life group - strong women of faith -- praising their hearts out.

Bryce finds it funny I go to this lively church; and as I was leaving the house for church two Sundays ago, he said in a dry voice:

Don't get too bouncy now, will you?

He kissed me on my head and off I went.

When I got there, I sat near the front. I looked towards the stage, and there the singer who was directly in front of me was literally bouncing up and down on the spot, to the point she was going airborne with her microphone in hand. I thought of Bryce then and cracked a smile.

Well, I cannot picture many husbands bouncing like that, but I will say that we can find ourselves surprised by joy. One SUMite told me that her hubby went to church with her once, the music got a little jolly, and suddenly there he was clapping his hands. She nearly fell over when she saw that.

Back to us. Like this lady, I will get my bounce on to the Lord. I don't mean literally, but I will gladly ask God to let his joy wash over me and flush through me. It is that joy that helps us survive seasons of grief, like the one I talked about in my last post.

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. 

Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. 

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 

For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations (Psalm 100, NKJV).

The sermon in that church this past week was about joy. It was an excellent sermon. If any of you are struggling to find the joy of the Lord in a current circumstance, you might like to watch it below. I came away from this sermon hugely helped, especially when the pastor said this:

'Is your life being lived as a complaint or a compliment to the Lord?'

Indeed. That led me to ask myself what I focus on when I'm speaking about my life and the things going on in it. Do I praise and speak joy? Or do I complain and rehearse my problems?

My friends, I intend to choose JOY in this current season. 

Have you chosen joy in a circumstance? Let's chat more.

Love,

Ann

Significant Key to Prayer

Hope you read last Friday’s post about prayer because you need that background to unlock this powerful and effective key to answered prayer. Also, all of this teaching is leading up to Easter….. Just wait until I make that connection!!!  It’s stunning.

Okay, let’s read on.

The commonality came to me in a moment of revelation at 5 am on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago.

So here is the summary and the key. Both of these passages in Mark and Matthew are Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray. They have nuances that are powerful and should be followed and language that is effective and works. I know this because I’ve prayed it myself and have watched the answers arrive.

The key here is the interesting and seemingly ignored sentences that follow BOTH of these different instructions to prayer.

And that key is forgiveness.

Mark 11:25-26, Jesus says, “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

Matthew 6;14, Jesus says, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

These prayer models are undergirded by forgiveness. Our effective prayers must begin with forgiving those who have betrayed, those who are cruel, those who anger us, and those who should have protected, but didn’t.

Forgiveness isn’t easy. But it’s necessary. Forgiving others releases ourselves from a spiritual prison we have erected int he spiritual realm. We move from a victim to an overcomer. And in the Kingdom of God, overcomers wield great power and authority in Christ.

What’s challenging is that in our marriage, family, work life, ministry, etc, forgiveness is an ongoing practice. Grrrrrrrr. Sometimes we have to forgive over and over and over. Sometimes we forgive and then set a boundary or establish space between ourselves and an unsafe person. And there are times we need help with forgiveness because our wounding is deep. (Healing Prayer with Lynn Donovan.)

Genuine forgiveness is the key to these effective prayer models.

Let’s now consider something utterly astonishing as we look upon Easter. And it’s not our forgiveness by Christ, (which is utterly astounding) but something else quite interesting. Join me next Friday for the next installment in this series about Easter and Prayer.

Please take two minutes to share with me your thoughts regarding this connection in the comments. Have you prayed through Mark 11. Do you use the Lord’s prayer to pray. What has happened when you prayed this way? See you in the comments. Blessings, Lynn

Hello friends, Ann here

One of the things I've been thinking lately is this:

Understand the season you're in and go with it.

Like a boat on a fast-moving river, God takes us on a journey. Our job is to sit tight, follow safety instructions, and paddle. We'll always be safe!

Different seasons have completely different flavors, right?

Well, currently I'm in a season of grief, which I'll explain in a minute. I have been in this season since August last year, and I hear from God that it will go longer still. This is currently a season where there is sadness and trials, and I'm having to use strategies to fight for my peace.

But, as I write this, I'm OK! I'm writing with a joyful spirit. I'm just telling you how it is.

Let me backtrack and tell you how God warned me of this season back in 2016:

My family and I were on holiday in Samoa, a tiny island nation in the Pacific. Samoa is a rare nation that outwardly follows God, and you see it everywhere. The harbor wall, for example, carries enormous letters saying something about following the Lord. There are life-size crosses in people's gardens, and you see the Holy Spirit mentioned on TV. 

So, while in Samoa that week, I had a week of revelation where I heard God more clearly than normal. It felt like I was in a place where perhaps the Spirit hovered more intensely than in other nations. I knew this place was different, and when I got on the plane to go back to New Zealand I didn't want to leave.

One of the things that happened that week was that my son, Miles, sleep-talked one night and spoke out a phrase in the darkness while we all shared a room. The phrase struck me enough that I quickly grabbed the pen and paper by my bed and wrote it down. It felt like it wasn't just normal sleep-talking. The phrase was this:

There'll be a new grief coming from Malta. It will be significant.

I might be sounding a bit crazy now, LOL, but bear with me.

Fast-forward now, to 2024, and as many of you know, Bryce and I visited Malta for a month. As our trip drew to an end, I dreamt of someone saying to me, "Grief takes 24 months". I remembered the above word from 2016 and said to God, "Am I preparing for a time of grief?" 

Well, two days after leaving Malta, all hell broke loose in my extended family. A number of extremely difficult things happened, all beginning on one weekend. One of those things was so difficult that I had to take a month off from writing for SUM. Some of you might remember that.

It was as if my family unraveled. Every problem seemed to be an unsolvable problem that caused me enormous heartache. 

Several months on, various members of my close family, including both of my parents, are in deep distress with their problems. Consequently, I am in touch with them most days to support them. I am drained. And on some days my heart breaks into a million pieces.

So that is the story in the natural. But remember, God told me it was coming! After Malta, you will experience a big grief, he said, and grief will take 24 months. So I say back to him, "Hey Lord, ok. I'm in this for the ride. Please show what it's about and help me."

This leads me, then, to talk about what do we do when we experience a time of such deep trial that it threatens to rob us of our peace?

I might pause there and continue with that one next time I write. But what I do want to say is this:

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect work, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4, NASB)

I believe it. So friends, I'm not going to lament these trials. Instead, I'm going to hold on tight and trust God to take me in that fast-moving boat where I need to go.

How do you navigate a season of grief? Looking forward to hearing your comments.

Love,

Ann