Forgiveness heals

We walk about each day in our mundane lives not giving a second thought to others around us. We go about our work so we can make it to that pinnacle, for some that is as simple as making it to the weekend for others they look toward money and status. But there are a lot of people who get up each morning with something inside festering. It is gnawing at them, eating away at their joy and taking away any chance at completeness. Most of the time as humans we can pinpoint the cause of that anger, and it usually is another person. For whatever the reason we have decided that it is in our best interest to not allow ourselves to forgive that person. We have made a conscious decision to carry that inside of us, making the determination that they do not deserve forgiveness and we are not bound to give it. I am reminded of a sermon that Craig Groeschel gave once where he equated that to holding a handful of broken glass, squeezing that glass in a fit of rage. The glass remains, it has no problem doing what broken glass does, when we open our hand, blood flows from the wounds created by the glass. That is just like us, the unforgiveness and grudges we harbor are more damaging to us than we can imagine. I have known several people through the years that have had to live with the fact that a loved one went to their grave not having been freed by our forgiveness. Because you see, forgiveness also frees the troubled soul of another. One has a hard time being truly repentant without receiving true forgiveness. But if they are truly repentent then we should forgive....

Daniel 9:9. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him

God owns forgiveness, he created it, he expect us to live a life full of forgiveness, we are made to forgive, it is in our unwillingness to forgive that we rebell against him.

  Luke 17:3-4 says, Pay attention to yourselves!  If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, “I repent”, you must forgive him.

It is clear, even after a battle or a conflict if we are asked to forgive, we must, and boy do I know that is easier said than done, our sinful nature pulls at us and tells us, "Wait a minute, that person wronged you, they deserve no solice, they need to live with the knowledge that you will never forgive them." But that is the voice of Satan trying to make us harbor a feeling that will only fester and cause us even more pain.

Our pride gets in the way and wells up and makes us think that we deserve to punish, ....but do we? Can we expect to be a person who should be forgiven if we are a person who refuses to forgive? I think not.

The perfect example of forgiveness comes from a perfect man, Jesus. Imagine being falsely accused of a capital crime. Being dragged and beaten then stood before your own people and being sentenced to death. At that point being beaten some more, mocked and forced to carry your own death apparatus down the road to a lonely spot where others have died before you. The sentence is carried out, bloodied and beaten, Jesus summoned up the strength to say out loud "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." All of this is a pure lesson in the greatest forgiveness a man could ever give. At that very point he was not only bleeding and dying an earthly death, he was carrying the weight of all the sin of mankind, every little lie, every murder, every dark corner sin that mankind will ever do, was weighted upon him, ....but yet he stayed the course, at that very moment he not only asked for the forgiveness of his killers, but he also became the intercessor for our sins, an avenue through which we can go to God and ask forgiveness for our sins and our transgressions. Jesus was so much for us, and his example of true unwavering heartfelt forgiveness should be an example for all of us. The next time you feel outraged at someone for what they have done to you, remember we are not in this alone, God, the very owner, creator and arbiter of forgiveness is standing right there with us. So today if there is someone that needs forgiveness, give it, if there is someone that you need to apologize to so you can receive forgiveness do it. The healing nature of forgiveness can not be measured. And the strength to give it or ask for it, is given to us by our Father in heaven. As a Christian we do not walk that path alone.

How do you pray? And when....

Lately I have been challenged. Challenged to look at how I view God. Our pastor has been leading us through Hebrews and in doing so has given me some things I need to be reminded of. Sunday he preached on Enduring and discipline: Hebrews 12 says:

⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

 Mainly I have been in need of being reminded of God's sovereignty. Of his majesty, of his strength, of his purpose for us. He leads us, he guides us, but not always through the primrose path but right through the thorns. But when we get out of the other side the scars are a badge of courage. He sees our simplistic thoughts, he hears our cries, but still sometimes he chooses to let us walk the hard path so we learn something. But it is more than that, the trials and the hard times are there and always will be there so we can know him. But, we must choose to endure those times, not resist them. It is through those times that the true character of him is revealed. It is through those times when our true dependence on him is cemented. It is through those times when it is revealed how much we truly need him. We hear teaching and preaching all of the time of how someone in the bible or someone lately endures the hardship of life and prevails. We hear stories that make us weep because through uncertainty we see triumph, through pain we see joy, but do we ourselves when confronted with those times see GOD? Apostle Paul said in Philippians 2:12 "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want"......That is a great testimony, to be as much as ease in good times and bad, because we know who is steering the boat. We know who is guiding our path. We can rest assured that when we hit a bump in the road of life that God is already there and make sure that as we are crying out to him in agony that we also give him the praise for allowing us to learn through that trial. We need to also thank him fervently for the good times. Endurance is so much more than taking a deep breath and hoping we come out the other side. It should be a way of life. An accepted way of living, which is learning as Paul did, to be content in all things good or bad. To accept all of the hardships as opportunities not as punishment. To see through the worlds idea of God and see the biblical God. The way we pray in those times reflect our understanding of our God, do you always pray for God to "fix" situations, or "remove" you from the troubles? Or do you pray for him to be revealed through those times, and to show you what you are supposed to learn? I hope it is the latter. All of us as Christians seem to spend more time in prayer when we are up against something than we do when things are seeming to go good. But we need to reexamine the purpose of our prayers, look deep inside ourselves and see if it is a selfish motive that we pray to God for when the walls are closing in. Or do we see the bigger picture, one where God is sovereign and he is in control, and through every circumstance, hardship and pain even if it is self inflicted we must choose to look unto the one and only God to give us guidance, and endurance to persevere, for in him even during those times, we can know peace, and contentment.