Better To FORGIVE; it's BEST for us.

Good day and thank you for visiting my blog. Last sunday, I was teaching my equipping class in church about the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35), and now I came across this (see article below) about forgiveness. I decided to blog this and also share with you what I shared with my equipping class about FORGIVENESS.

Practising forgiveness in real life situations is very different from justing talking about it. We all know how much it cost God to forgive our sins, at least we all say we do know. We all also know how Jesus taught us to pray (Matt 6:12): Forgive us our sins/trepasses as we forgive those who sins/trepass against us. Jesus wanted us to know that while everything had been done to secure our forgiveness before God, yet there is someone that can neutralise all that; that someone is YOU! Jesus taught that if we would not forgive someone their sin against us, neither will our Father in heaven forgive us our sins (Matt 6:14,15). Our forgiveness before God is conditional on whether and how we forgive others. So, stop now and search your heart. How ever hard it is to forgive that someone that has wronged you so badly and wounded you so deeply, look at Jesus and look again at yourself, would you forgive that someone? It's not a question of "can you" but a question of "would you". Are you willing? Will you obey?

You see, our Father in heaven, is always merciful and forgiving. We are His children, so we ought to be like him, practicing being merciful and forgiving. For sure, the person whom you need to forgive don't deserve your forgiveness, at least from your perspective. But God has forgiven him in Christ; would you not forgive?
To learn forgiveness is to learn victory over the devil's schemes. The apostle Paul wrote about this in 2 Cor 2:11. So, don't let the devil have a foothold in you ( Eph 4:26,27,32). Be angry but don't sin; don't let the sun go down with you still angry. Forgive just as you have been forgiven.

In fact, it is really for our own good that we forgive. For not to forgive, the Bible says in Hebrews 12:14,15, we would allow a root of bitterness to grow inside us, and that bitterness will ruin our life, robbing us of all peace and happiness, denying us of God's blessings and favour. That unforgiveness will be like poison, taking away our life; it will be like cancer, quietly eating away what we need to live on. So, best to get rid of all bitterness, all unforgiveness. Be forgiving, just like your Father in heaven.

In Psalms 86:5, it says God is good, ready to forgive, and rich in mercy to all who call on Him. As God's beloved children, we must stand ready to forgive, just as God is. When we meet God face to face to receive his commendation on what we do in this life, will He say to us "You are my good and faithful servant"? God is good. Will you be good like Him? Please do. God bless.

NOTE: Peter asked Jesus how often should one forgive; is 7 times enough? Just before this, Jesus was teaching his disciples how they ought to handle a person who was sinning/offending, giving Peter perhaps the impression that 3 times was what Jesus had in mind. So, his offer to forgive 7 times since quite generous already. But Jesus told him not 7, but 70 times 7. Did Jesus meant literally 70X7=490 ? Most likely not, as Jesus went on to tell the parable of the unmerciful servant, and then ending with this: that we must forgive our offending brother from the heart. In this parable, the chinese text had the debt owed by the unmerciful servant as "yi qian wan" meaning a thousand times ten thousands; which is 10 million. While the other person who owed that unmerciful servant only 10. Out of interest, if we were to just compare that indeed our sins before God is like 10 million, and the sins others may offend us with is like 10, then actually we need to forgive a million times before our forgiveness of others can equal that of what God has forgiven us. Assuming a person live for about 80 years, 80x365=29200. A million divide by 29200 days would mean more than 34. I think you get the point, right?
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From: Kathaleen Swank

To: Its_all_about_JESUS@yahoogroups.com

Subject: bible study............FORGIVENESS

ACTION STEPS I CAN TAKE TODAY

In this chapter we have examined two key truths: (1) Jesus instructs us
to forgive those who have offended us; (2) He also instructs us to seek
others' forgiveness when we sin against them. Completing the action steps
that i will put below will help us make these truths a part of our lives and
moves us closer to our Lord and one another.
According to Matthew 5:23,24, forgiveness is the first step in
restoring a relationship.
You are encouraged to prayerfully follow the prodigal son's example.
In his case, forgiveness was granted immediately, but this is not always so.
Sometimes feelings are too raw or the other person may be defensive or
unresponsive. The important thing, however, is to follow Christ's command.
No matter how difficult or what the immediate result will be, to do anything
less than obey will result in a hardening heart.
On the contrary, Samuel, the prophet, tells us that "to obey is better
than sacrafice" (1 Samuel 15:22), and David wrote, "a broken heart, O God,
you will not despise" (Psalm 51:17). Obedience and humility are great heart
softeners.
Two words from 1Peter 3:8 (NKJV) whisper through my mind: "Be tender
hearted".
WHY FORGIVENESS IS HARD
"Forgiveness is......" I wrote those words on a peice of paper and i
am a inviting you to do the same and i am asking them to complete the
sentence.
I hesitated before i wrote anything and stated "It has to do with
others,". but that doesn't really say anything does it?
Steve ( a friend) scowled. He picked up a pen, then, without writing
anything, put it back down. Have you ever felt like this? Forgiveness is
hard.
Do i have your attention now? I know you people know about hurting,
bitterness and anger that comes from being mistreated by others. You know
how hard it is to forgive when peers, teachers, and parents say and do
things that gnaw wounds in your hearts.
You also know that you don't always do what is right either. You make
mistakes and say the wrong things, struggle with rebellion, self-pity and
resentment.