"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." Mark 11:25-26 NKJV
'I'll forgive them, but I won't forget it.' This statement can be heard in most places that we go. People may have been hurt or ripped off and are angry. Other people may say, 'I'll never forgive her - ever!'
The is most common, where people flatly refuse to comply with God's wishes. Verse 26 tells us that if we don't forgive what people have done to us, neither will God forgive us. It seems quite hard teaching when we consider it, especially when we play the video back in our mind. Re-living it just makes it worse and when we speak to others and they don't share our opinions, it can make things worse because they are not allowing us to vent our feelings and show us they are not on our side.
Actually, these people are better for us than the one's who will take our side and feed our hostility. People who refuse to become involved in speaking harshly about another person and do not share our anger, can help us to see things from another perspective, and this can be of great help. The thing is, we have a choice; if we refuse to forgive, then God will not forgive us our trespasses. This is risky.
This does not only focus on us forgiving other people though; we need to forgive ourselves. Time and time again, we become involved in something and need to repent. Quite often, even though God has forgiven us, we are left with a feeling of guilt. People may tell us that it is condemnation which comes from the devil. This is true, but not always. How many times do we hurt our spouse, children or someone else with wounding words? Afterwards, we may say that we sorry to God and to them for this and ask forgiveness. Even though they forgive us, we still feel awful and often keep repeating that we are sorry. This is not conviction because we have repented. It is guilt and this is why there may be times when we need to forgive ourselves and undo the chains that are holding us captive. Our own guilt can keep us a prisoner if we're not careful.
Be sure to forgive people when you have been wronged; but also, forgive yourself when you have wronged God or someone else. It is so important!
Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.
dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com
If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE
Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers
Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle
Check it out
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave a message