I have Rebloged this Post because it has a powerful message which when I received it years ago caused me to reflect on what my response was in regards to forgiving.
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One of the most important things we need to do in our Christian walk is to forgive others who have hurt us or continue to hurt us, when we hold onto bitterness and resentment we are no longer in fellowship with God, He is Love and Love and hate cannot be in Unity.
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If we are not praying for our enemies to be blessed as we would like to be and instead we are hoping they will suffer, if not now than in Hell, we are giving Satan a foothold in our lives and preventing God from forgiving us, how can we be forgiven when we are still sinning without repentance and that is what bitterness and resentment is, Sin!.
Dr Smith a Seminary Professor who was teaching on the high cost of being unwilling to forgive, asked each of his students to bring a sack of potatoes to class. and for each person they refused to forgive, they had to select a potato and write on it the person’s name that had hurt them and caused them pain. Then for a month they each had to carry the sack of potatoes with them everywhere they went, even to bed.
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Washed Potatoes is a good illustration of carrying around with us things, that over the years have weighed us down.Unforgiveness , resentment, bitterness, disappointment, regret, among others have made us spiritual cripples. A good reminder to hand the bag over to someone who who is used to bearing such loads, Jesus.
Blessings
Ron
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Thank you Love, a very wise response to why many relationships fail, one or both are carrying around bitterness and resentment instead of resolving it and this is shown by lack of Unity and it’s the same in the Churches and so we have division which ends in a New Denomination or House Church or Cult but True Love which is God’s Love, not worldly selfish love, seeks to restore.
Christian Love Always – Anne.
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Without God’s Love in our hearts there is no True Unity and so there is division, we Love because He first Loved us and even when we ignored Him, He still Loved us but He could not fellowship with us in fullness until we searched for Him with all our heart and when we found God, we chose to Love and obey Him and He empowered us so we could.
Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great Commandment.(KJV)
Mark 12:32-34 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to Love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to Love his Neighbour as himself.(KJV)
Ephesians 3 :16-21 That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;And to know the Love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.KJV
Mark 12:29-31 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the Commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first Commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt Love thy Neighbour as thyself. There is none other Commandment greater than these.(KJV)
John 14:20-22 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my Commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that Loveth me: and he that Loveth me shall be Loved of my Father, and I will Love him, and will manifest myself to him.(KJV)
Deuteronomy 6:5-6 And thou shalt Love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:(KJV)
Deuteronomy 10:12 …..What doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to Love Him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,(KJV)
Deuteronomy 11:13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my Commandments which I command you this day, to Love the LORD your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul,(KJV)
Deuteronomy 11:22 For if ye shall diligently keep all these Commandments which I command you, to do them, to Love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave unto Him;(KJV)
Deuteronomy 13:4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear Him, and keep His Commandments, and obey His voice, and ye shall serve Him, and cleave unto Him. (KJV)
Deuteronomy 30:6-7 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to Love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.(KJV)
Deuteronomy 30:20 That thou mayest Love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto Him: for He is thy life, and the length of thy days(KJV)
Joshua 22:5 Love the LORD your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His Commandments, and to cleave unto Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.(KJV)
Blessings – Anne
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