28 FORGIVENESS.

Forgiveness is one of the most necessary attributes a Christian has to cultivate, also one of the most difficult to achieve, because as Christians, we are required to forgive. When Peter asked Jesus How many times he should forgive his brother he was being quite magnanimous in saying “Seven times!” but Jesus said “No, seventy times seven”, that means as many times as he asks to be forgiven. There is no limit to forgiveness. That’s hard eh! but, look at it this way, if we want to be forgiven several times, (and often for the same sin) we too have to forgive others. “Forgive me my sin as I forgive others their sins” That means in the same way, so, if we hold back our forgiveness so will God hold back His forgiveness to us. In another scripture Jesus says” Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven” So yours and my forgiveness is dependent on us forgiving others. If we don’t want it to be held against us we have to loose others here on earth. So we have to think very carefully when we hold a grudge it could very easily come back to bight us. . Here is a story I heard today, I’d like to pass it on to you.--- “My name is Trevor, but people call me Trev, I am now forty four years old. When I was a child, night after night I was beaten by my father when he came home from the pub in a drunken rage. So, the first chance I got I ran away from home, I was fourteen. In time the physical scars faded, but the emotional ones still haunted me, leaving me with a hatred for my father which led me into fits of depression stuck in the pain of the past which cost me valuable relationships. Even the people who loved me, despaired and grow weary that I’d ever get better despite their efforts to help me. Then a friend told me about Jesus, she was kind enough to spend time with me, it took several months. but Jesus slowly changed my life and now I’m free.” That was Trev’s story, Do you know someone like that? or are you that someone? Do you want to move towards healing and find joy? You can. Trevor remembers when he agreed to pray for his dad and forgave him. That was when the healing started and now he is spiritually and emotionally healed, he has kept on forgiving and praying for his father and those old memories no longer hold him prisoner. Jesus said “pray for those who spitefully use you (Luke 6.28)” The word “Spiteful” means you did nothing to cause or deserve it, That your offender hurt you for reasons you may never understand. That’s why Jesus prayed on the cross,”Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”(Luke 23. 34.) That Scripture doesn’t let the offender off the hook, No, they will have to live with the guilt of what they have done, and unless they turn to God for forgiveness they’ll never have peace, but you will. When you decide to forgive someone and pray for them. You can then take back your power and reclaim your life. Sometimes, we think we have forgiven someone, but we still harbour hard feelings towards them; this is natural, but not Christian, (few things in Human nature are) here are some indications that one has some work to do in this area. We become resentful every time we think of them, We avoid them, We often rehearse the incident mentally, We take every opportunity to remind them of what they did to us. What we are doing is justifying an unforgiving attitude. (Berrying the axe and marking the spot) It is well for us to remember,… There are two things God will not share, (1) His Glory (Isaiah 42.8.) and (2) His right to settle the score. (Romans12.19-21) Paul writes Never take revenge. The Scriptures say “I will take revenge, I will pay them back”says The Lord, Instead, If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads. Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” One of the main problems with unforgiven sin is, it causes resentment which chains you to the offender, but you’re the one who ends up as a hostage not only to sin, but to that person. Dwelling on something your parents, Spouse teacher or coach did to you, or, how someone else took credit for the work you had done or, you believe someone said something about you which may or may not be true, all these things pile up and make you, not them, become a very bitter person, who goes around miserable, while the person who hurt you doesn’t even know you are upset. Don’t give anyone that kind of control over your life, Drop it, forgive, hand it over to God, Trust Him to work it out. Then move on. Sometimes truly forgiving a person is an extremely difficult thing to do, it requires a humble spirit, a tender heart and a profound love for God. All these things will keep God on His throne while one goes through what can be a very traumatic experience, Especially when it involves family relationships. Such offences cut deep into our emotions and sometimes last for generations one may even find they need professional help. Find a good Christian professional, they can and will help not only mentally but Spiritually and emotionally as well. When it comes to God’s forgiveness, Knowing is better than feeling. The Bible says, “The greater the offence, the greater the need to forgive the offender in order to get on with your life. Here’s how God’s forgiveness works; consciousness of sin leads to conviction of sin, and conviction of sin leads to confession of sin, confession of sin leads to cleansing of sin, and cleansing of sin leads to confidence before God (see 1 John 3 21-22). You say “but I don’t feel worthy of God’s forgiveness.” You will never be worthy of it! Because His forgiveness is not based on your worthiness, but on Christ’s worthiness! Furthermore, God is not like your parents, teachers or football coach; He doesn’t insist you squirm and be missable for a few days so that you will ‘learn your lesson’ before He forgives you. That would mean playing a part in earning His forgiveness NO! It’s by God’s Grace, and His Grace alone That We are forgiven (see Ephesians 2 8-9.)! Grace means “undeserved favour”. So when God forgives you, honour Him by forgiving yourself and moving forward. Two Commandments Jesus gave, Love God and love your neighbour, If we always try to keep these two commandments in mind we will find that the most loving thing we can do for someone is to try and think the best of them, give them the benefit of the doubt, find a reason or even an excuse why they said or did something that may have upset us. We all have off days and get a bit grouchy at times due to anything from bad weather to our hormones and a million things between. Remember, don’t react, keep the door (mouth) shut and smile. God will help you if you take the first step towards peace forgiveness and reconciliation. Thank you for reading this word on Forgiveness and be grateful that while we were still sinners, Jesus came, died and forgave us our sins to justify us before Almighty God His Father, thus providing us with the only way to get to Heaven. Thank You Lord Jesus. Amen. Phaline. ----------------------------------------