THE COST OF FORGIVENESS
Forgiveness is agreeing to live with the consequences of another person's
sin. Forgiveness is costly; we pay the price of the evil we forgive.
Yet you're going to
live with those consequences whether you want to or not; your only
choice is whether you will do so in the bondage of bitterness or the freedom
of forgiveness.
That's how Jesus forgave you--He took the consequences of your sin
upon Himself. All true forgiveness is substitutional, because no
one really
forgives without bearing the penalty of the other person's sin.
Why then do we forgive? Because Christ forgave us.
God the Father "made Him who knew no sin to be
sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in
Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Where is the justice? The cross makes forgiveness legally and
morally right: "For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all"
(Romans 6:10).
How do you forgive from the heart?
First, you acknowledge the hurt and the hate. If your forgiveness
doesn't visit the emotional core of your past, it will be incomplete. This
is the great evangelical cover-up. Christians feel the pain of interpersonal
offenses, but we won't acknowledge it. Let God
bring the pain to the surface so He can deal with it. This is
where the healing takes place.
Ask God to bring to your mind those you need to forgive. Make
a list of all those who have offended you. Since God has forgiven
them by His grace, you
can forgive them too. For each person on your list, say: "Lord,
I forgive (name) for (offenses)." Keep praying about each individual until
you are sure that
all the remembered pain has been dealt with. Don't
try to rationalize or explain the offender's behavior. Forgiveness
deals with your pain, not another's behavior. Remember: Positive
feelings will follow in
time; freeing yourself from the past is the critical issue.
Lord, I desire to be free from the hurt and the hate of offenses in
my past.
Today I move beyond desiring to forgive and asking Your help to forgive.
Lord, I forgive _________ for ___________.
Did You Know?
The word forgive means:
1. To grant pardon for or remission of (an offense,sin,etc.);
absolve.
2. To cancel or remit (a debt, obligation,etc.); to forgive the
interest owed on a loan.
3. To grant pardon to (a person).
4. To cease to feel resentment against; to forgive
one's enemies. The word forgive in some form
whether it be forgive, forgiveness, forgiveness's forgiven, forgiving,
forgiveth appears 113 times.
Yes, I took out my concordance and counted.
Scripture to Apply
Matthew 18:21
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft
shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven
times?
Matthew 18:22
Jesus said unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until
seventy times seven.
Taken from Neil Anderson's Devotional Forgive
your brother from your heart
(Matthew 18:35 NIV).
Music "I've Got Peace Like A River"
Daily
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