Forgiveness

WOW! We had an amazing time today, as a group, sharing about the complete and total forgiveness of God and then worshiping Him after.
As I went on to the next lesson I was once again encouraged by reading the Faith Builder story. Here is what encouraged me, as I was still thinking about forgiveness and the wholeness of it:
"...when the Holy Spirit reminded her (Sue) that it was from the cross - from the intense agony of the cross - that Jesus spoke and gave forgiveness, Sue knew He wanted her to do the same."
She goes on to say that at that moment she needed to make a choice: was she going to forgive or was she going to become a "bitter old woman". Sound familiar girls?! :)
How can we not forgive, if Christ forgave us!
Forgiveness. What a blessing that has been given to us.

By Kathy Thiessen

The Depth of Forgiveness

Have we forgiven as Christ has forgiven us? I have come to the conclussion that no we are not there yet. Christ forgave all our sins in an instant. He took all of our sins on Himself though He did not deserve that punishment! Can we say we are at that point where we have already taken everything anyone could possibly do to us today, tomorrow or in the future sometime, and have already forgiven all of it? Going into this lesson, I was thinking well this isn't going to be a big issue for me at this point because I have already forgiven everyone that has hurt me in anyway and I know that I want to forgive all coming offenses no matter what. No doubt about it! What God proved to me though, is that He can always take you to the next level of forgiveness. He showed me how small the things are that we need to forgive compared to what He has forgiven us. He seemed to expand things a little and show me a bigger picture of how unlimited our forgiveness needs to be. We can always grow and forgive more. Just another step closer to what He did. Such a tiny step really! The burdens He carried on the cross suddenly looked much heavier than before and I am more grateful than ever for what He did for me!

Also I've often been selfish by getting wrapped up in the areas where others have hurt me. I would have been a brighter light for Jesus if I hadn't been wrapped up in me.Maybe if I was more wrapped up in the things of God , I wouldn't even have noticed when someone did me "wrong."

Also, I should be more concerned about how I may have hurt someone else then how they hurt me. There is the best way for us all to look at it I think. To be able to apply that to our life and not just say it, is by prayer and feeding ourselves daily with God's word. Put our focus and energy into God. Loving Him above all else! It is then God Himself who forgives through us.

Ephesians 4

29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Lets ask ourselves:

Have we truly forgiven all things and gotten rid of any bitterness? If we have, we will no longer need to talk about any offenses and we also won't need to say I forgave but I won't forget. Not that we will have a lost of memory, but we just won't have any reason left to think about the issues anymore.

Love and Obedience

I know I haven’t come to share in a while. We are now working on lesson 9. Lesson 7 was on obedience, the test of love. It is just so true, that if we truly love the Lord , we will want to obey Him and do His will. We are not working to earn our salvation, that was already a free gift to those who believed and personally accepted it. Having received now and having a personal relationship with Him now, we have so much to be thankful for! Though I can’t do anything to earn this on my own, He gave me eternal life. The hope of eternal life is now what is a for sure thing. He saved my soul. Me! (A sinner from the beginning. ) And to all of those who have accepted this. Jesus freed me from what I really deserved and gave me an eternal future in heaven. He is preparing a place for us that is great beyond what we can comprehend.
So, the price has been paid, it’s finished …. Nothing I can do beyond receiving it.
So now what? Say thank you and go live for the devil? Not So! If we have really been born of the Spirit; Our life and future being in His hands then why would we want to live on the dark side? Why would we want to serve Satan. We cannot not worship God and serve Satan at the same time. Maybe it sounds extreme, but our life really does show what we strive for , whom we are living for. If we love the Lord, we will want to wait on Him. We will be grieved by our disobedience. Often what we need to do is so hard and we are not without failures. I have had to go to the Lord many times, and confess my sins. To this day He isn’t finished working in my heart. I can think one day I am obeying the Lord and the next day He will show me an area I have not obeyed. So, I continue on in my relationship with our savior striving to be obedient to Him until one day He will take me home.