O Lord, you are so good, so ready to
forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. Psalm
86:5
There is wisdom in forgiveness. God is
poised…ready to forgive. What needs to happen first? We need to either ask for
forgiveness—confessing our sins…or we need to forgive others.
John wrote…
But if we confess our sins to Him, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
1 John 1:9
All wickedness, malice, iniquity or
unrighteousness. Different translations use different words—but it is just plain
evilness that haunts everyone. Note that the verse says all, not just some, but all. That is pretty generous. God is
faithful and just. He also treats everyone the same…so that everyone’s, not
just all my sins that are forgiven. And it is all not just some sins, but all confessed sin is forgiven. Nice.
During His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus
taught His followers…
Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may
your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on
earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our
sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don't let us yield to
temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. If you forgive those who sin against
you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive
others, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:9-15
Forgive others and you will be forgiven.
There is wisdom in God’s forgiveness. How can He possibly forgive if people
won’t forgive each other? There was a similar teaching from Jesus that Luke
recorded.
Do not judge others, and you will not be
judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive
others, and you will be forgiven. Give, and you will receive. Your gift will
return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more,
running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the
amount you get back. Luke 6:37-38
I’ve always thought that forgiveness was
like a gift and the more you give, the more you receive. Give lots of
forgiveness…and you’ll get lots of forgiveness. That is not what the verse says, but it does make sense. If we forgive
we’ll be forgiven. I’m going to take a closer look at people, relationships and
the need for forgiveness—from me to others. Who do I need to ask for
forgiveness?
Forgive and you will be forgiven. Pure and
simple. That’s God’s way.
Pure and simple. People try to make Christianity
complicated or hard to follow, but it is not. Do you agree with that? What does forgiveness look like? A cross? Or how about fireworks? Lots of forgiveness would put on a pretty big show...and can't you just hear the "ahhhhh" with each big boom of forgiveness.
Pure and simple. People try to make Christianity
complicated or hard to follow, but it is not. Do you agree with that? What does forgiveness look like? A cross? Or how about fireworks? Lots of forgiveness would put on a pretty big show...and can't you just hear the "ahhhhh" with each big boom of forgiveness.
Forgive
and you’ll be forgiven. Can you do that?
Prayer
~ Lord God, Forgive me for not following Your wise plan. Search me and know my
heart and see if there is any evilness in me—if there is anyone I need to ask
for forgiveness…or to whom I need to extend forgiveness. No cheekiness in my
life, Lord. I want to live to please You.
© 2016 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT)
unless otherwise noted.
No comments:
Post a Comment