3-28-21 Pass Up Payback

Daily Jot: Pass Up Payback - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. —Mark 11:25 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/pass-up-payback/ - Listen I heard about a Sunday school teacher who asked her class about forgiveness. She said, “Kids, what does a person need to do to receive forgiveness from God?” There was a short pause, and then a small boy spoke up and said, “You have to sin.” We’ve all done that, haven’t we? If we’ve sinned, then we need forgiveness. The good news is that God promises in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (NLT). Not only do we need forgiveness when we sin, but we also need to forgive others who have wronged us. When we’ve been hurt, we have a choice: We can rehearse what happened, or we can release it. Forgiveness, however, isn’t condoning or dismissing someone’s bad behavior. It isn’t even reconciliation, because that isn’t always possible. To forgive means surrendering our right to get even. It means we’re not going to pay that person back, even though they may deserve it. Instead, put them in God’s hands, because Romans 12:19 tells us, “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the Lord” (NLT). Is there someone you’re holding a grudge against right now? To fail to forgive actually can bring your prayer life to a halt. Jesus said, “But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too” (Mark 11:25 NLT). Are you bound up in bitterness and haven’t been able to forgive? The more you know about God’s willingness to forgive you, the more you’ll be willing to extend that same forgiveness to others.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-17-23 Not in a Billion Years

Not In A Million Billion Years :: By Dave Hubley Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles (There is a special message at the end of this article for those who might happen to read this and do not have Jesus in their life and are looking for peace and a way to better understand the present-day insanity and confusion.) Several years ago, I had a conversation with a guy in a waiting room while getting an oil change (in the car, not me). I don’t recall exactly how the conversation originated or how it progressed, but I have never forgotten it. As I recall, it had something to do with evolution and an article that was contained in a “waiting room magazine” that was available there. He made the observation that God was “something that man had made up.” I can’t recall the exact reason he used to justify his opinion, but it had something to do with the usual reasons people give: Weak-willed people needing a crutch, and blah, blah, blah. I engaged him in a “witness,
Read more

9-16-23 Santa Staleness

Santa Staleness :: By Edwin Tan Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles My one and only trip to Israel had more than a profound effect on my present-day psyche. It might have been three decades ago, but there is more than a lingering aftertaste. It happened smack in the last fortnight of the year. Surprisingly absent were the familiar sights and sounds of the Christmas most people are accustomed to. Hardly any Christmas decorations in downtown Tel Aviv, if not any of the shopping thoroughfares across the Holy Land. Hanukah was a breath of fresh air – not anything resembling a Christmas carol most people grew up with did surface. The Christmas Eve service in a small Protestant church not far away from Jerusalem’s Old City was awesome; songs that truly celebrated the virgin birth of our Lord, which though seemingly unheard of, were a welcome inspiration to many a soul. There was even one sung in Arabic! So it began, my overt disdain for the secular Christmas t
Read more

9-15-23 Miracles 2

Miracles 2 :: By Jim Towers Published on: December 21, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles This story is a continuation of the exciting things God continues doing in my life. I was supposed to have died a while back, and sometimes I feel as though I may do so soon. But since I’m ready to meet my maker, I have no fear of death. In fact, my evangelistic zeal has only increased, especially as I see the fast approaching of the “Tribulation period” mentioned in the book of Revelation. Insofar as my acting career is concerned, I just finished filming a soliloquy featuring Melchior, one of the three Magi who followed the star to Christ lying in the manger, and am preparing to portray a Jewish Priest on stage. Like I said, God is working overtime in my life, and I will be appearing on stage singing Broadway show tunes sometime in March, so I have a lot of rehearsing to do. In the meantime, I will be signing Christmas carols acapella at a park here in Naples. Since it is a spontaneous th
Read more