The truth about forgiveness

What is forgiveness? Oxford says it is the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven. But what is forgiveness actually? It is the release of the grip of offence taken or given that directly touches rejection and insecurity.

Jesus said in Matthew 6, For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Paul wrote to the Ephesians, be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

In Luke 6 we read, do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

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.”

Forgiveness is not just letting go but in essence it is releasing yourself, your soul, and your mind from hurtful bondage. Unforgiveness and holding on to a grudge is merely putting shackles around your life stealing the kingdom of God from you.

Forgiveness is not just a word that we randomly speak to make people happy, it is the sword of release in a world where our downfall is imminent and expected. Around you are millions of souls in bondage because of a broken environment due to sin. Our downfall is when we allow our sinful nature to be our compass in every decision and in every action.

Jesus displayed the true nature of forgiveness in love when He hanged on the cross and forgave the man hanging next to Him. He spoke over the crowd that wanted His end and asked the Father to forgive them. Both these acts of forgiveness He did while in immense pain. The creator of heaven and earth hanged on a cross where He was put by the very people He created and yet He only desired freedom for them and finally He died and rose from the dead defeating that same sin so that those who hated Him can also have forgiveness.

The truth about forgiveness is not merely the words that we speak, but the entire release of a burden driven soul and letting go of offences that brings nothing more than pain and regret and unwarranted sorrow. The act of forgiving breaks the bondage that the enemy has over you and free you from the lies that kept you captive.

The victory in forgiveness is breaking the silence of a need to live free and opening your heart to the full blessing that lies in the kingdom of heaven. Allowing Jesus to free you and to bring a new dimension in your relationship with God. Forgiveness not only sets you free, but it heals. When your heart is pure and your need for redemption is true, then the Father will heal you from your pain and break the chains that the enemy has on you.

It is a life changer and life giver.

Today’s Journal (Anything) – 19 September 2023

Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

We are busy with a series on “Anything can happen” in our church and to be honest I am a firm believer in anything can happen, because with God all things are possible. Peter walked out on the water and as soon as he saw the waves caused by the storm on the ocean he started to sink.

Jesus grabbed him, but what He said is something that I want to emphasize. Jesus said, “Why did you doubt me?”. Does this sound familiar? I find myself in this exact spot so many times and when I am in the middle of the storm, I get overwhelmed, and I lose the fight. Jesus makes it abundantly clear that by faith Peter would have been fine because his trust would have been firm in the Lord.

Why do we doubt? I think it is in some instances that we seek a quick fix and when it does not happen at the time we wanted, we lose faith, and we drown. Luckily the Lord is always with us, and He pulls us out of our own pit, but what if we kept the faith, kept trusting and allowed Him to act on His time. Then my friend the reward is not in the Lord taking us through the storm, but the reward is the way our faith gets stronger.

God will always be with us, but we must follow His word and allow Him to do the work on His perfect time. The result of this is a much larger blessing in more ways than we can imagine and our relationship with our Father grows.

Although I know He can do all and can change all and save us from everything, I will always keep my hope in Him even when He does not change my situation on my time or at all. I know He can speak the word, and everything can change, yet I will remain steadfast in my faith until God steps in and changes it.

Do not lose faith or hope, because Jesus wants you to trust Him and keep your eyes on Him throughout the storms in your life.

Have a great day.

Today’s Journal (Me) – 14 September 2023

And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it (Romans 7).

I read this chapter and to be honest it just opened to me. We live everyday trying to do the right thing and I find myself completely missing the objective and ending up doing it wrong. I am constantly in a battle, and it seems as if the enemy just took up a new level of attack on me. I am currently battling with two autoimmune diseases and the words in proverbs 23 (For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he) just opened my eyes yesterday.

I realised that one of my biggest challenges is the “Not enough” challenge. I am not a good enough father, I am not providing enough, I am not good enough, I am not strong enough, I am not supporting enough, and I am not working hard enough. These words steel from us and it allows the enemy a gap into our spiritual world. An autoimmune disease is the body’s immune system turning against itself and attacking the body. This unnatural behaviour is caused by the spirit of infirmity (weakness) changing your body’s natural way into the opposite, thus making it attack itself.

To be honest I rebel against God in this way because He gave His son to break sin, yet I allow sin to control my life just a Paul explains in Romans 7. It is not me that is doing it wrong but my sinful nature that is in charge. This area is opened because I allow the lies of the enemy to be my reality. Defeating this spirit is a journey, yet one we must overcome and defeat.

My dear friend, do not allow the words of the enemy to alter who God intended you to be. Remember that the enemy uses your mind as well as the words of other to manifest in you thus allowing the spirit of infirmity to do its job. You are made in the image of God and not in the image of this world. This world and all its lies cannot define who you are when you are in God and He is in you.

Start by loving yourself. You cannot love other if you do not love yourself. If you believe all the lies the enemy cast, speaks, and throws over your life than you are in rebellion with what God intended. Turn away from the lies and start working on your relationship with your Father God. That is what He made you for and with that in place the hold of the enemy will lessen, and your victories will increase.

You are so loved. Have an awesome day.