HEALMENOW!!!

People love God, even want to be like God. God is love and it’s only natural that He asks us to love too. We recite the commandments: “I love the Lord my God with all my heart, mind and strength and I love my neighbor as myself.” (as long as my neighbor doesn’t bother me or hurt me.) Right? No, that’s wrong…for a fact someone will bother you or hurt you and for a fact you must forgive them. Failure to forgive can hurt you more than you know and at the wrong time.

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. Matthew 6: 14

Then Peter came up to Him and said, Lord, how many times may my brother sin against me and I forgive him and let it go? [As many as] up to seven times? Jesus answered him, I tell you, not up to seven times, but seventy times seven! Matthew 18: 21-22

So also My heavenly Father will deal with every one of you if you do not freely forgive your brother from your heart his offenses. Matthew 18: 35

For many years; I was “volunteered” into the role of an Obituary presenter at funerals. It actually sounds quite simple, but it wasn’t. I believe that I was chosen because someone “perceived” that I had good diction and enunciation. There was a time when people said that I “talked proper.” I had a tendency to make it a point to meet with the family to assure that every name was pronounced correctly. I had realized the importance of this when at an older relatives’ funeral; an important nickname was mispronounced and one could hear people whispering the correct version.

Unfortunately families have secrets. They all do. There’s always something that “only” the people in the family and sometimes their closest friends know. I don’t want to dwell on it…but when there is a death often the truth doesn’t come out. Sometimes it doesn’t need too. Many many times there is anger, injustice and greed. Those factors often combine and cause “unforgiveness.” I’ve heard so many stories and had a front row seat to some horrible things. The devil is always going to see to it that somebody does something to somebody else making it hard for “somebody” to forgive.

Don’t forget that.

What is unforgiveness? m It’s when you just can’t forget and pardon or forgive someone who has done something to you or someone else. We often people say: “I can forgive; but I can’t forget.” The interpretation of that depends solely on the heart of the confessor. It means either I really didn’t forgive you, but I’m saying I did…or it means I forgive you in my heart; but I don’t trust you. Believe it or not; even the nicest people have a problem with forgiveness. Innocent people which many often are have a really hard time with unforgiveness.

FORGIVING IS A SPIRITUAL MUST….it truly is. Faith and forgiveness are tied together. Faith won’t work if the heart is clogged up with unforgiveness. I read that in a Daily Devotional by Brother Kenneth Copeland. Wow! That really makes sense.

Many people want to be healed and in their minds perhaps they’ve done everything that they can think of and nothing has happened…try forgiving. I personally know it’s hard sometimes even though I’m working to reach a level where I can instantly forgive. I haven’t yet but I’d like to. I’ll tell you what: before I ask for anything in prayer…I make sure that I’ve forgiven.