Forgiveness

[llopez88]

Hello! I am undergoing the process of forgiving others and was interested in hearing about your experiences.

 

[brinny]

Excellent subject. I watched your video, and you are spot on about forgiveness, at least based on my own experience. It's one of the most difficult things i've ever done, and only by God's grace was i able to genuinely forgive.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

How transparent of you to make a video.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

Similar to the self-scrutiny one goes through in the AA 12 step program.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

If you can master full forgiveness of self and others, you are a star Christian!
(sorry, which means God gets all the credit)

 

[Poppyseed78]

Forgiveness is one of the hardest things I've struggled with. I'm still working on forgiving those who have hurt me. I hope that eventually I'm successful.

 

[llopez88]

I completely forgot about forgiving myself! (0)_(0)

 

[Winken]

Hello! I am undergoing the process of forgiving others and was interested in hearing about your experiences.

Excellent presentation. It is wonderful to hear that you are free of those demonic thoughts. Realize that when you became a born-again Believer you were equipped with a Spiritual Nature that is monitored by the Holy Spirit. HE is always present to provide instruction, leadership, and, of course, Spiritual guidance. Sometimes the brain gets in the way of that (the old sinful part of the brain is still hanging around); a clear understanding of who you are in Christ Jesus is very helpful. Therefore, let me offer this:

Jesus forgave you of all sin (no exceptions) at the Cross. He doesn't mess with partial forgiveness! Entering Heaven is based upon His forgiveness and your confession of Him as Savior....hold on....that's it!

Right now you don't clearly understand that....you aren't accepting of the wonderful, glorious Spiritual Truth that you ARE forgiven now and forever! On that day when you enter Heaven you will be in Perfect Accord with the Will of God, Hallelujah!

Let go of doubt as you go on forgiving others mentally, perhaps emotionally, fulfilling a personal need, just don't let that bog down the assurance that YOU belong to JESUS! He loves you, He will never leave you or forsake you! Give Him Praise and Glory!!

And all God's Children shouted and sang and rejoiced and offered up prayers of thanksgiving for Our Savior, Jesus our Lord!

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

I forgive all those who aren't as forgiving as me!

 

[llopez88]

Excellent presentation. It is wonderful to hear that you are free of those demonic thoughts. Realize that when you became a born-again Believer you were equipped with a Spiritual Nature that is monitored by the Holy Spirit. HE is always present to provide instruction, leadership, and, of course, Spiritual guidance. Sometimes the brain gets in the way of that (the old sinful part of the brain is still hanging around); a clear understanding of who you are in Christ Jesus is very helpful. Therefore, let me offer this:

Jesus forgave you of all sin (no exceptions) at the Cross. He doesn't mess with partial forgiveness! Entering Heaven is based upon His forgiveness and your confession of Him as Savior....hold on....that's it!

Right now you don't clearly understand that....you aren't accepting of the wonderful, glorious Spiritual Truth that you ARE forgiven now and forever! On that day when you enter Heaven you will be in Perfect Accord with the Will of God, Hallelujah!

Let go of doubt as you go on forgiving others mentally, perhaps emotionally, fulfilling a personal need, just don't let that bog down the assurance that YOU belong to JESUS! He loves you, He will never leave you or forsake you! Give Him Praise and Glory!!

And all God's Children shouted and sang and rejoiced and offered up prayers of thanksgiving for Our Savior, Jesus our Lord!

Thanks so much for this! I struggle many times and doubt that I am truly forgiven. John 3:16 tells me so, but sometimes I doubt when I read Mark, Luke, and John regarding those who believe and practice unrighteousness or when Jesus describes the requirements for heaven (Mark 11:25-26 for example).

 

[Winken]

Thanks so much for this! I struggle many times and doubt that I am truly forgiven. John 3:16 tells me so, but sometimes I doubt when I read Mark, Luke, and John regarding those who believe and practice unrighteousness or when Jesus describes the requirements for heaven (Mark 11:25-26 for example).

Thanks! Stay tuned to the info I presented (rather, He presented). Flip over to read this in the KJV:

2 Timothy 2:15

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Paul tells Timothy, "Partner, keep right on studying what I share with you, demonstrating to others that you are a qualified missionary, who Spiritually presents the Word of Truth."

 

[ValleyGal]

Matt. 18:21-22
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

In the video, you mention that you forgive someone and then later remember that person and feel the resentment again, and to you that is indicative that you have not forgiven that person.

Forgiveness does not mean you will not have residual feelings about what the person did. Hurt feelings might continue all your life. But forgiveness means that you recognize your resentments - and don't hold their sin against them when you do remember it and feel it again. It means you won't make them pay by punishing them or bringing it up time and time again, or reminding them of how much it hurt you. Resentment might happen, but what you do with the resentment is what determines whether your have forgiven.

During those times when you remember and then feel the pain, that is when you must choose forgiveness. In Matthew 18, when Jesus said to forgive 77 times, think about what that means. In Luke 17:4 it says "Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,' you must forgive them.” How many hours are in a day that you are awake? 16. If someone sins against you 7 times during that 16 hours, that's an average of 2.5 hours.

No one is going to sin against you every 2.5 hours. But when someone sins against you, it is very easy to think about it that often, or more. I believe these verses speak to your own inner process of forgiveness rather than whether the person actually sins against you that often. When you are able to think about the resentment and pain every 2.5 hours, and still fight the urge to make 'em pay, that is forgiveness....and when you do this consistently, then you are able to deal more effectively with the resentment - the resentment becomes less and less - but that is not a sign you have not forgiven them. It is a sign that you must continue to forgive them.

But this is also a sign that you also continually need the forgiveness of the Lord Jesus. Because sin is in our very nature (character defects), we can never escape our need for him. No matter what we do in life, we still need him. No matter how perfect our behaviour towards others becomes, we still need him. Extending forgiveness to others because we recognize our own desperate need for forgiveness is a starting point for humility.

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

I think letting go is tantamount also. Literally letting go. When those feelings arise, acknowledge them and feel them being given up to God along with all the other feelings that go with them. Feel them being lifted up to Him then feel the angels coming in to fill and heal. Sometimes it takes many times of feeling the pain in different places and releasing them to Him.

 

[NothingIsImpossible]

Forgiveness is easier then forgetting sometimes for me. I can forgive my aunt for being mean to me, I can forgive her for telling me she doesn't approve of my marriage, I can forgive her for being opinionated...etc. But it doesn't mean I forget it sometimes. With my grandmother being in the ER recently for falling I seen my aunt there and she didn't really talk to me but was talking about my cousin (the perfect grandson) and she was excited about the girl hes with and going on and on. In my head I thought "I wish you would say that about my wife instead of not approving, not that you can talk since you have been married many times and married a rich young guy!".

I mean after I say that in my head I pray for forgiveness. But memories are hard to get rid of sometimes.

 

[Goodbook]

Forgiveness makes me aware that we humans are all sinners in need of forgiveness.

The only unforgiveable thing Jesus said was blasphemy against the holy spirit and the reason why is because the holy spirit is HOLY there is NO SIN so no charge of sin can ever be against the holy spirit!

When we are not walking in spirit but in The flesh we end up going wrong and sinning but God is just and ready to forgive if we confess and repent. And if we believers sometimes fall short, how much do unbelievers fall short as they cant help but sin. So we need to be even more forgiving and gracious to them. Just like God loved us while we were still sinners.

Forgiveness is so important. Remember Jesus obtained our forgiveness on the cross with his blood so its a done deal, we just need to believe and apply the blood to our lives. He literally gave his life for us, he died and rose again so we can live with his spirit dwelling in us.

 

[Micky123]

I have been struggling with the issue of forgiveness for a while now. My wife is very spiritual, i am too but not as much as her. Her faith is quite strong. We are basically taken for granted every time by everyone who knows us, especially family members because they know that we follow the Bible and one of the most important topics in the bible is forgiveness. I think we have even gone beyond what was written in the Bible (77 times) but people keep taking us for granted because they know that whatever mistakes or faults they make, we will always forgive them. Of late, i have been doing some research on forgiveness and came across a video, where the preacher said, it is ok to forgive, but you need not forget and you can keep your distance from the person concerned. Just wondering if this is true!

 

[No Time for Drama]

I admit that I wonder about this too.

 

[ValleyGal]

i have been doing some research on forgiveness and came across a video, where the preacher said, it is ok to forgive, but you need not forget and you can keep your distance from the person concerned. Just wondering if this is true!

If you forgive and forget, then you condemn yourself to repeat the same mistakes. God created us with memory - and often this memory protects us from making the same mistakes over and over, such as letting people walk all over us, abuse us, or take advantage of us. Forgiveness means not holding it against them - meaning, let go of the perceived debt they owe you for hurting you. But it does not mean setting yourself up for them to do it again.

Boundaries are an important concept in forgiveness. If someone sins against you, it is painful. If they do it again and again and again, then you are just as culpable by allowing them to continue to sin against you.

Love is also an important concept. We are called to love even our enemies. How can we love someone who is abusing us? How can we love someone who takes advantage of us? How can we love someone who hates us? It is much easier to truly love someone from a distance, so if that is what you need to keep you safe and love the person, then that is what is needed. The other part of loving someone is the idea that we need to do what is in the other person's best interest - preferably their best spiritual interest. That might mean distancing yourself from someone in order for them to learn their lessons, taking responsibility for themselves and learning who they need to be responsible to. If someone is using you, and you distance yourself from them, they will learn that they cannot use you anymore, and this changes the nature of the relationship. The person will either resent you for having boundaries, or the person will learn to respect you more. But it is still the loving thing to do - that way if they learn anything, they will learn that it is wrong to use other people and not be responsible for themselves.

So forgiveness is not about forgetting; it is about loving, boundaries, and remembering so as not to allow history to repeat itself. Forgiveness is not even about stopping feeling hurt or resentful. What is it? Jesus demonstrated forgiveness by taking on the payment of our sin debt. So it is about letting go of that sin debt because Jesus paid it. When you forgive them, it means you will not bring it up again to hold it against them. Let go of the desire for revenge. Let go of "payback."

 

[LoricaLady]

Once I was very angry at some people who "done me wrong" for no good reason. At the same time I kept feeling, every now and then, that the Lord was bringing me the word "cancer." I thought it had to do with someone else! Finally I prayed with enough heart to understand why I was getting that word.

Then the Father showed me that my angry feelings were leaving a "door" open to my detriment regarding my health. Also, I felt led to buy something I usually don't buy, to read, and it said that angry feelings lower your immunological system.

So I learned to stop the angry thoughts, to get off the treadmill of mental recriminations. This took time! At least a month. I was amazed at how often I actually was having angry thoughts! After I learned to put those thoughts away (and they would try to come back again on occasion, too, even after that) a funny thing happened. Without trying to, I forgave those people!