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(Colossians 3:13) “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
SERIES 7: WALKING WITH JESUS - “How do I now live because I belong to Christ?” 12. Choosing forgiveness (Refusing to let yesterday imprison tomorrow).
Following Jesus means learning to forgive, even when we have been genuinely hurt.
Of course, forgiveness is easier to talk about than to practise, especially when someone has wounded us deeply; it can feel as though holding on to the hurt somehow protects us. I don't know about you, but I seem to replay what happened, remember the words, and imagine what I should (could) have said. Unfortunately, that only means that yesterday begins to occupy far too much space in today!
But Jesus calls us to something different.
Forgiveness doesn't mean pretending that what happened didn't matter. It doesn't mean saying that the hurt wasn't real or that what someone did was acceptable. It means choosing not to remain trapped by what happened.
Paul tells us to forgive “as the Lord forgave you.” That changes everything. Think about how much God has forgiven us. We don't approach Him because we have earned His mercy. We come because Christ has already paid the price for our sin.
Unforgiveness can keep an old wound alive long after the original event has passed. We can carry yesterday's anger into today's relationships and allow one person's actions to shape the way we see everyone else.
But forgiveness breaks that chain! Forgiveness is a decision we have to make more than once. The memory may return, and the anger may rise again, but when it does, we can choose forgiveness again: “Lord, I remember what happened. It still hurts. But I place this person in Your hands.”
That isn't weakness. It is trust.
(Great Quote) Forgiveness doesn't erase the past. It simply refuses to let the past write the future.
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Let us pray, "Heavenly Father, I choose to forgive all who have hurt me ... including myself for all my stupid actions...!" Amen!
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URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS (Please keep checking as more are being added almost daily)