Forgive! You must forgive others. No matter what they have done.
It is the command of God.
To not forgive hurts you. If you desire God's blessing, you must forgive.
You may think it is impossible to forgive someone who has deeply wronged you. With God it is possible. He never asks us to do something we cannot do.
IF YOU WANT FORGIVEN MATTHEW 6:12,14,15 NKJ
12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.MATTHEW 18:35 NKJ
35 "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."MARK 11:25-26 NKJ
25 "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
26 "But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."LUKE 6:35-38 NKJ
35 "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Highest. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
36 "Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
37 "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38 "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."Whatever we measure out is what will be measured back to us. If we want others to show mercy to us and forgive us -- we must do that first.
LUKE 11:4 NKJ
4 and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."It is not enough to forgive only those people who have wronged us a little. We must forgive everyone!
HOW MANY TIMES? MATTHEW 18:21-22 NKJ
21 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"
22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.Surely Jesus was not setting a maximum limit on the number of times we should forgive. He gave an absurdly high number so we would realize He meant for us to forgive without limit.
LUKE 17:3-4 NKJ
3 "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4 "And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, `I repent,' you shall forgive him."OUR EXAMPLE LUKE 23:33-34 NKJ
33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." And they divided His garments and cast lots.This kind of forgiveness is certainly beyond normal human ability or experience. It takes the power of God to do it.
EPHESIANS 4:32-5:2 NKJ
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.
1 Therefore be followers of God as dear children.
2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling aroma.We are commanded to forgive others just as God has forgiven us! Having God's help is necessary to do that.
COLOSSIANS 3:12-13 NKJ
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.It is not optional. If we desire God's blessing and fellowship -- we must forgive others as He forgave us.
Forgiveness is not a feeling. It is a decision to quit holding something against someone. When we forgive we must release them and forget it.
God, help me to forgive ________. You know what they did. With Your help, I choose to forgive and release them from it. Thank You for giving me Your love for them. I ask You to forgive them, too, and set them free by Your power and love. Thank You for helping me forget this and treat them as You would have me to.
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