Click on this link to my youtube page. Meditate on this song: http://youtu.be/UzquTjmjQOQ
Forgiveness
You've probably heard the saying, "forgiveness doesn't just release the other person from their sin against you but it releases you also." I believe this is a very true statement and let me tell you why. When you choose to forgive someone (from your heart, whether they asked to be forgiven or not) you free yourself from all of the hurt and pain that is associated with the offense. You no longer sit up for hours thinking about what was done to you and how you can retaliate. The bitterness toward that person goes away and when you see them, you don't have feelings of anger, betrayal or total disgust.
Jesus said this in Matthew 6:14-15, "In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part." (The Message Bible) So not only does forgiveness release you from tormenting feelings about an offense but forgiving others causes God to forgive you.
Forgiveness is one of the major foundational commands in Christianity. Forgiveness and love go hand in hand. I remember when I was going through the healing process of child sexual abuse. God began to work on me in the area of forgiveness. You would think that the need to forgive my step father was obvious and it was, but when God started talking to me about forgiving my mother, I was puzzled because I loved her so much (and still do). However, I needed to forgive her. How was it possible to have a deep love for someone yet have unforgiveness in your heart toward them? It was possible because I didn't have the agape love as expressed in 1 Corinthians 13. In the later part of verse 5 it says love "does not take account of the evil done to it." If you find yourself rehearsing what a person has done against you-you have not forgiven. So just because you love someone doesn't mean that unforgiveness isn't hiding somewhere in your heart because of offense.
Forgiveness is just not a onetime action. You will need to forgive and be forgiven every day. Our Heavenly Father has provided a way to forgive us by sending His Son, that through Him we have forgiveness and are able to forgive. There is no offense done to us greater than the many offenses Jesus suffered and if He forgives, so can we.
Unforgiveness is a form of selfishness. I know that sounds harsh but it's true. When you refuse to allow someone to be set free because you feel they have not suffered enough, all you are focused on your feelings. How they are being affected doesn't matter. Well in the theology of the world this is perfectly fine, but not so in the Kingdom of God.
It's interesting how we can see our great need to be forgiven when we are the perpetrator of an offense against another person. When forgiveness is needed of someone that has wronged or offended us, we have a difficult time forgiving them. It may be easier to forgive, if we do toward them as we would like done toward us. If we would think of the numerous times we have been forgiven (even when we didn't deserve to be) it would help us show mercy in a situation and release the person from what they have done.
If you have ever been bound by something or held down or locked up you understand how important freedom is. When you forgive, you experience freedom as does the other person. There is so much I can say about forgiveness and there are several scriptures to back up what I am saying. However the bottom line is this, forgiveness is not just something we should do but rather what we have to do...for the sake of another and ours.
Come on...let it go...let God set you free!
Daily Declaration- I AM FORGIVEN
"Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.” Romans 4:7,8 (NASB)
You've probably heard the saying, "forgiveness doesn't just release the other person from their sin against you but it releases you also." I believe this is a very true statement and let me tell you why. When you choose to forgive someone (from your heart, whether they asked to be forgiven or not) you free yourself from all of the hurt and pain that is associated with the offense. You no longer sit up for hours thinking about what was done to you and how you can retaliate. The bitterness toward that person goes away and when you see them, you don't have feelings of anger, betrayal or total disgust.
Jesus said this in Matthew 6:14-15, "In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part." (The Message Bible) So not only does forgiveness release you from tormenting feelings about an offense but forgiving others causes God to forgive you.
Forgiveness is one of the major foundational commands in Christianity. Forgiveness and love go hand in hand. I remember when I was going through the healing process of child sexual abuse. God began to work on me in the area of forgiveness. You would think that the need to forgive my step father was obvious and it was, but when God started talking to me about forgiving my mother, I was puzzled because I loved her so much (and still do). However, I needed to forgive her. How was it possible to have a deep love for someone yet have unforgiveness in your heart toward them? It was possible because I didn't have the agape love as expressed in 1 Corinthians 13. In the later part of verse 5 it says love "does not take account of the evil done to it." If you find yourself rehearsing what a person has done against you-you have not forgiven. So just because you love someone doesn't mean that unforgiveness isn't hiding somewhere in your heart because of offense.
Forgiveness is just not a onetime action. You will need to forgive and be forgiven every day. Our Heavenly Father has provided a way to forgive us by sending His Son, that through Him we have forgiveness and are able to forgive. There is no offense done to us greater than the many offenses Jesus suffered and if He forgives, so can we.
Unforgiveness is a form of selfishness. I know that sounds harsh but it's true. When you refuse to allow someone to be set free because you feel they have not suffered enough, all you are focused on your feelings. How they are being affected doesn't matter. Well in the theology of the world this is perfectly fine, but not so in the Kingdom of God.
It's interesting how we can see our great need to be forgiven when we are the perpetrator of an offense against another person. When forgiveness is needed of someone that has wronged or offended us, we have a difficult time forgiving them. It may be easier to forgive, if we do toward them as we would like done toward us. If we would think of the numerous times we have been forgiven (even when we didn't deserve to be) it would help us show mercy in a situation and release the person from what they have done.
If you have ever been bound by something or held down or locked up you understand how important freedom is. When you forgive, you experience freedom as does the other person. There is so much I can say about forgiveness and there are several scriptures to back up what I am saying. However the bottom line is this, forgiveness is not just something we should do but rather what we have to do...for the sake of another and ours.
Come on...let it go...let God set you free!
Daily Declaration- I AM FORGIVEN
"Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.” Romans 4:7,8 (NASB)
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