The Language of Heaven

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 6:14-16
 
A couple of friends of ours came into town for one of our conferences. Afterward they stayed with us as we debriefed from what happened during the event. The question was asked, "From an outsiders' perspective, what do you think we could have done differently?"

"Talk more about forgiveness," one of them said. "Ah," our other friend at the table said. "The language of heaven."

Forgiveness is so hard sometimes. How can the unforgiveable be forgiven? A molested child, a cheating spouse, murder, neglect - these are difficult things that happen. Even smaller offenses can create huge wounds, too big to heal even with the words, "I'm sorry." But what are we going to do with wounds and offenses when they happen? Certainly a grieving process needs to occur. But what will our end response be? 

I read an article where a young woman was describing how her mom and brother were killed in a terrible shooting perpetrated by the U.S. government. Her mother and 14-year old brother were shot before her eyes as a 16-year old teenager. Her mother had been carrying her baby sister in her arms when she was killed. It took her 10 years to grieve. She says, "I was afraid to laugh because you're betraying their memory. I lived as a prisoner of depression for a long time." But finally, she chose to let go and forgive the perpetrators.

"I hit rock bottom," she said. "I opened up my Bible and read John 3:16. Jesus made himself very real to me. He started healing me of all my pain. No one drug me to a church and started hitting with the Bible. It was more real to me even than (the incident). I feel like a huge weight's come off my shoulders... The anger you hold for someone else imprisons you and keeps you from helping others," she said.

Wow. I pray that we are all able to speak 'the language of heaven', no matter the offense, and let Jesus our Healer heal every wound that's ever been inflicted upon us as we make the choice to forgive.


Source: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/sep/09/woman-forgives-federal-agents/

Avoiding Judgments

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.” -Luke 6:37

Have you ever felt judged?  It’s not the best feeling. Sometimes, with even the best of intentions, we fall short in being Christ-like in this area.  We feel we have a right to proclaim God’s justice to the world, and to other believers. The world already tends to think of Christians as judgmental - but we are supposed to be known for Christ’s love, healing, and grace. How sad!

Mother Teresa once said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”  The even more dangerous part of this is that we open ourselves up to judgment if we aren’t careful – the enemy has a legal right to us if we’ve judged others. Once we make these types of accusations, even in our minds, we are left open to attack. We are found to have holes in our spiritual armor.

“Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”  -Romans 2:4

When we are tempted to judge, we should instead go to a place of prayer and blessing.  When we are tempted to point out a wrong over a point of disagreement, we should instead find points of encouragement. Encouragement promotes possibility and potential, while judgment finds places of wrongdoing and shame.  In a culture that is saturated with fear and shame, judgment often makes us focus on "not messing up" versus the new opportunity in Jesus to begin again. "But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life thinking it’s stupid."  -Albert Einstein

The Bible says that people are drawn by God’s goodness. (Rom 2:4) Are there any judgments in your heart that could keep you from ministering the goodness of His gospel? This is often the greatest blockage for God to use us – judgments against unbelievers, ourselves, or other believers.  All of us are guilty of judgment – but when we do, are we able to see it and repent?  I pray that we will all be sensitive to judgment so that God can use each of us mightily in His kingdom.

Blessing Those Who Curse You

"Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you." -Luke 6:28
 

Have you ever had an enemy? It could be someone you might have gotten into an argument with, someone who wronged you, or it could even be a former friend or estranged relative. However the enemy became an enemy, Jesus taught us that we are to bless our enemies, to pray for those who have hurt us. (Matthew 5:44) 

This is easier said that done. Often if there has been abuse involved it is difficult to think about that person and even harder to forgive them. But, forgive them we must - because as Jesus said, "...if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 6:15 

One night I was driving home from the gym with my mom, as she was visiting from out of town. All of a sudden, a dog rushed out in front of us, and (BAM!) I had no time to stop. My first concern was the dog, because I thought for sure he would be lying on the side of the road either dead or needing emergency care. But as I walked over to where the dog came from he was bounding around, like nothing had happened. I saw the dog's owner as I began to walk over and asked, "Is your dog alright?" to which he replied, "He seems fine to me!" "Ok," I said. I couldn't see any damage to my car in the dark, so I drove home, slightly shaken. 

When I got home I told my husband what had happened and he came out to look at my car. The car had been chipped above the right wheel, where I had hit the dog. I began to think about what had happened. In our county it is illegal to let a dog roam in a neighborhood without a leash. So, my husband and I decided to go over to the man's house and talk to him about the situation. 

When we got there, the dog's owner was sitting inside the garage smoking. When we walked up, he greeted us and was very nice. We told him about the situation and showed him the damage, and he immediately said, "I'd be happy to compensate you for that." I was so glad. I didn't want it to turn into a big confrontation. 

A couple days later I got an estimate for the repair of my car and put it on his door, like he asked, with a note. Several minutes later he called on my phone and left a message saying, "It was your fault you hit my dog. My lawyer said it's your fault, so I'm not paying for this." At that point, we became enemies. I called him back and asked him if he was aware of the county leash laws. He said that he was but that he was not responsible. I told him my mom and I could have been seriously hurt due to his irresponsibility, to which he hung up the phone. 

I was so mad! It made me even more upset that this whole situation was taking up time due to the drama of it all. But, eventually, I got over it - I let it go. I just hoped that his dog wouldn't be let out again so we wouldn't have any more incidences. 

One day, I drove past and remembered the situation, and remembered the scripture, "pray for your enemies - bless those who curse you." So I prayed that God would bless him. Wouldn't you know it, two weeks later, a "For Rent" sign showed up on the lawn. He had moved! I definitely felt a lot safer. 

Do you pray for your enemies? Do you bless those who curse you? Ask God to help you bless your enemies today.

Forgiveness

"Forgive people when they do wrong things to you. If you forgive them, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive them, your Father will not forgive you." -Matthew 6:14-15

 

Forgiveness can be so hard sometimes. Someone you think should know better, someone you thought you could trust, someone you depended on who let you down - abuse, mistreatment, betrayal - we will all experience hurts, disappointments, and frustrations in life.

Although we may know better, sometimes it feels better in the moment to hold on. Parents, teachers, peers, friends, neighbors, bosses, companies, churches, government officials, ourselves, God - the list could go on and on. "It serves them right," we say. The immediate gratification of making our feelings known or acting upon them seems like the right thing to do... in the moment. 

However, in that split second, we forget how detrimental unforgivness can be. Harboring unforgiveness can result in diseases in our bodies, fear, anxiety, anger, and troubled or estranged relationships. When we feel we cannot forgive, the person it hurts the most is us. This is where we need God's intervention and healing. We need to make forgiveness a priority and realize that it is ALWAYS better to forgive - to let God take it, and let God be God. Forgiveness frees our minds, gives us peace, and brings us closer to God's purposes for our lives.

I went to a training one time that taught the participants to practice "pre-forgiveness," the act of forgiving someone before they do anything - deciding that no matter what they have done in the past, could do now, or will do in the future, we have chosen to forgive. 

"Then Peter came to Jesus. 'Lord, if my brother keeps on hurting me, how many times should I forgive him?' he asked. 'Should I forgive him seven times?' 'No, not just seven times, but forgive him seventy times seven times', Jesus said." -Matthew 18:21&22

 

Is there anyone you need to forgive today? Is there an issue in your heart that feels unresolved? Resolve yourself to forgiveness. Let us be pure in mind and in spirit so that God will "find nothing in us" (2 Peter 2:2) that the enemy could use to deter us from God's purpose for us.