The reminder to live a new in a New Year

There must be other people who need to hear about forgiveness other than myself. For three good reasons, I have reflected a lot in this theme, second reasons I have come across many others who are struggled with anger and are concerned about the inability to forgive, and third reason scripture calls us to forgive. This Christmas and the new year coming up is a good time for us to clear up those old obstacles by the enemy and start anew. In this beautiful season that God has shown us love and give us the opportunity to celebrate, we must show godly attitude and character to family members, friends who has done us wrong. We can’t enjoy this season with spirit of bitterness, and unforgiven. 

Yes, I’m sure there are some questions that are in your mind. How can I forgive him/her for what he has done to me?

I tried to forgive him, but I just can’t get over it. I told him I forgive him, but I don’t feel I did. Why should I return the way things was if I just told the person I forgive him? Let address these concerns and seek the freedom to forgive and receive forgiveness. 

I have been thinking about forgiveness a lot because someone has hurt me personally and in returned I paid the consequences and walked with the shame and guilt that actually belong to my offender. I know in my heart it’s wrong to hold the spirit of unforgiveness toward that individual. The more I see the shame and felt the burden, the harder I found it hard to forgive. I prayed about it, and asked God for strength to forgive the person. God took me to scripture. It is a verse I have heard more than thousands times and probably have quoted more than thousand to people or in my prayers and situations. However just recently I had to preach a sermon and I prepare my whole sermon on 1 Samuel 15, and God completely changed my direction to Matthew 22:34-37. It is a simple command Love the Lord my God with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind. Wait a minute this is my life and what My heart pledged allegiance to. Once I read a little father it continues to say, and there is a second command like it that is to love my neighbors as myself. As I read the passage two questions arose in my mind. It is rather one question with two parts. Do you really love God. If you do, then like what? Many other passages began to jump into my mind, like 1 John (4:21), love you enemies (Matthew 5:44). Then the Holy Spirit began to convict me I have not love him with my whole heart, soul, and mind. If I have I would have the strength and the power to forgive. Forgiveness is not something that innate in any human being. It is a work of the Holy Spirit in us when we truly transform by the power of love. I began to see the world in God’s perspective. I was convicted by the examples of Christ’s love and in fact I make it my resolution to try to live like Christ in the next year with the help of the Holy Spirit.

We forgive because Christ called us to forgive(Luke 17:3-4). It’s hard to forgive no doubt about it because it requires a spirit of grace, and love. The world doesn’t gives us neither of these. It teaches us to exchange to people whatever they give us, but not true love. Actually this became the norm for how many of us celebrate Christmas. We give gift to people we expected will give us gift back. Think about how much God would have been please if instead of given to those who already have or given to get back, you take this Christmas season feed the poor and the homeless. Take time to share love with those who does not deserved it because of what they’ve done to you. Our Christmas has been you give me I give you, you hate me I hate you, but Christ called us to do the opposite. Grace is to petition someone somethings that he does not deserve. Grace is what Christ has done for us and continue to do for us. If we celebrating Christmas with the Spirit of Christ then our attitude should be of grace. Where we truly learn to reconcile with our brothers and sisters, where forgiveness is happening. This is the aspirations of Christmas, when God chose to forgive me, to love man has his forgiveness embodied in the person of Jesus Christ. Here is good news my friends. How do you shared that good news? 

Second forgiveness requires a genuine love for others. The golden rule of living the kind of life Christ wants for me and you is stated in Matthew (Matthew 22:37-39). Love God with all our hearts, mind soul, and your neighbors as yourselves. As mean in the same ways and manner. Do to others as you would do to yourself . This Christmas is to remind us of this very things, we who deserve nothing good from God, yet blessed by his very blood and eternal life with all blessings that follows it. Christmas is a story of reconciliation. Christ the blameless came to the offender and told them, “I love you, and I forgive you.” Then what he does next he brought the world to enjoy the love of the Father. When we gather to celebrate Christmas we must come in the same manner as that of Christ if we have been change by Christ love and his forgiveness. 

The question for us who needs to forgive, how much does this generous blessing from God changes your life? Here is a story by Christ very own words to those who failed to change by the grace and love given to them. 

“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. “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.
In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Matthew 18:21-32, 34-35 NIV

Yes, we can’t forgive on our own, but Christ’s love and grace could. Think how much wrong you’ve done to God, yet he forgive. He wants you to forgive others like he forgive you (Matthew 6:14). Think how much your relationship with God cost him. What each one of us has done to Christ, none of us has endured that much. Please I want you to reflect on Jesus Christ. why does he come, why he choose to forgive us. I have a reason to write about forgiveness because even myself I have to constantly intentionally reminding myself why it’s necessary for me to forgive. when I don’t forgive, the person that is unforgiven is not the only one being hurt but I’m actually hurting myself too because it can cause me to become resentful, full of anger, and then became a burden to my spiritual walk. It can hindered my prayer life. Jesus said, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Mark 11:25 NIV

I know it’s hard to be perceive wrong when you are right. When you chose to forgive, others might see it as a sign of weakness or you just accept the individual back in your life because you was wrong. Was God weak to forgive you? Was he the one who was in wrong for coming and reaching out to you? Forgiveness cost, and it requires boldness. If you feel it’s hard to forgive it because it is. Let me tell you something though, you are not alone, in fact Christ went to this very thing. He was right in every way, blameless, forgiving, compassionate good judgment, and always right, but he was the one being executed condemn in place of the accusers, those who wrong. Let him tell you about the pain of forgiven, but also the freedom of forgiven.
Please pray this prayer. Father God please help me to forgive others just as you have forgive me and set me free completely. Thank you for grace. I love you.  

MERRY Christmas AND HAPPY NEW YEAR