Forgiveness Part One

FORGIVESSNESS 

 Then came Peter and asked, Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?  Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21_22
 
Forgiveness is the act of setting someone free from an obligation to you that is a result of a wrong done against you.
 
Naturally, there is a temptation to bear injury, and, as a result, hold a grudge, allow bitterness to set in, and to become unforgiven.

 Unforgiveness is a bondage that stifles a person’s ability to love.

 It is a bondage that chokes out the abundant life Christ promised those who believe.

 Unforgiveness puts a person in great spiritual jeopardy.
 
To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover that the prisoner is you.

When you refuse to forgive others, there is a sense in which you hold them hostage.  
And anyone holding someone hostage is also in hostage himself, because that person cannot go anywhere, until the prisoner is set free.

 Perhaps your unforgiving spirit is not directed toward God or someone else – but towards yourself.  

You will be engaging in self punishment, uncertainty, and sense of unworthiness if you choose not to forgive yourself.

To understand what God in Christ did for you, and then to refuse to forgive those who have wronged you is to be like a wicked ungrateful slave that Jesus spoke about in Matthew18:23-35.  

The Bible says that we should not be ignorant of the devices of the devil.  One of those devices the devil uses against believers is unforgiveness.

 One of the lies is that you have done so bad a thing that you can never be forgiven, and the second is that how can you forgive that person after what he or she has done to you.

 Forgiveness is necessary for our spiritual, physical, emotional and mental life and health.

Beloved, it is clear that we are supposed to forgive.

 God desires to bless his children with His abundant grace and mercy and desires that they live a blessed life.

 Part of this blessed life is to be forgiven and to become a forgiver.  

The Bible tells us that if we refuse to forgive, God will not forgive us (see Matthew 6:12).

 Therefore, let go and forgive, because forgiveness is the mark of a true believer.

The choice is yours..

CONFESSION: Oh Lord, grant me the spirit to forgive.  I sincerely forgive all who have wronged me and I ask for your forgiveness.  Put in me a clean heart and renew the right spirit within me in Jesus Christ name.

Written by Pastor Haward Muhumuza
Masindi, Uganda


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