Forgive As You Have Been Forgiven

Forgive From A Heart Of Love Ephesians 4:17-32 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary [h]edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, [i]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 4:29-32) (Ephesians 4:25-32) tells us as christians, as followers of Christ are not to live as we once did. It says “You must no longer live as the Gentiles do, (or as you once did) in the futility of (your)their thinking (mind). That kind of thinking clouds your judgement and your in their understanding causing the thinker to go astray and away from God's way. And that shows the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts” (vv. 17-18). It goes on to say, that it is true, we all once lived like that. Bit now we, “You must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body” (v. 25). We are to change, ecause we have been given a new life to live. So then as we shed our old way of living and exchanging it for the new life in Christ, we’ll find it natural—even fulfilling—to “be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (v. 32). That is a tall order, Jesus is God and He has the power and strength and love to forgive But so do we! When we gave our lives to God, Jesus promised to come through the indwelling Holy Spirit to guid and direct us, and to give us the strength to love God's way Therefore each of us, as followers of God, who have been born again into new life has God dwelling in us. The Holy Spirit will extend the same boundless, unconditional grace to others, through us,that we have received from Him. I agree, we are still human and this type of forgiveness does not come easy. But my friends it is the core of who we are as Christians through our fsith in God and the power of the Holy Spirit through believing in the Son of God who gave His life for us, forgiving our sins as we commit our lives to Him. Read these scriptures and ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand and recieve this kind of love that can and will forgive others as you have been forgiven. (Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13, John 19:30, John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Philippians 2:7-8). I know from experience, o forgive others takes more love that you or I have. We must swallow our pride and sacrifice it and our desires for revenge, to give up the thoughts thst its our right to pay back what has been dolled out to us. We must sacrifice those rights, and forgive even when we know they don't deserve it. Yes, we are called on too, extend that same grace, regardless of whether the person who hurt us has fully earned it yet or not. I also know, that pperson sometime cannot anylonger ever earn that forgiveness, because they have passed away. Still it is important "for you", to forgive them, when you do, you will find it frees you from your prison. Because when God forgives through you, He remembers our sins no more. You must understand that truely forgiveng means letting go of the offense and choosing not to hold past wrongs against that person any longer. In Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus teaches that our willingness to forgive others is a direct reflection of our understanding and acceptance of God's forgiveness.As we do this, we are breaking the cycle the devil is holding us in, and the circle, the cycle is broken and we can move on. We must uderstand that forgiveness does not mean forgetting the pain or ignoring boundaries, we will be aware that we do not let that type of thing hurt us again. But we accept that person and asstieate with them as much as it is possible. Sometimes there can be complete recociliation, sometime it casnnot be done Because there is more than just you dealling with the issue. We on our part can choose to release the offender from the debt they owe you, entrusting the situation to God's justice and grace.That is the very best you can do, unless the other party is willing to do the same. (Ephesians 4) calls us to deal with speech-related sins like angry words (v. 26), unwholesome talk (v. 29), and slander (v. 31) for they are sin as well. How about you, has God reminded you of a speach sin, hs He reminded you of a lie you have told? The bible tells us to “speak truthfully to your neighbor”, our boss, our friend, our children, our wife .... (v. 25). Or on the other hand, has someone come to you, and confessed a lie and asking you for forgiveness? What would your respose be? Would you go the that person and give them a hug and tell them, yes you are forgiven, because walked to me and gave me a hug. “Of course I forgive you,” Because how could I not, when I know how much God’s forgiven me” Father God, help me do a personal life check, how many sinful words or actions have I spoken that maybe should be delt with. Or who do I need to forgiven, even though they haven't ask for forgiveness yet? Or wh has asked for forgiveness and I need to forgive them and let them know I have done so. Lord, God help me to remember, that I need to forgive someone today as soon as I feel ofended. I know that I have the strength to do so because of the Holy Spirit being in my life. Through Him I have the strength. It is in your name I pray AMEN Forgiving God, please enable me to forgive others.