June 27th FORGIVENESS

(most of this is excerpted from my teachings gleaned from teachers, preachers, friends, etc.): If you recognize ANGER in your life (now or in past experiences), you have not forgiven. IF you have not forgiven, you are still angry. In other words, you have allowed "the sun to go down on your wrath". You must CHOOSE to forgive moment by moment...BUT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!!!

We often embrace the wrong ideas about what forgiveness is and instead we DO what we should do but in the strength of our flesh and not by the power of God's indwelling Holy Spirit.

Some of these wrong ideas:
...excusing others (saying that what they did is not that important)
...that forgiveness is also trusting. Not so! Forgiveness is given; trust
is earned. It does not mean that you trust their next promise.
However, it does mean that you must make every effort to kill every trace of resentment in your heart--every wish to humiliate or hurt him/her or to pay back.And we both know...IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!
...that forgiveness means forgetting...God does not have eternal amnesia. He can remember, but He CHOOSES not to remember my sins..."their sin I will remember no more." Not remembering is by no means equal to forgetting absolutely. It means not making an effort to recall something to mind. God has not wiped out His memory bank concerning our sins; rather, He has CHOSEN not to call them to
mind against us again. Each time a painful memory comes to our minds, we must see (having written on top of the memory) the word FORGIVEN!

When we attempt to not hold it against the offender ever again--to not call to mind repeatedly the offense--we give our precious Savior the opening to reveal our flesh and show us anew how much we must be dependant upon His indwelling Holy Spirit! IT IS IMPOSSIBLE (in the flesh)!

...forgive those who deserve it. Nope! forgiveness is based on grace not the merit of the offender.
...forgiveness is a feeling. Nope! Don't confuse forgiveness with an emotion.
Feeling is not forgiveness, the emotion is soulish; the forgiveness is of the heart!
...forgiveness is given when someone asks for forgiveness. Nope! It is given whether they ask or not. Even if the offender never repents! We MUST let go of the offense. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE. I know that you are saying to yourself..."I have tried and tried and the thoughts keep returning! And then you say again, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE.

It will be helpful to make some committments regarding forgiveness:
1. CHOOSE to have a heart of quick forgiveness...Mark 11:25, Luke 17:4, Eph.4:32, Col.3:13
2. Forgive no matter how evil the deed may seem:
Matt.5:39, Rom. 12:17; I Thess 5:15; I Peter 3:9
3. There is a great cost to UNforgiveness: II Cor. 2:10-11; Matt.18:35; Hebrews 12:15 root of bitterness, has a great impact
on every one around us...destoys our witness
4. CHOOSE Godly behavior toward your enemies...who may be family members: Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:27, 35-36; Proverbs 25:21-22
5. Recognize the real enemy: Eph. 6:12
6. Focus on Whose family you belong to...the Lord's. He cares that you hurt and has said, "Vengence is Mine".
7. CHOOSE to "hardly notice when done wrong" I Cor. 13

BUT ALL OF THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!! isn't it?

A demonic stronghold in a believer's life is any type of thinking that exalts itself above the knowledge of God...any lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God...including the psycologists, teachers, counselors, etc. When we choose any thinking that is not reliably
supported with Scripture, it gives the devil a secure place of influence in our thought life. "Not that we are fit (qualified and sufficient in ability) or ourselves to form personal judgments or to claim or count anything as coming from us, but our power and ability and
sufficiency are from God." II Cor. 3:5

There is a huge difference in thoughts and thinking. Satan can shoot us a thought...the danger is when we entertain that thought and add it to our permanent bank of thinking (the brain). We are to "Take every thought captive". In other words, capture the thought and throw it out when we discern that it is accusing, negative, judgmental, etc....from the enemy! Jesus won the victory over Satan at Calvary, Golgotha---the "Place of the Skull". That is where we win victory NOW...at the place of our skull...our mind.

"Rebuke the enemy and he will flee from us." Speak a word (even just a whisper) to let the enemy know that he has no jurisdiction in your life. Speaking the name of Jesus is certainly adequate. Also, "out of here, satan, you have no rights to my life, only Jesus! and by His blood I rebuke you." Keeping in mind: "Not by might, nor by
power, but by My Spirit...."

When we have wrong thinking, it results in wrong actions and wrong attitudes.

GOOD NEWS: Born agains cannot be possessed by the enemy, but a born again can have darkness in their light! SCRIPTURE…Luke
If a born again CHOOSES to have sympathetic thoughts toward evil...rebellion toward God provides a place for the darkness in your light. We must be self evaluating all the time. Asking the Lord to shine His light into every corner of our lives where there may be some darkness. Anger and UNforgiveness become strongholds in our lives. Even though the "hurts" that come into our lives may not be our fault...we must choose to be taught by the suffering and learn anew to forgive. UNforgiveness and clinging to anger build a stronghold of
bitterness and we become like the ones that we focus on rather than being built up IN Christ. There is no greater volume of example to others (especially family) than when we truly forgive.

ALL OF THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! There is only one way to truly forgive...the flesh cannot dot it...IT IS IMPOSSIBLE. We must CHOOSE to glorify the Lord in our inward and outward reactions and responses to others. CHOOSE God's life to respond to the circumstance, the person, the desire which was not fulfilled or the worry you might be plagued by. Jesus spoke the truth for us in His humanity. "He that has seen Me, has seen the Father." Jesus allowed the Power...the Life of the Father to flow through Him by conscious consent. That is our exciting role for NOW...allowing others to experience Christ through me!!! Jesus through my humanity!

By CHOOSING to NOT hold anything against the offender ever again, we have given the Savior the opening to supply His strength to resist the temptation to dwell on the person's sin OR He reveals once again that in our flesh IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!

The offense you experience must be washed into the River of God's justice, that it may not pollute your Riverbed of Life. 'Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." All that is good is GOD. There is no good thing in me, but JESUS..."Christ in me, the hope of glory!"

Forgiveness comes only by His Life expressed through my humanity. I am free to not hold an offense against a person any longer.

My cry was and is most often, "Lord, please make me be good." But the real truth is that I could not and can not make my flesh get better. I have tried all these years. But it is "Christ IN me" Jesus did not die to make our flesh better. Jesus wants to live His life out through us. "For me to live is Christ!" It is His life and He desires to live It. He does not want to help me or you. HE WANTS TO DO IT! He wants to be good through your humanity.

You are His vessel, His branch, His container, His teapot...you can work out by CHOICE and consenting to His life in you...what He has worked in (Himself), you work out...Philippians
He said, "Without Me, you can do nothing." Paul remindS us "with Christ all things are possible". Indeed, it is HIMpossible...Matt. 20

As we face hindrances straight on, our first confession is, "I can't...IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!" Our next confession will be BUT "Lord, all things are possible with YOU!" Father, will You do this through me today?

My prayer for you and for me: 'Thank You, Lord, that ________ and I cannot do anything without You...including especially forgiving those who hurt us unjustly and those past hurts where pain remains. BUT
Praise You, Lord, we can do all things with You indwelling us. Because You are mine and _________'s life, we consent to the power of Your life in and through us today. We are Yours and You are ours. Thank You for showing us that we don't have to make ourselves be good...that we are good, but only because You are our life!