Forgiveness
Forgiveness is a choice. You can choose to forgive, or you can choose to not forgive. If you choose not to forgive, then I warn you to be prepared to suffer for the consequences of that decision, for it will be solely your doing and you cannot blame God. And, please don't shoot the messenger.
This is the foundation to faith that the Word speaks of in verses 25 and 26 of Mark. “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” If this is not taken care of, then you sever your connection with God and the flow of His power. You block God’s power to flow in, and through, your life. Then your shield is down and you are a sitting duck for the devil to attack you and accomplish his destruction, and possibly death. Faith will not work in an unforgiving heart.
Faith will also not work at all if there is disharmony. Harmony begins in the home, and it begins with the little things, not the big things. Matt 18:22 has a story that shows this. A king forgave a man of owing him ten thousand talents, which according to Scofield, that is 3-6 million, and in those days, and even now, that is a ton of money. The man in turn had a fellow servant that owed him an hundred pence, which is about 15 cents, and the man took him by the throat and demanded that he be paid. The fellow servant asked for the same patience that the man did to the king, but the man cast him into prison until the debt is paid. Some other fellow servants told the Lord what the man had done and the Lord called him a “wicked servant.” The Lord called his unforgiveness “wicked,” therefore it is “wicked” not to forgive. When you forgive you are in harmony. But if you do not forgive, you are not in harmony. Once you break the harmony, you then open the door for the enemy and trouble begins. The enemy robs and steals, destroys and kills.
Unforgiveness is disharmony and discord, and with discord, your prayers are hindered, the shield of faith is down, spiritual gifts are stopped, and then you put yourself in the hands of demons and are numbered with the wicked. Our weapons that are powerful through God are stilled and brought to naught through the power of the “spirit of discord.” There has been every excuse under the sun for unanswered prayer, like “in God’s time,” but the reason for unanswered prayer is unforgiveness in the hearts. It’s our fault, not God’s! You can trace any problem that you have experienced, and are experiencing now, to this foundation somewhere down the line, where either you or someone else has not extended forgiveness to the other.
When we are in agreement, operating in harmony, forgiving one another, being tender hearted to one another, stopping all corrupt communication from coming out of our mouths, all malice, all guile, all hypocrisies, then Jesus is in our midst. God commanded us to love one another, and we have no right to fail in this area, because God knows what works and what doesn’t work better then we do. “Love never fails.” Jesus said to love your enemies, to bless them that curse you, and to do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you. Forgiveness is the key. You can’t get out of harmony with a person that will forgive. In harmony, no one can steal from you, everything is given, and if you hold something against someone, it will cost YOU. When you love and forgive, then your shield is up, and the enemy can not touch you. The word says to turn the other cheek, and when you do, the hand of God will go up and you can’t be hit. When you forgive and live in harmony your prayer life begins to work.
Without forgiveness, God’s Word will not work for you. That’s why the word says, But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and HIS righteousness; and ALL these things will be added unto you.” The righteousness of Jesus Christ includes forgiveness, and He proved that on the cross when he said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” If you want forgiveness in your heart, then start by picturing Jesus on the cross saying those words. Then you say them. “Father, I forgive _______, for he/she knew not what he/she did.” And then say the same thing but insert your own name. You must have forgiveness for yourself as well. There is nothing that has happened to you any greater then what happened to Jesus. And if Jesus can find forgiveness for those who stripped Him, beat Him, and then crucified Him, then how can you say you can’t forgive anyone that has hurt you? Who do you think you are? If you don’t forgive, then you are considered wicked and God can’t forgive you. You send out a curse, that curse will come back on YOU. “By YOUR words you are justified and by YOUR words you are condemned.”
So stop feeling sorry for yourself, and stop blaming God for not answering your prayers, and start thanking and praising God every day for another day of being alive, and having another chance to become a child of God that He would be proud to call Son. You are either seeking the Kingdom and His righteousness to be called a Beloved Son, or you are in the world without God. It doesn’t matter how many church services you go to, or even if you become a minister of a church, if you have unforgiveness in your heart, you are counted with the wicked. There are a lot of people in the church system, and in the ministry, that are going to be very shocked some day when they realize they are counted with the wicked because of unforgiveness in their heart over one thing or another.
It has been said that to forgive you must forget, and I personally disagree with this. The human mind was not created to forget, but to remember. I believe we are to remember, and then let it go. You either choose to let the offense ruffle your feathers for the rest of your life, or choose to not let it have an effect on you in your soul realm, the realm of your emotions and affections. The choice is yours, and it begins at home, with the little 15-cent debts.
Love Eternal In Christ, Darlene Luke, The Messenger
Darlene Luke PO Box 1883 Bethany, OK 73008-1883
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