Forgiveness
9:27 AM Posted In My Walk with God Edit This
I am taking a bible class at Destiny Worship Center on Sunday morning. The topic for last weekend was sin. This past weekend was on forgiveness. Whew! I must say this was pretty intense yet eye opening for me. I found that I still have a little bit of forgiving to do but not as much as I thought. I found that when I hear certain things I automatically point fingers. Okay, I don't literally point fingers but when I hear about betrayals, lies, deceit, or any other wrong doings...I tend to think of examples of what "other" people have done to me or people I love. The eye opening moment happened last night as I was lying in bed...the Holy Spirit told me..."Don't worry about all the wrong other people have done...ask for forgiveness and repent for the wrongs YOU have done so you can be forgiven and set free." Whew...talk about a reality check. I guess it is easier to think of the crappy things others have done instead of looking in the mirror. Which leads me to one more eye opener...I have found that MOST people who live in depression, bondage or away from Christ are struggling because they cannot forgive themselves of the past. To me, it is easier to forgive other people for the wrong they have done but it is more difficult for me to forgive myself.
So, the class this weekend was awesome! I have 4 more weeks of this amazing class. I can hardly contain myself. So, I thought I would share a little bit of what the Lord has spoken to Santiago's heart. I would love to have his messages on tape as I have a slight memory issue due to the wonderful chemo brain...yes...I will blame it on that even though I had a terrible memory before cancer. LOL! I have notes but there is so much he speaks about in between...
We live in Past-Present or Present Future. So, we are either looking behind or we are looking ahead. The goal of the enemy is to steal your future by making you dwell in your past. I think dwelling in the past can be unhealthy when it is positive too...that is my own personal opinion. To me if you are dwelling in the past versus just visiting every now and then you are not looking forward. The positive "dwellings" could easily twist into depression if one is dwelling on something that is no longer. The enemy can control the mind by keeping a person focused on the past. He will use weapons such as unforgiveness, rejection, bitterness and anger. A person living as PAST-PRESENT is bound by one or more of these weapons in his/her life. A person's destiny in God is in the FUTURE not the past.
The importance of forgiveness-dealing with the past present mentality-
Forgiveness is the key to put the past behind us...letting go and reaching ahead. Unforgiveness in a person's life gives the enemy a right into our lives. It is an open door for the enemy to bring in hate, bitterness and resentment. Unforgiveness is a prison; and you are the prisoner. It hardens our hearts. If your heart is full of hate then there is no room for God in it.
The next statement is powerful and so true: WHATEVER YOU HATE IN A PERSON, IF YOU DON'T FORGIVE, IS THE VERY THING THAT YOU WILL BECOME. Wow! There is an example of this in the Bible (II Samuel the story of Ansalom) and I could give a small life experience. I HATED Jason's addiction. I didn't hate him...I hated the addiction. Yet, as much as I hated the addiction when we split up I found myself dependant on drinking wine to numb my feelings...I became that very thing that I hated. I still struggle. One of the most important statements and reality checks is that if a person does not forgive then they cannot be forgiven by the Father. That is terrifying to me. Matthew 6:14-15 states it very clear, "For if you forgive others for their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do NOT forgive others for their sins, NEITHER will your Father forgive your sins." OUCH!
Refusing to forgive means we are refusing to be healed of our hurt and Jesus already paid the price for our healing. We simply imply that His sacrifice on the cross is not enough.
We don't have a right to be wounded but we do have a right to be healed...made whole. We must forgive people to keep us from having a victim mentality. We will never reach our God given destiny if we are living in the past.
Two other "reality checks" made me think quite a bit. The first one is that being bound to the past means that my future would have a repeat of the same experiences. If a person does not grow from trials/storms then how could they possibly do anything different for it not to occur again? It goes back to that lovely "INSANITY" definition...which I will blog on later...LOL! The other reality check is that CHOOSING TO REMAIN WOUNDED GUARANTEES YOU ARE GOING TO WOUND PEOPLE. Only hurting people hurt other people. When people are filled with joy and peace...they do not walk around hurting others!
How do we learn to forgive?
#1-Because we are forgiven then we can forgive. Jesus paid the ultimate price!!!
We don't forgive from our emotions we forgive from our faith. I think it takes a lot of letting go of our "independence" as individuals. We cannot possibly forgive other people on our own especially when terrible things have occured. We NEED Jesus. Traumatic events are only here to torment our lives if replayed over and over so why not let them go???
Living with a PRESENT-FUTURE heart when it comes to forgiveness is a lifestyle not just situation to situation. We know that life is not going to be a bowl of cherries...if you like cherries...lol. We need to prepare our hearts. There will always be rejection and hurt. The King of kings and Lord of lords was rejected. To think one is too good to be rejected is implying (my opinion) that one is placing him/her above Jesus. We must learn to rely on God. He is the ONLY one whom we can trust 100%. He is faithful. We need to live excited about our lives.
Santi mentioned 3 reasons why we walk through stuff in our lives. To put it harshly one reason is that we are now reaping what we sow. Man...that really sucks but it is the truth. I think coming to that realization one might watch what is sown. The other is that we are walking outside of God's covering. It is about choices. God gives us free will and if we are choosing to do things outside of God then we will experience things that are not pleasant. Lastly, we walk through stuff in our lives because God is working in us. We should never feel as if we have arrived. We have a lot to learn and that means we will experience pleasant and not so pleasant things in our lives. Just because we are walking through stuff...sometimes stinky poo...that does not mean life is hopeless. Do not let satan steal the Joy or the promises of God.
Every issue that I allow God to heal in my life is what gives me authority in Jesus' name to heal others. If I was angry at God or others for having cancer, not being able to have children, going through a divorce and issues I struggled with as a child then I would never have fullness in God and help other people.
Bottom line-unforgiveness does NOT hurt the other person because they could be walking around not giving you the time of day. It hurts YOU.
So, the class this weekend was awesome! I have 4 more weeks of this amazing class. I can hardly contain myself. So, I thought I would share a little bit of what the Lord has spoken to Santiago's heart. I would love to have his messages on tape as I have a slight memory issue due to the wonderful chemo brain...yes...I will blame it on that even though I had a terrible memory before cancer. LOL! I have notes but there is so much he speaks about in between...
We live in Past-Present or Present Future. So, we are either looking behind or we are looking ahead. The goal of the enemy is to steal your future by making you dwell in your past. I think dwelling in the past can be unhealthy when it is positive too...that is my own personal opinion. To me if you are dwelling in the past versus just visiting every now and then you are not looking forward. The positive "dwellings" could easily twist into depression if one is dwelling on something that is no longer. The enemy can control the mind by keeping a person focused on the past. He will use weapons such as unforgiveness, rejection, bitterness and anger. A person living as PAST-PRESENT is bound by one or more of these weapons in his/her life. A person's destiny in God is in the FUTURE not the past.
The importance of forgiveness-dealing with the past present mentality-
Forgiveness is the key to put the past behind us...letting go and reaching ahead. Unforgiveness in a person's life gives the enemy a right into our lives. It is an open door for the enemy to bring in hate, bitterness and resentment. Unforgiveness is a prison; and you are the prisoner. It hardens our hearts. If your heart is full of hate then there is no room for God in it.
The next statement is powerful and so true: WHATEVER YOU HATE IN A PERSON, IF YOU DON'T FORGIVE, IS THE VERY THING THAT YOU WILL BECOME. Wow! There is an example of this in the Bible (II Samuel the story of Ansalom) and I could give a small life experience. I HATED Jason's addiction. I didn't hate him...I hated the addiction. Yet, as much as I hated the addiction when we split up I found myself dependant on drinking wine to numb my feelings...I became that very thing that I hated. I still struggle. One of the most important statements and reality checks is that if a person does not forgive then they cannot be forgiven by the Father. That is terrifying to me. Matthew 6:14-15 states it very clear, "For if you forgive others for their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do NOT forgive others for their sins, NEITHER will your Father forgive your sins." OUCH!
Refusing to forgive means we are refusing to be healed of our hurt and Jesus already paid the price for our healing. We simply imply that His sacrifice on the cross is not enough.
We don't have a right to be wounded but we do have a right to be healed...made whole. We must forgive people to keep us from having a victim mentality. We will never reach our God given destiny if we are living in the past.
Two other "reality checks" made me think quite a bit. The first one is that being bound to the past means that my future would have a repeat of the same experiences. If a person does not grow from trials/storms then how could they possibly do anything different for it not to occur again? It goes back to that lovely "INSANITY" definition...which I will blog on later...LOL! The other reality check is that CHOOSING TO REMAIN WOUNDED GUARANTEES YOU ARE GOING TO WOUND PEOPLE. Only hurting people hurt other people. When people are filled with joy and peace...they do not walk around hurting others!
How do we learn to forgive?
#1-Because we are forgiven then we can forgive. Jesus paid the ultimate price!!!
We don't forgive from our emotions we forgive from our faith. I think it takes a lot of letting go of our "independence" as individuals. We cannot possibly forgive other people on our own especially when terrible things have occured. We NEED Jesus. Traumatic events are only here to torment our lives if replayed over and over so why not let them go???
Living with a PRESENT-FUTURE heart when it comes to forgiveness is a lifestyle not just situation to situation. We know that life is not going to be a bowl of cherries...if you like cherries...lol. We need to prepare our hearts. There will always be rejection and hurt. The King of kings and Lord of lords was rejected. To think one is too good to be rejected is implying (my opinion) that one is placing him/her above Jesus. We must learn to rely on God. He is the ONLY one whom we can trust 100%. He is faithful. We need to live excited about our lives.
Santi mentioned 3 reasons why we walk through stuff in our lives. To put it harshly one reason is that we are now reaping what we sow. Man...that really sucks but it is the truth. I think coming to that realization one might watch what is sown. The other is that we are walking outside of God's covering. It is about choices. God gives us free will and if we are choosing to do things outside of God then we will experience things that are not pleasant. Lastly, we walk through stuff in our lives because God is working in us. We should never feel as if we have arrived. We have a lot to learn and that means we will experience pleasant and not so pleasant things in our lives. Just because we are walking through stuff...sometimes stinky poo...that does not mean life is hopeless. Do not let satan steal the Joy or the promises of God.
Every issue that I allow God to heal in my life is what gives me authority in Jesus' name to heal others. If I was angry at God or others for having cancer, not being able to have children, going through a divorce and issues I struggled with as a child then I would never have fullness in God and help other people.
Bottom line-unforgiveness does NOT hurt the other person because they could be walking around not giving you the time of day. It hurts YOU.