Summary: Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 1:18, Micah 7:18-19, Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 10:17, Colossians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 5:17, I John 3:7, 2 Corinthians 2:5, Matthew 6:9-15, Mark 11:25 Forgiveness FORGIVENESS IS NOT: - Saying that what was done is okay. - Releasing the guilty party from the legal or divine consequences of their behavior. - Something that you have to achieve on your own. - Merely words said to satisfy some legal standard. - Dependent on the perpetrator’s response. - Easy. - A feeling. FORGIVENESS IS: - An act of God’s grace being poured out through your heart. - A result of being transformed into His image. - A removal of a significant part of Satan’s ground. - An act of the will, not a servant of feelings. Slay these excuses: - I can’t forgive - I can’t forgive, it would be a betrayal. - I will forgive when they ask me. - I forgive, but I’ll have nothing to do with them. - I forgive, but I’ll never trust them. - I forgive, but they owe me. - I forgive, but I want justice. - I forgive, but I want revenge. Are you willing to come to that place today where you will say from the heart: - I forgive. - I forgive and he/she owes me nothing. - I forgive and I choose to bless them.
