Monday, May 3, 2010

"Freedom Through Forgiveness"


And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:30-32)

...do not 'grieve' the Holy Spirit = to make sorrowful, sad...you were 'sealed' = idea of ownership, securityLet all 'bitterness' be put away from you = to cut, to stab
Let all... 'wrath' be put away from you = rage
Let all... 'anger' be put away from you = temper
Let all...'clamor' be put away from you = yelling, shoutingLet all...'evil speaking' be put away from you = verbal attacks
Let all...'malice' be put away from you = evil, meanness
...be 'kind' to one another = kindred, like a family member
...be 'tenderhearted' to one another = compassionate...be 'forgiving' to one another = unconditional favor released
...even as God in Christ forgave you = Biblical idea of a 'release', 'sending away', or 'letting go'; a cancellation of a debt or the release of an 'offense'

"Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny." (Matthew 5:23-26)
Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” (Luke 17:1-4)


Father God, it is my prayer that I be more like your Son when it comes to forgiveness and showing patients with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Lord forgive me if I have become a stumbling block to a weaker believer by causing them to sin. Father God, I pray that the light of Jesus shines through me and that I will always remember to give You all the glory that You so richly deserve. I pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen

18 comments:

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Forgiveness is crucial to our spiritual (and mental) health. Not only do we need to be forgiven (which God does) but we also have to forgive. We have to forgive ourselves and others.

Barbara said...

Amen sister, I love those scriptures, and yes forgiveness is so important and mean having the full joy of the lord or not, thanks for this.
Lots of hugs, Barbara

Scott said...

I should read this one every morning, and just before I get on the freeway. God Bless!

Solid Rock or Sinking Sand said...

I want to thank each of you for visiting my blog and for your comments.

I sometimes need to remind myself that we can not have eternal life without God's forgiveness. So we must obey God and forgive others as He forgave us through His Son Christ Jesus. God bless, Lloyd

Libbie said...

Can you imagine if the world was able to do that! I look forward to the day! I love how eveident your love for Christ is! Keep that light shining my friend!!!

Denise said...

Thank you for visiting my blog and thank you for praying for my husband Philip! I am very thankful!
Denise

Kelly L said...

You are so right - there is a huge freedom in forgiveness... Last Sunday in one of my Bible classes we were talking about this... How can we glorify our walk with Christ? By loving and forgiving... continuously.
Love to you.
Kelly
Amazing Salvation

Sheila Deeth said...

Very wise post. Thank you.

Sr Crystal Mary Lindsey said...

Yes, I believe the whole of our faith in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit revolves around forgiveness and love. And Amen to your prayer..
It's a daily walk, growing to be more of Him and less of us.
God bless you Lloyd.

Nana Jul said...

This life we live is quite a practice field for strengthening our "forgiveness" muscle. I have found the more I practice the better I get at it. It comes more quickly, then a bitter root doesn't have time to grow! Thank you Jesus for forgiving us!
God bless you Lloyd.
Great post.
Julie

JT said...

Sometimes it is not easy to forgive. May God bless you.

Martha's Favorites said...

Hi: Thank you for your message and please pray for my husband Kelly. He is in need of emotional healing. Thank you, Martha

INSIDE THE SHRINK said...

Sometimes we forget that our tongue is very powerful and our words ring out through eternity. Thanks for the reminder to keep a reign on what we say. As Christians we should be uplifting, encouraging, and in love, bringing others to the Lord. Thanks for a great post. God bless.

Solid Rock or Sinking Sand said...

Thank you all for such uplifting and encourageing comments. Let us all pray for Martha's husband Kelly, that the Lord will renew him and give him the peace that only Jesus can give. God bless, Lloyd

Southern Reflexions said...

Thank you so much for visiting my blog!! I am SO glad you did because I really enjoy connecting with other Christians...I am on the mission of spreading the good news of my grandfather's mission on my blog, but it's not always easy finding people who are interested!!

I would love to talk to you about the Mormon faith...I have someone very close to me who is Mormon, and I am trying to witness as incredibly difficult as it is!!

Thank you again!! ~ Marlie

Vickie said...

I so love how you gave a break down of each of these words. Many times we read them, even memorize them and don't realize the standard that we should be living to. Thank God for the Holy SPirit who enables us.

Have a blessed day
Vickie

Unknown said...

What powerful truths! Thanks for sharing!

Father help us to love as you love, without conditions, without offense! Amen.

Julie Gorman
http://hisloveextendedministries.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Great words as usual. Forgiveness is so powerful. It is truly the key to our freedom through Christ of course. We only hold ourselves in bondage when we don't release others and our hearts become so weighed down and bitter we could barely function.

I am standing with you in agreement with your prayer to be more like Him and also for Martha's husband, Kelly.