They Will Know We are Christians by Our Love
Oooo Lee,
I read this sermon 3 times this Saturday morning ...
Written with HS inspiration leading to the center
of His Word ...
Hallelujah !
~ CK
Forgive and Forget - God’s Way
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"They Will Know We are Christians by Our Love" by Jars of Clay
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Article ...
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On 1/30/2015 10:37 PM, Lee S Gliddon Jr
wrote:
Forgive and Forget
God’s Way
How many times have you had a dispute with a
friend, loved one or even your wife and ended up apologizing
and asking for forgiveness and been told, “I forgive you?”
Over the next few days, months or even years another dispute
arises with that same person and you hear, “Remember
when….?” ; and you are reminded of the initial dispute and
are ‘beat over the head’ with it.
Was that person honest is his/her telling you, “I
forgive you?”
Are you maybe the person doing the reminding or
rehashing old disputes? If so, ask yourself, “Did I truly
forgive that person?
If you recall Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount you will
recall His Words that were very specific on the subject of
forgiveness. Fact is, every time you recite the Lord’s
Prayer you ask God to forgive you …
Matthew 6:16 “… forgive us our sins, just as
we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.”
The plea we make to God as we ask for forgiveness
we avow to have forgiven. “those who have sinned against
us.” The word 'us,' in the prayer, is YOU. You are talking
to God and telling Him that you have forgiven any that have
sinned against you.
The question is, if you then bring this up in a
future dispute and ‘beat’ your adversary ‘over the head’
with the past, did you really forgive as you said you did?
I ask this as you have told God one thing and maybe
did not really mean it! There is cause to reflect on your
words as this is a most serious matter.
Matthew 6:14-15 “If you forgive those who
sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you refuse to forgive others, your heavenly
Father will not forgive you.”
Now, you must ask yourself a serious question and
make a serious decision. You must ask yourself, “Have I
truly forgiven the person who sinned against me or am I only
saying words to end a dispute?” Next, your decision must be
made to truly forgive the person who wronged you and then be
willing to FORGET IT!
This is something you must come to grips with and
get used to doing. I say that as that same person may wrong
you again, again and again. Then, if you choose to remain in
that person’s company, you must FORGIVE REPEATEDLY.
Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came to Him and
asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who
sins against me? Seven times?
If you will recall, Jesus gave an emphatic and
immediate reply.
Matthew 18:22 “No!” Jesus replied, “seventy
times seven!”
Multiply it out! 70 X 7 = 490! Even then I think
Jesus was saying…”as many times as it takes you to forgive!”
My reason for pointing all of this out and making
you aware of the absolute necessity to forgive and to
forgive repeatedly is that the same thing is applicable in
your sins against another; with that ‘another’ being God.
As humans we are weak. We fall, we fall and we fall
again. We ask God, “Please forgive me, “and what does He do?
Hebrews 8:12 “…and I will forgive their
wrongdoings, and I will never again remember their
sins.”
Forgive and forget. That is God’s
way and that must be our way if we are to be truly
Christians.
There will be times that we will be in the company
of another Christian that, for one reason or another, falls
to the wiles of Satan. It is our Christian duty, not just a
matter of being a friend, but a real duty to set that
Christian straight. At such times we must be bold in our
actions and faithful in our beliefs.
Luke 17:3 “I am telling you! If another
believer sins, rebuke him, then if he repents, forgive
him.”
We live in a world that presents
so many temptations and pitfalls to our faith that we must
always, and I mean always, BE ON GUARD. Just as we are on
guard, we must make others aware of what the true path is.
To do that we must not walk around with an attitude
that says, “I am holier than thou.” That will not work and
we all have seen it. We have to be ever aware of the traps
set by Satan and his dominions and be forever on guard
against evil. No matter what form it may take, we must see
it for what it is.
To ensure our remaining in God’s grace, we must be
forever in prayer. We must always be aware of the necessity
to be true in our forgiveness of others who have wronged us
and be true in our asking God to forgive us our sins.
We all have been in situations that caused us to
form a grudge against someone. Many reasons exist that might
make this so. Just as we MUST forgive, we must not hold
grudges against anyone. To hold a grudge against anyone is
saying, “This person has wronged me.”
Mark 11:25 “But when you are praying, first
forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that
your Father in heaven will forgive your sins too.”
The bottom line is, FORGIVE AND
FORGET. God does and we must be God’s
children and DO AS HE SAYS!
(Closing prayer)
Father, Almighty God, our Creator please hear out
prayer. Lord, we praise You and come before You as Your
children and Your servants. You alone are our God and our
salvation. We ask that You accept our worship and our thanks
for all You have done for us over our lifetimes. El Shaddai,
our Provider, thank You for everything.
Father, there are time we fall. You know this and
You, as our Yahweh Tsidkeanu forgive us our trespasses and
we ask that You give us the strength to forgive any that
have sinned against us. Our reason for this plea is that as
humans, with our weaknesses, we often do not realize our own
human weakness. Be with us O Lord and hear our prayer.
Lord, as we pray to you for our needs allow us to
pray for our Christian brothers and sisters throughout the
world. Be with them, protect them and send Your angels to
guide them.
Father, we ask that You enter the hearts of our
enemies and shine Your heavenly Light and illuminate paths
and bring them to You. Protect our military, our elected
officials and those who keep us from harm. Bless them with
Your Holy Spirit and keep them from harm.
Father, we ask these things in the name of Your
Divine Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is One with
You and the Holy Spirit. One God forever and ever,
Amen, amen and amen.
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