Forgiveness
September 3, 2015
Devotions:
Forgiveness is the path to freedom. First to know that all of your sins, trespasses, and offenses against God have already been forgiven by Jesus dying on the cross for all of our sins. We did not earn, merit or deserve for this to happen but God because of His great love wherein He loved us initiated and completed our forgiveness without any help from us. People go to hell not for sinning but for rejecting Jesus as Lord and Savior. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world so sin is no longer a problem with God.
How can you say that you walk in the fulness of that forgiveness if you are unwilling to forgive. When you do not forgive you keep yourself right in the middle of the pain that caused the offense. When you choose to forgive you are releasing yourself as well as the one who harmed you. If you do not forgive you keep yourself in bondage and hold the door open for satan to wreck havoc in your life.
Jesus hung on the cross to forgive you and even spoke from the cross, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." In the middle of the agony that He was suffering for you and me He was able to pronounce forgiveness on those who had tortured Him and hung Him on the cross to die.
This is the Christ that dwells in you. You in your flesh have not the power to forgive but the one who dwells in you has already been in the midst of your pain and forgave freely. It is by the power of the greater one in you that you forgive and instead of cursing the one who hurt you choose to call God's blessing down upon them. Everytime you remember the pain inflicted you instead of going back into unforgiveness you choose to bless them instead.
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32 KJV
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48 KJV