Recently, I have been sharing about forgiveness. The beginning point of true forgiveness is to emotionally accept the fact that you have been hurt. Christians often try to deny or cover up their pain, but we need to allow God to bring it to the surface so He can heal it.
Resolve now to forgive. If you wait until you feel like forgiving, it will never happen. Emotions can heal only after you have decided to forgive. Forgiveness demands an act of the will. Now take the offense to the Lord and let Him help you bear it; forgive it.
Put your forgiveness into words. Say to the Lord something like this: ‘Lord, I forgive him/her (name each and every one on your list) for ________.’ Get it out there. Admit the offense. The Lord knows all about it already. He will not be shocked by your feelings or your words.
Walk out your forgiveness. Put the past in the past and leave it there. You have a lot of living to do. Live it without the ball and chain of yesterday’s offenses. The Apostle Paul said that he was forgetting the past. Why not follow his lead.
A little boy came to the Washington Monument and noticed a guard standing by it. The lad looked up at the guard and said, "I want to buy it." The guard stooped down and said, "How much do you have?" The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out 25 cents. The guard said, "That's not enough." The boy replied, "I thought you would say that." So, he pulled out nine cents more. The guard looked down at the boy and said, "You need to understand three things.
First, 34 cents is not enough, 34 million dollars is not enough to buy the Washington Monument. Second, the Washington Monument is not for sale. And third, if you are an American citizen, the Washington Monument already belongs to you."
Maybe you need to have God forgive you. Friends, please understand these three things about God's forgiveness:
The Redeemed Team
Resolve now to forgive. If you wait until you feel like forgiving, it will never happen. Emotions can heal only after you have decided to forgive. Forgiveness demands an act of the will. Now take the offense to the Lord and let Him help you bear it; forgive it.
Put your forgiveness into words. Say to the Lord something like this: ‘Lord, I forgive him/her (name each and every one on your list) for ________.’ Get it out there. Admit the offense. The Lord knows all about it already. He will not be shocked by your feelings or your words.
Walk out your forgiveness. Put the past in the past and leave it there. You have a lot of living to do. Live it without the ball and chain of yesterday’s offenses. The Apostle Paul said that he was forgetting the past. Why not follow his lead.
A little boy came to the Washington Monument and noticed a guard standing by it. The lad looked up at the guard and said, "I want to buy it." The guard stooped down and said, "How much do you have?" The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out 25 cents. The guard said, "That's not enough." The boy replied, "I thought you would say that." So, he pulled out nine cents more. The guard looked down at the boy and said, "You need to understand three things.
First, 34 cents is not enough, 34 million dollars is not enough to buy the Washington Monument. Second, the Washington Monument is not for sale. And third, if you are an American citizen, the Washington Monument already belongs to you."
Maybe you need to have God forgive you. Friends, please understand these three things about God's forgiveness:
- First, we cannot earn it.
- Second, it is not for sale.
- And third, if we accept Christ, we already have it.
The Redeemed Team
