Forgiveness

Matthew 6:14 The Message (MSG) 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.


Forgiveness is something most of us had just rather not deal with! We either reason that one day, we will forget what that person did to us, or we just ignore it all together. That is unless, of course, we know what the scriptures tells us. By the way, it really is not an option, and it certainly does not have anything to do with "feelings". Feelings will get us in trouble every time, do you agree?  You know, "I don't feel like I am saved today, because of what I did" so I must not be saved. Or "I feel like God is mad at me and doesn't love me anymore". The list could really go on and on. What is important and the only thing we can go on, is what the Word of God tells us. And we won't know what it says, unless we meditate on it. We do want our prayers answered, but there are stipulations on that to. In the above scripture, forgiveness is laid out pretty plain. God will not forgive us unless we forgive others! So how in the world do we do that? It certainly isn't within ourselves, we may "feel" like it one day and then the next we may "feel" different. Human effort depends on so many factors and none of them are reliable. Only in Christ and because of the Cross are we able to accomplish this command! In Christ, we are more than conquerors! In Him, All things are possible when we believe. It doesn't mean that person was right in what they did to us, I am not saying that at all! But, because God told us to forgive, then it must be up to Him to bring it to pass.We truly have to forgive! Who are we anyway to withhold forgiveness when Christ died to set us free, to forgive all our sins, past, present and future! And then to not remember them anymore. We cannot and should not ever hold this in our hearts, read this scripture again and then tell me if we really have a choice! I certainly never want to be out of God's Will, and I am sure you don't either. It is all about grace and mercy! So I leave you to ponder on "Is it really worth it" and "Who does this hurt the most"?
Blessings and Peace are being sent to you!

Forgiving Others!

Matthew 6:6-8 (The Message)

6. "Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

7-13. "The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.

Forgiving someone has nothing to do with feelings! If we waited for that, it would never happen! "But what they did is not right", it is not even about right or wrong, justice or injustice. Forgiveness is a choice we make, WE make it ourselves! How many times in my life has this been before me, "Well, I know I need to forgive them, I have been hurt here Lord, and well, I just don't feel like I can ever forgive them". Sound familiar? I think we probably all have to admit this is one of the hardest things in life we will ever be asked to do. Sometimes we hang on to unforgiveness to justify our own behavior, we were wronged and we will not forget or let that other person forget. It is a heavy burden to carry and it does keep us in bondage to that thing. Have you ever heard of "a made up mind"? Well, this is what we must do, just make up our mind that we will do what God commands us to do. He didn't say to think about it or try to forgive, He said "Forgive" period. He will help us you know, in ourselves we cannot do this, we aren't capable. But with God ALL things are possible, yes even forgiveness. If it wasn't, we would not be commanded to do it! I love this passage from the Message translation, if you have a chance to get one, it is really very good. "The focus will shift from you to God and you will begin to sense His Grace", I don't know about you but that blesses my soul! Please read these scriptures again and let God speak to your heart. There is much more in here than forgiveness. Simple truths will help us lead a life that will be pleasing to God. I pray you are having a fabulous day and that you are safe and warm but above all, I pray your heart is peaceful. Thank you for stopping by, I have been so busy caring for my sister that I haven't had a chance to visit all the wonderful blogs over at Spiritual Sundays and those of my friends and families, but I promise to do better this week.
Blessings to you!

Please check all the wonderful encouraging posts! Link follows:
http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/2011/01/hello-friends_21.html

The One Forgiven Most!

Luke 7: 35-52 (The Message)

Anointing His Feet.

36-39. One of the Pharisees asked him over for a meal. He went to the Pharisee's house and sat down at the dinner table. Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him."
40. Jesus said to him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."

"Oh? Tell me."

41-42. "Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker canceled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?"

43-47. Simon answered, "I suppose the one who was forgiven the most."


"That's right," said Jesus. Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, "Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn't quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn't it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal."

48. Then he spoke to her: "I forgive your sins."

49.That set the dinner guests talking behind his back: "Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!"

50. He ignored them and said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."

What kind of woman was this? A woman that was forgiven many, many sins that made her more grateful than some of us can imagine. A woman of "ill repute", a prostitute by trade, shunned by everyone. This story was a reminder to me of a statement made by someone that should have known better. She told us that it was no different what we had been saved from, that sin was sin. My immediate reaction (maybe to immediate) was that she and I didn't have a clue what a woman such as this had experienced in her life. Oh yes, I can tell you about numerous sins in my life, sins that breaks my heart and the heart of my Savior. But I cannot tell you anything about this kind. Just as the scripture talks about the bankers that owed money and was forgiven, one fifty silver pieces and the other five hundred pieces. Now these ARE the Words of Jesus, as they say "duh", of course the one forgiven 500 pieces is going to be more grateful. I think sometimes maybe people that are in ministry say a lot of things that are not exactly scriptural. You think? Again, duh! Yes, thank God for forgiving and saving me. I am so thankful that I wasn't in this kind of life. Did I have real horrible sin in my life? Of course I did, we all are sinners. But sweet friends as the old saying goes "Sin will take you farther than you want to go and keep you longer than you want to stay". Not everyone was raised in a Christian home and not everyone has been a Christian all their life! But I will tell you one thing I have observed, those that have been in the pig pen are the most dedicated, they can tell you where Jesus brought them from. They don't want to go back, they know they can't. I will get off my soapbox for now, I get really angry at these people that make statements like this, these holier than thou folks (sorry again). Lets not get to big for our breeches! No we all don't have the same kind of story, we all were sinners. But there are some that have been forgiven "many, many, those 500 pieces of silver, etc" sins. Bless you, I pray you will have a wonderful week ahead.

Forgive Others!

Colossians 3:12-14 (New Living Translation)

¹² Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

Seems like everywhere I go or what ever I listen to, I am hearing about forgiveness. It is so very important, that one more time this week, I must go deeper into this command from God. In the scriptures above we are told, we “must” forgive! We have to forgive others that offend us, and remember how much God forgave us. What I want to focus on is healing. I had a dear friend that was having problems in her marriage. Over the period of many years, dealing with the same old thing with her husband. She had bitterness, and unforgiveness in her heart. Her health was compromised also. After counseling and many prayers, she was able to forgive him. What was kind of strange to me, was when she chose to forgive, He began to change, then she began to change. Could unforgiveness keep us from receiving our healing? It certainly will keep our Heavenly Father from forgiving us. I hope you are taking this as seriously as I believe it is meant to be taken. Time is to short, we must try to make this world a better place for other people. Love should bind us together and make us stronger in the Lord. Have a Blessed Weekend! God loves you!

Pressing On!

Philippians 3:12-14 (New Living Translation)
(Pressing toward the Goal) 12." I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14. I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."

I heard a young woman say "well, I have messed up again". She had made some decisions that she regretted, and was very troubled. My heart immediately went out to her as I tried to reassure her that everyone "messes up", and it happens way to often to all of us. The key was to ask God each day to help us make the right choices! As you read the scripture above, we are told we never reach that perfect place, that we must stay focused and keep pressing on. The only way we will attain this is to "forget the past". When we ask God to forgive us, he not only forgives, but He forgets. It is so hard for us to grasp this truth, because we won't forgive ourselves. Are there consequences to our wrong decisions? Of course there is! but we learn from them and this is part of the "pressing on". Don't dwell on the past! Realize that you are forgiven and move on. Restoration seems to be the biggest job our Lord has with us, and he is so gracious and merciful. He loves us so much, and I think that is also very hard for us to understand. My prayer for this young woman, myself and everyone who reads this is accept forgiveness, and press on. We are not alone, He will be with us every step of this journey! One of these days we will see Jesus, and it will be worth it all.