Testing... Testing One, Two

Did you ever notice that as soon as you hear what the Word says about a subject, you will have the opportunity to practice it?  You hear about Forgiveness and you can expect that the next interaction you have with a human being you will have the chance to get in unforgiveness.  Your friend will be rude, strangers will seemingly go out of their way to offend you, your loved ones will find a way to stomp on your heart strings... I'm talking about the everyday stuff we get hung up on and allow the enemy to reel us in with.


There will be every chance to get offended.  But the choice is all up to  you. What are you going to do?

• Will you allow old habits to rule your emotions and end up a wreck, wanting to beat yourself up for missing it again?
• Will you throw yourself a pity party, call a few friends and try to invite them to join you?  Sometimes our friends will join in -- hopefully we'll call the true friend that will tell us what we need to hear.
• Will you recognize the enemy's MO and decide that you will NOT let him steal the seed that's just been planted and instead water it with faith and let it grow into Spiritual Fruit?

The easy thing to do is to do what we've always done.  Get mad, get your feelings hurt, pout, stomp around and slam a few doors... it's not just our kids who act that way!  OR you can go with what you just learned and decide you will forgive.  Forgiveness and dealing with the person you just forgave isn't easy.  Especially when your feelings still ache with the hurt they just went through.


So how do we do it?  We walk in love.  We say out loud we've forgiven that person and ask God to manifest his love for them through us, we MAKE ourselves walk with them as if nothing has happened.  I'm not saying your feelings aren't important, or that you don't count.  I'm saying when you walk like nothing's happened what you're really doing is giving it to God.  He'll take care of it; He'll turn the hearts of men; He'll heal our emotions, our minds, and our hearts.


Read 1 Corinthian's 13 beginning with verse 4 with your name in it like this:

I am patient

I am kind 

I do not envy 

I do not boast 

I am not proud  

I do not dishonor others 

I am not self-seeking 

I am not easily angered 

I keep NO RECORD OF WRONGS  

The Amplified Bible is a great version to read.  Choose to walk in the freedom of forgiveness and PASS THE TEST the next time the devil tries you.  

Learning About Forgiveness

This is my month to teach Sunday School.  I've had the opportunity to talk to people about Forgiveness several times this month.  Unfortunately, I haven't given the right advice when given the chance.  It's one of those subjects that you know what to do, but the doing it sometimes not the easiest.  


The Bible is VERY CLEAR about forgiveness.


Matthew 6:14 and 15 says, "For if you forgive people their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses."  


So how do we know we're walking in unforgiveness?  One of my favorite resources on the subject is "The Bait of Satan" by John Bevere.  


Luke 17:1 says, "It is impossible that no offenses should come"


The Word tells us that offenses will come so we shouldn't feel like a failure or not "spiritual" if we are offended.  Stuff is going to happen and we are going to get our feelings hurt - and almost always it's by people we are the closest to. The problem isn't that we get offended, it's in how we choose to deal with it.  Hopefully we're quick to forgive and let go.  A lot of the time we do... but for many of us, offense sticks around unnoticed.  We walk around THINKING we've forgiven, but actually are still offended because of things that have happened.  We feel justified to feel the way we do; we feel people who have hurt us owe us something; we feel that since we've endured this situation, we're entitled to an apology or an explanation... the list goes on and on. 


Offense is like a worm on a hook we use to lure in a fish we're trying to catch. The devil will dangle that worm in front of us and before we know it we've taken a big bite of it and the hook has sunk in deep.  Or like a salesman that gets his foot in the door and before you know it he's inside unpacking his bag of tricks and we don't know how to say "no" and end up buying the whole shebang when we've already got 10 of them in our closet! 


The enemy is crafty and subtle.  He hates you so much, he'll do whatever it takes to steal, kill, and destroy you and every part of your life (John 10:10).  Sadly, a lot of us just let him.  BUT, Praise the Lord, we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37) and we do not have to be ignorant of the devil's plans (2 Corinthians 2:11).  His way of doing things hasn't changed and we don't have to be lured by the bait he sets before us.  


So... how do we forgive?  Forgiveness is a decision you make to let go of a debt someone owes you.  So when you forgive you decide, "________ owes me nothing, I wipe the slate clean and I choose not to hold ______ against them."  Sounds simple enough... you forgive the person and they owe you nothing.  


How do we know we've forgiven if we still feel the hurt, emotion we had when we were hurt?  That's what gets us a lot of the time.  We decide to forgive someone but every time we think about the person the emotions just come flooding back like it just happened.   That's where the confusion comes in.  If you really forgave the person, then why do you still feel ______ (upset, angry, hurt, powerless, etc.)?  Remember the enemy of your soul comes to steal, kill and destroy.  He doesn't want you to be free of something that keeps you on the path to  your destruction.  

He'll sit on your shoulder and remind you about the wrong done to you, stir up your emotions and bring up the hurt all over again.  That's where we have to take captive every thought (2 Corinthians 10:5) that doesn't line up with your decision.  Think of those thoughts as the "fiery darts" Ephesians 6 talks about.  We don't usually THINK and TALK at the same time so the way we take those thoughts captive is to SAY OUT LOUD what the Word says. You can say things like, " I love ______ and they owe me nothing in Jesus' Name", or "I forgave ______ and I bless them in the name of the Lord".  


Holy Spirit empowers you to do what you need to do.  At first, you may be saying things all the time, but as you continue in the Word you'll see you're thinking about things less and less.  Before you know it the offense has no power over you!