You Must Forgive

You Must Forgive “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” Matthew 6:15 The word forgiveness is one of the most used words in the Bible, and has several different connotations depending upon how it is used. These meanings are used by Jesus to describe the forgiveness of our sins, if we turn our lives over to him, and trust him for our salvation. Another meaning of forgiveness is where we are asked to forgive others who may have done wrong to us, or injured us in some way, and the process whereby we need to put this in our past and let go of the hurt and forgive them This is one of the more difficult things to overcome, but if we are not able to overcome this obstacle, it will be difficult for us to have the real peace and joy in our lives that we are looking for. It is so easy for all of us to make excuses and use the phrase “it’s not my fault” to describe our current situation. Forgiveness will relieve our hurts and pains of the past. It will bring back the happiness and joy in our lives. If we have bitterness in our hearts we cannot have the happiness and joy in our lives that we desire. Once we decide to release the bitterness we have stored and let it go, we will then be able to reap God’s blessings. Bitterness and pent up anger for something that has happened in our past will keep God from operating in our lives, and will keep our prayers from being answered. We must learn to forgive to be free. Forgiveness is a choice, but it is not an option if we want to live a happy life. In the above scripture Jesus promises us that if forgive others that sin against us, he will also forgive us. What better reason do we have to forgive others so that our sins will also be forgiven? If you have someone you need to forgive, do it today. Robert W. Brock My Daily Devotional Volume Six November 26