Who Is God?

Start your day everyday by saying, “I am forgiven!” Therefore, I forgive you! This truth needs to be reverberating around the world! Go into all the world and preach! Most things Jesus said we agree with. However, it is difficult to live out everyday! Forgive? Seven times? Seventy seven times? We are always forgiven! So why keep score every time you are offended? There are some misconceptions about forgiveness. Some pretend nothing has happened? It is called living on the Egyptian River of denial! Part of the healing process is talking about hurts and pains especially in marriage. Why bring up the past? Maybe so we can talk about it so it does not happen again! Not to shame us but remind us of our failures and need to forgive! Dynamite is compressed tightly together so you get a big bang with very little of it! If we compress our hurts inside of us one day we will explode! The explosion could destroy your marriage! The pain of not talking about it is far worse than everyone knowing about it! It is medicinal to talk about it. Years ago I had a Pastor who was very good from the pulpit but very different away from the pulpit! He was abusive to us and we thought about getting out of the ministry! We left the church and moved to Texas. Forgiving him was difficult and we were counseled to write a letter to him in detail and ask God to Bless his life and ministry! I did write the letter several times and tore the letter up and threw in the trash several times! As I wrote the letter several times the pain within me began to be released! After we forgive do we need to trust again? Violation of trust is a big deal! It is painful! It has harmed us and we want to retaliate! Forgiveness and trust is different. We wish the best for the offender but to trust again? Can trust be earned back? It is very difficult! To earn trust back we must do the right things for the right reasons for a very long time! Here is a visual example. Trust is earned one drop at a time but can be spilled out in one bucket. Don’t kick the bucket over! It takes a long time to fill again! We forgive and do not want bitterness towards someone. They do not owe us! The debt has been cancelled! We tore up the judgments! We do not expect an apology! We have torn up the bill of sale! Acts 7:59-60 Stephen was stoned! Since Colorado has legalized pot some young new members of our church got the wrong idea when I said stoned? I got nods and approval from them then realized the problem! I explained the stoned is a rock! Forgive us our debts and forgive our debtors. Father forgive them was one of those seven sayings Jesus said on the Cross. Stephen said forgive and receive my spirit! How could he say this? Stephen knew he was forgiven! Do not hold sin against others! They do not owe you anything! This is the beautiful explanation of the Remarkable Christian Faith! This sets Christianity apart from every other religion! No Jihad here! We express forgiveness! Christianity has broken through the dark clouds of war! If you forgive much much is forgiven! People who hold judgments forget they are forgiven! We can never forgive more than God does! They do not owe me anything but not an excuse for bad behavior! When we forgive then they do not own us! 1 Peter 2:23-24 Retaliation? They said something about us that was not true? When their ownership of you gets released you get free space in your brain! You now have more capacity! Fill up the spare room with the mind of Christ! Our response shows us whether we have forgiven or not? Deism is one of the oldest religions around. Deism says God exists but is not active in the earth. A big God is not interested in what is going on. So since God is inactive I must act and do His job for Him! God understands who I am and do not have to defend myself! No one owns me or owes me! Leave space for God! Let God set things right! Do you trust God to leave it to Him? If you wrestle with schemes in your mind to defend yourself then they own you! How do I know our dog belongs to us? When you call him by name he responds! If you are owned by someone then they push your buttons to get a response! If God has forgiven you then who can accuse you? Jesus did not retaliate! It is so hard to wait to be seated in a nice restaurant! They hand you this buzzer and you wait and watch people sip tea and enter into senseless conversations while you are starving! They came in the same door some enjoying the good food and others suffering waiting to be served! The same door that allows God’s forgiveness into our heart is the same door that allows un-forgiveness out! Do not be a hostage to un-forgiveness! The tables are filled with people you may not like! Accept the invitation from Jesus at His table as you share God’s mercy with others who are forgiven just like you! Spend the rest of your life serving others! Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado