Forgive

Apr

2023

Forgiveness – Not Optional

Have you ever been wronged by someone? Of course you have!

Have you held onto anger and resentment towards them, even when they asked for forgiveness? We have a tendency to hold onto hurt feelings; however as Christians, we are called to a higher standard of forgiveness.

In Matthew 6:14, Jesus tells us that if we forgive others when they sin against us, our heavenly Father will also forgive us.

This is a powerful reminder that forgiveness is not just about letting go of our anger and hurt, but it’s also about receiving forgiveness from God.

When we hold onto bitterness and resentment towards someone who has wronged us, we are only hurting ourselves. We carry around that burden of anger and it can consume us, affecting our relationships with others and with God.

However, when we choose to forgive, we release that burden and allow God’s grace and mercy to flow into our lives.

Forgiveness is not easy, especially when we feel that the person who wronged us doesn’t deserve it. But we must remember that we too are imperfect and in need of forgiveness.

If we want to receive forgiveness from God, we must be willing to extend it to others.

As we reflect on Matthew 6:14, let us ask ourselves, “Who do I need to forgive?” It could be a family member, a friend, a coworker, or even ourselves.

Choose to release the burden of anger and resentment and allow God’s grace and mercy to flow into your lives through the act of forgiveness today!

Feb

2019

Forgiving From Your Heart

Do you remember the parable of the unmerciful servant? Peter wanted to know how many times he should forgive; the answer may not have been what he expected. Let’s check it out.

Matthew 18:21-25

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

“The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

This is a familiar parable, one that you have no doubt read many times. To put this in context, just prior to this parable, Jesus talked about what to do if a brother sins against you, and after hearing this brief teaching on dealing with a brother who sins against you, Peter comes to ask Jesus a rather interesting question.

“Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”

I’m not sure, but I think Peter may have had a rather short fuse, and when it came to forgiving, he probably struggled a bit. When he asked the question, I think Peter was looking for a limit here. You know, “at what point can I refuse to forgive?” Jesus’ answer was not what Peter had expected!

To explain forgiveness to Peter, and to you and me, Jesus told a story. In this story, I think we can find a few truths that may help us, when it comes to forgiving from the heart.

This parable primarily has to do with forgiving a financial debt, but the application of this story applies to many different situations in which someone has trespassed, or sinned against you.

In the parable that Jesus told, the king wanted to settle accounts, and was calling in the debts owed.

When this particular man came before the king, he was unable to pay his debt. The fault was clearly with the man, and not the king. For whatever reason, the man could not clear his debt, and king, was now “stuck” with it.

Now there appears to be two problems:

The first is now the king is upset, and rightfully so. He has a debt that he should not bear. It was not his fault, and he has every right to demand it! He is frustrated, hurt, and betrayed, the trust he had toward his servant is broken.

The second is that the man, who failed in his obligation to the king, is now in danger of being, sold into slavery, even placing his whole family in jeopardy.

As the story goes, the man fell on his knees before the king, begging for patience, promising to pay it all back, just give me more time! The king looking at this display of emotion, felt compassion for the man, and forgave the whole debt! In one fell swoop, the king took care of both problems.

In forgiving the man his debt, the king released himself from the right to demand what was due, absorbing the cost of the debt, and the debtor was free from the need to repay something he was unable to.

We can learn two lessons here, which will help us not only to forgive, but also to be forgiven.

Granting Forgiveness

The first lesson has to do with granting forgiveness. The king saw the despair of the man who owed the debt. He seemed totally unable to repay what was owed.

Jesus said that the king had “compassion” on the man. Unless the king would have experienced compassion, I doubt very much that he would have been able to forgive this man his debt.

As you and I experience debts or, “SINS against us, it is very unlikely that we will ever truly forgive another for those sins, unless we have compassion. Without compassion for those who have sinned against you, the debt remains.

Sin has affected all of humanity. Not one person is exempt from it! Sin rears its ugly head in many, many forms; lying, stealing, cheating, murder, adultery, greed, lust; the list is long!

If you have lived longer than a day, someone has probably sinned against you, and if you are blessed to live another day, it will likely happen again. We live in a sinful world, and sin happens! When it happens to you, what will you do with it?

Recall the Lord’s Prayer:

Matthew 6:9-14

“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

The greatest temptation that any of us ever will face is the temptation to, not forgive.

We have been forgiven much by the Greatest King that ever lived! Our Great King, saw the terrible plight we were in, and while we were unable to correct the wrong we had done, He forgave us all our sin!

Remember, unlike the parable Jesus used, we were not going to be, sold for the debt we owed, we were going to die for it! The wages of sin is death! God has forgiven us much!

We must forgive those who sin against us, to hold their sin against them, is to negate our own forgiveness!

Receiving Forgiveness

The second part of this lesson has to do with receiving forgiveness. This part of the lesson is tied to the first part.

To receive forgiveness is to be willing to forgive.

The man in this story was no doubt thrilled with the cancelled debt. He was truly distressed before the King, and was on his knees begging for patience and mercy; the King had compassion, and forgave the whole debt! I imagine the man was so grateful!

However, not long afterwards, that man encountered someone who owed him far less than what he had owed the king, and he demanded the whole amount, even having the man arrested and put into prison!

Of course, when the King found out about it, He was furious! The King ordered the man who refused to cancel another debt, thrown in prison.

The problem was that this man did not recognize or remember how much debt the king forgave him. He was forgiven much, much more, than the man who owed him very little.

Any sin inflicted upon you by another, will pale in comparison with the sin you have inflicted against God.

Yet God has forgiven you of all your sins! Why would you hold something against another? Why would you throw away your own good fortune at the expense of another? How foolish!

If this man would have taken the time to remember the depth of his own forgiveness, he would not have demanded the small amount someone owed him, and the outcome of this story would have been quite different.

Have you ever sat down and considered what Jesus has done for you? I mean, have you considered what this Great King has done on your behalf?

How badly do you want God to forgive you of your sins, bad enough for you to forgive others from the heart?

Perhaps you struggle with compassion. Ask God to show you what He thinks of those you cannot forgive; ask Him how much value He places on them. Look at others from His perspective, and you will begin to get a sense of what is at stake.

Remember, if you cannot forgive from your heart, you have not forgiven, and you are still in your sins.

You will know that you have forgiven from the heart when you pray this way:

“Father, I forgive this person for the sin inflicted upon me; and please Lord, I am asking that you forgive them too.”

Mar

2018

A Second Touch

There is a sense today that the church; the people of God, are somewhat weary, tired and maybe even a little confused as to what to do in the face of ever increasing evil in this world. We are certainly living in what the Bible declares to be, “the last days.”

It is easy to drift off and lose sight of our anchor; when this happens, we need help, so today we ask God for that help.

Mark 8:22-25

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. ²³He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

²⁴He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

²⁵Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

Before meeting Jesus, we were all very much like this blind man. Oh, we could see with our eyes all right, but spiritually speaking, we were quite blind! We may have known a thing or two about God; we may have known that Christ was God’s Son.

Most of us know about Christmas and Easter, for some of us, it was the only two days of the year, that we really stopped for a moment to consider Christianity; even going so far as to set foot in church on one of those two days!

For most of us, that was the extent of our knowledge of God! We were quite blind . . . and for good reason; the Bible declares that the god of this age (satan) had blinded our minds . . .

2 Corinthians 4:4

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

You see, satan did a wonderful job of keeping us in the dark; while we were without Christ and in unbelief, we could not see the truth, no matter how many times we heard it!

Then something miraculous began to take place. We began to feel something stirring inside; our heart touched in ways, we could not understand. The mention of God and the work of His Son Jesus began to spark an interest in us.

Maybe you heard a message on the radio or TV, perhaps at one of those annual church events you reluctantly attended.

You heard the dramatic message concerning your sin, and about Jesus mission to come to this earth and give His life as a ransom for yours; offering forgiveness for your life of sin. Drawn to Christ, you could not explain it. The Bible reveals an interesting truth about this . . .

John 6:44

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

As God drew you in, you realized that you were a sinner, not in a generic sense, but you felt it and knew it, to the point where you wanted to hide from God, yet He kept pulling you near. The Bible declares to us . . .

Romans 3:23

. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

This glaring truth stared you in the heart, and you knew that without some intervention you would be eternally lost and that there would be a high price to be paid for the sin you were enveloped in!

You became aware that if you persisted in this sinful state, you would be forever lost, with no hope of redemption! Again, the Bible reveals more truth . . .

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It was at this crucial point that you decided to go “all in.”

You risked everything and trusted in Jesus! You went to Him burdened with guilt and perhaps shame for the way you lived your life. You fell at His feet, sorrowful for the way you lived your life, you told Him that you would repent and live for Him! You asked Jesus to come into your heart, into your life . . . and He did!

Romans 10:9-10

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

This you did, openly and freely, unashamed of your allegiance with Jesus. The people around you knew; there was no mistake, you changed, and not just a little, old habits discarded and new ways began to unfold!

The joy you began to feel was awesome; the reality that your sins, which were many; completely forgiven! You had fellowship and friendship with Jesus. You developed an unquenchable hunger for the words of God. You dove into the Bible like a starving man who just sat down for a Thanksgiving dinner!

Your hunger and passion to know more about this Jesus would cause you to skip meals, just so you could read, pray and learn more about Him! Nothing was about to come between you and Him!

Do you still have that desire?
Do you still hunger and thirst for His Word?
Have you lost any of that first love?

Does your heart still burn with the fire it once had, or are you like the man in the opening Scripture who saw people, but they looked like trees walking around. Is your vision blurred? If so, then you, like that man, may need a second touch from Jesus!

I know firsthand how this happens. At an early age, I came to believe in Christ; through a Sunday school, teacher my heart opened to the things of God, and I believed.

As God began to reveal Himself to me, I started reading the Bible daily. The Bible is not an easy Book to read, especially for an 11-year-old boy, but I was determined to know more about God.

As the years passed by and I became a teenager, I began to drift away from those moments with the Bible.It was not a sudden falling away, but a gradual, gentle slipping away; I hardly noticed it happening.

Then one day a handful of us, young teenagers at the time, decided to camp out one night. As we were getting ready to go camp, we decided that we would swipe a 6-pack of beer from my friend’s dad . . . and we did!

I recall with clarity, sitting under the train bridge in near the village we lived in, and as the sun was going down, we all guzzled down that 6-pack; it was awful, but we pretended that it was good! When I grabbed that beer, something stirred inside, there was a powerful voice beckoning me not to do it.

I realized later that it was the Holy Spirit of God who was trying to prevent the problems that were about to arise in my life! The peer pressure was too great and I gave in, just like the rest! That evening, I grieved the Holy Spirit of God!

As He gently tried to woo me back in His direction, I resisted. I wanted to spend my time the way I wanted, and I did not want God interfering! I wanted to be with my friends, I wanted to experience what they experienced!

Over the next few years, alcohol was not enough, and I found new and interesting friends, who had other things I could try . . . and I did! By the time I was 18 years old, I was a wreck!

However, even then, God was trying to get through to me, but I continued to resist Him. Each time I resisted, my heart would be hardened just a little bit more!

The farther from God I drifted, the worse I began to feel. The devil began to whisper in my ear, things like; “see, you are bad and God will never forgive you” or “you will never be good enough for God, so why try.” The Bible declares that satan is a liar . . .

John 8:44

“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Satan is a formidable foe, and he is always looking for ways to distract you from God. He will tempt you in a thousand different ways; his goal is to get your eyes off the things of God and onto the things of this world; if he can accomplish this, then he is well on the way to destroying your life.

There is great temporary pleasure in sin; the excitement and adrenaline it can produce are addictive. The spiritual side of sin is deadly. The feelings of guilt, shame and frustration can cripple you.

Sin is fun until you drink too much and while driving home, you hit a small child on a bike, taking a life. Sex is fun until you find out from the doctor that you have aids, or you find out you are pregnant and now you need to decide what your next steps are, taking a life, or allowing one to live! Drugs are fun until you see your friend lying dead from an overdose.

As I continued through life, I began to believe the lie that God was done with me. I can still vividly remember sitting in a bar Jamestown New York one night. The bar tender was flipping through the channels; he stopped briefly on a station long enough, for me to see Billy Graham with that striking pose of his; arms crossed and one hand under his chin, and he declared; “what you need in your live is Jesus.”

I remember running out of that bar in tears; as much as I wanted Jesus, I thought I had sinned too much and had resisted Him too long!

Do you feel beyond forgiveness?
Do you feel like you will never live up to His expectations?

If you feel this way, then I have some good news for you! You see, after 18 years of running from God, He kept drawing me back to Himself. When I finally stopped long enough to turn around, He was standing right there, arms open; ready to forgive . . . and boy did I need forgiven!

Just like the blind man in the opening Scripture, I received a second touch from Jesus and I could see clearly.

How about you . . . is your vision blurred?
Are your spiritual eyes seeing clearly?
Do you need a second touch?

Perhaps, the hand of Jesus has never touched you, if so; this is your Day! Maybe you can relate to my story; you wandered off, never intending to go too far, but you lost your way and now you are hurt, confused by life, wondering where God is, and if He even really exists; He is here and would love to have a conversation with you!

If you want salvation, if you want restoration, if you want healing, whatever the case may be, please take a moment and talk to Him about it; it will be a turning point for you!

Satan wants you to miss the opportunity, he wants you to believe his lies, he wants you to wait until the next time, today is not right, he wants you to believe that God will not forgive you, remember, he is a liar!

Listen to the words of God Himself from the Book of Isaiah . . .

Isaiah 1:18

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Mar

2018

Loving those Who Hate You

Matthew 5:38-48 ~ The words of Jesus; pretty radical stuff here!

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

We are taught to “FIGHT BACK” and inflict pain when hurt by others. “You hurt me, now I am going to hurt you.” Some folks you lay awake at night thinking of ways to inflict pain on those who have hurt them!

Someone in your world absolutely despises you; the mention of his or her name causes you great angst! You will run scenarios in your mind of how that person could be taken down a notch.

Jesus does not operate that way, and those who would follow in His steps, are commanded to operate like He did! Let it go! Stop hating! Stop gossiping about those you dislike!

Instead of tearing down, build up! Be an advocate for those that God has created, especially those who hate you! If you only talk nice about those who love you, what is that!

How about sticking up for those who hate you! Those that despise you! The next time someone starts a rant on a person you don’t care too much for, instead of jumping on the trash so and so wagon, shut it down!

Our grandson came home from school one day and told his parents that a kid in school was picking on him. He said the boy threatened to “kill him” as young boys are prone to say sometimes. Our grandson said to the boy, you can’t kill me, cause you’re going to be my best friend!” Today, about three years later, they are best buddies!

Be like our grandson and say something kind; come to their defense! To do less is to indicate that you despise them too!

You have now become as they are; the only difference is that you have cloaked your “meanness” in religious sounding words, while they are simply telling the truth about how they feel!

So. . . . do you love your neighbor as yourself? Why not?

Jan

2018

Busted!

The day started with a doctor’s appointment, which set me back about an hour and a half from my usual scheduled work time. I am accustomed to starting my secular job, driving an 18-wheeler, at around 10 am.

The time for me to be working is not set in stone, so I can go in an hour earlier, or I could go a couple hours later if I needed to. Like many folks, I am a creature of habit when it comes to working, so I prefer to leave at a set time each day.

I am traveling a little faster than I should today, and I know it. Since I travel this road five days a week, I know the spots where police like to hide, running radar traps, so I am constantly on the lookout.

As I come down over this one hill, where I know the police are prone to wait for speeders, I’m watching my speedometer, I know I’m going a little too fast, but there’s fresh snow on the ground, certainly not a day anyone will be running radar.

Heading down this very familiar slope, the road drops sharply, followed by a nice wide-open area; you can see clearly in every direction. I knew I was going faster than I should, but again, I was sure no one would be running radar on a day like today. I let my car drift faster than normal, as I came down off that incline and into the sweeping corner at the bottom.

After I careened around the corner at the bottom of the hill, satisfied I made it undetected, I took a quick glance in my rear-view mirror, and there, approaching quickly, the familiar silhouette of a State Police car; a quarter-mile later, his lights came on and I pulled over.

The trooper was pleasant and all business, issuing me a ticket for $221, I was going 61 miles an hour in a 45 mile-an-hour zone. I told the officer I was guilty, I knew I was going too fast, no reason to argue with him, or make excuses.

I went on to work that day, an extra half hour later now, due to the stop, and a couple hundred bucks in fines that I would have to explain to my wife soon, Oh boy!

I began pondering what happened, it certainly was no accident. I did not have to be to work that soon, another couple of minutes would not have made any difference at all. I knew I was breaking the law, and I thought I could get away with it.

I was actively looking across the landscape, to see if I could find out where the police were. I was wrong and deserved the fine.

That got me thinking about my spiritual walk, my daily spiritual drive if you will. I wondered how many times have I broken God’s will, or how many times I tried to skirt one of His directives, knowing that I was wrong, sometimes trying to outwit God.

I wondered how many times I made lame excuses to God for my bad behavior. I wondered how many times I knew ahead of time I was going to do something God would disapprove.

I began to wonder what the consequences of those actions are going to be for me. Disregarding God’s commands is a very dangerous thing, and the consequences have eternal implications. You cannot just write a check to God and pay a fine.

I recalled the Scripture about giving an account for the actions we have done in this life, whether good or bad; a wave of conviction flooded over me!

2 Corinthians 5:10

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

The next scripture that came to my mind was the one where God declared that if we confess our sins to Him, he would forgive those sins; but more than that, He promises to purify us from ALL sin!

I spent the rest of the day talking to God as I drove my truck around my route. I remembered things I had said or had done, that I knew were displeasing to Him and I began confessing them.

His forgiveness washed over me that day, and since then, I am more aware of my actions and thoughts; keeping short accounts with God.

Perhaps the $221 fine had greater value than I thought. God was using this encounter with the police as a way of getting my attention, a way of reminding me that my Father in heaven always has His eye on me!

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

I wonder if I am alone in this endeavor, or if perhaps this rings a bell in your own Christian journey. If it does, then take time to think about your own life, avoid making excuses for the sin that you commit.

Do not ignore it, go straight to God and tell him what you have done, and perhaps He will show you grace and mercy and forgive you still; He did it for me that day.

Do it now, before it costs you more than you can pay!

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