"Messages"

Love is the most powerful force that exists. Add love to forgiveness and you have a very, very powerful combination. You cannot forgive without a true loving heart. When you see the pain that people have felt and had to deal with you can see how God can forgive - and you can do this as well. Forgiveness frees the forgiver of pain and anguish, and frees the guilty so that they can start again.

One of the things to do is to be humble and forgive and forgive every time you are attacked (it takes some belief to do this but it can be done). Keep a tender heart and know that your attackers are as Stephen knew his, that they know not what they are doing for they don't understand you and your golden heart. But still be good and faithful and keep a good humble heart, again and again.

You may feel some tears, emotional pain and sorrow under their stares, but it takes a far stronger person to stand up to attack and show love, than to attack as the attackers attack and yield result of more anguish, pain and sorrow.

While following what you know is right, even under false accusations, keep yourself in the trust of God. Pray for your attackers, love them as you know that they have made a drastic mistake and in time, God will show them the errors of their ways - be patient and keep loving and forgiving.

Micah Chapter 7, verse 18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
Micah Chapter 7, verse 19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Matthew Chapter 6, verse 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

1 John Chapter 1, verse 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is another way of saying, "I cannot forgive." - Henry Ward Beecher.

Forgiveness is man's deepest need and highest achievement - Horace Bushnell.

He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven - Thomas Fuller.

Is it not by forgiving that one is forgiven.

To forgive is a grand thing to do - it frees your soul from hatred and pain. I have a deep belief in forgiveness, just as I have a deep belief in people.  Mine is not to convict or judge, but to forgive, help and guide with the true love of a heart that lives for people and wants to see answers not just theories & books. I know that the true way to help a person is to show total commitment of love to that person - letting my heart go to that person, forgiving for the past, helping that person mend from their pain and anguish for wrongs they may have done.

To forgive a person is to pardon them. To see into their heart the pains that they, like you, have received and suffered, and forgive them totally, putting aside all bad feelings of anger or dislike. You may dislike their ways, but as any believer in God knows, there are churches full of people who once trod the path of sin and were forgiven by their church brethren and families. The dislikeable ways can be changed, if they are willing - otherwise forgive them anyway.  The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. We too, must be long-suffering, merciful and gracious in our dealings with our fellow humans for this is the way of the Lord.

When you call to God for the first time God forgives, and then puts aside your sinful past (like you will) in His mind and then gets to work showing you how much He loves you and wants to help you. You are as you grow in His love to help other people become believers in Gods ways. The Lords work is always being done and people are the perfect tools to help people. We also have the mental ability to forgive other people who have wronged us.

Something to remember when a person has done you wrong is that the person has been led astray by evil, and has taken up the ways that are not what Jesus taught. Because of this you can forgive this person because this person has been seduced into the attitude and life that they now have. There are many reasons why a person can go bad, and when somebody attacks you there are many reasons why that happened, and there will be some that you don't know about.

Remember that your real enemy is not people but as it states in Ephesians Chapter 6, verse 12:
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

One of the reasons a person should not judge is because that person only knows what they can see - there is much going on that we don't know about. It could be simply that other people have interfered, or that the person has been goaded into doing something silly etc. In many cases people do wrong because their parents did wrong and we humans tend to copy our parents. 

God gave us the wonderful ability to copy our parents, adults and other family members so that we can learn at a faster speed. As a child you see your parents or other family members walk and talk, so as a child you got a desire to copy them as it looks exciting and wonderful and also useful to walk. You would have noticed people jumping, running, and doing all sorts of wonderful physical things. All these visions of fun would excite you into wanting to do them as well, and you will mimic what you see. 

If a parent does some things wrong like lose their temper on a reasonably regular basis then you may find that as you grow up you will do the same. I remember being told of a teenage girl who would throw tantrums and break the dinner plates in her fury, and then I was told that this was exactly what her mother did when she got mad. So it was passed down mentally and emotionally from parent to child, the child saw this acceptable because her example of a female parent showed her so at various times in that child's life. Sometimes we may not exactly copy our parents but we may react in a similar manner.

It can be hard at times, but very useful to view the situation from our attackers side as well as our own.

To err is human, to forgive is divine - Alexander Pope.

The problem with this is that if our parents do wrong to us or to other people often we unknowingly copy them and do the same things that they did. When a person is young and they have copied their parents or done wrong because their parents have taught them to, the child is innocent. The child will have to be re-educated away from the wrong that the child has learnt. The parent will need re-educating as well.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

We even after calling for help from God still have free will so we can still live without the help of Christ but we should be always aware that this help is there for us always. We need to confess our sins and repent. Hopefully people that have done us wrong will do the same. But even if they don't we still need to let go any bad feelings that we may have against them.

Forgiveness is an emotional tool that we can use if we choose to do so. It is a free tool from God to you and I. Common sense is another tool and we can use common sense to realize that to forgive will cleanse us and free us from continued suffering, and free the guilty person from their own torment. It is the way of Jesus, to not judge others and to forgive:
Act 13:38  Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 

Forgiveness and then befriending a person who is truly sorry and then teaching that person from wrong to right is so much more productive than punishing that person. This is called correction, and it can be done after forgiving.

Isaiah 55:7  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 

When you love everyone, then you can forgive a person of their wrongs, and then with the true love in your heart for that persons suffering you can help that person. How many people have you known to turn to God and live wonderful lives helping people? Plenty, because that is what being Born Again means, Salvation & being Born Again in Christ and changing from the person you were to that new person in Christ, and reaching others with your new knowledge. 

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

In many cases it may only need your forgiveness, showing some genuine love, and you can have a new friend, a friend who will follow Christ. 

Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. 

To forgive frees you from hatred, anger and pain. I have a deep belief in forgiveness, just as I have a deep belief in people. Ours is not to convict or judge, but to forgive. The true way to help a person is to show total commitment of love to that person - letting your heart go to that person, forgiving for the past, helping that person mend from their pain and anguish for wrongs they may have done.
 

Just saying "Hello" can really be an uplifter in your day. Saying "I love you!" to a friend or family member is a way of sending a loving message and uplifting two people at once. If you see each other physically don't forget to share a hug!  - J M Sandbrook.