Faith

by Debbie Wallis

You may have had terrible things done to you by someone you loved and they hurt you and broke your trust You may have lost a great deal because of someone’s actions

Other times the seriousness of unforgiveness shows up the pettiness of our grudges. Some wrongs against us aren’t serious. Some behaviors need to be excused rather than forgiven Accidents, mistakes, minor lapses in judgement, misunderstandings seldom need forgiveness, usually the just need to be excused Don’t hold on to grudges “For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you,” Matthew 7:2

His purpose,” Romans 8:28

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses,” Matthew 16:14-15

We need the forgiveness of our sins to be in right relationship with the Lord Some people have trouble with forgiving because they think that it would be saying the sin wasn’t serious. Forgiveness doesn’t excuse sin, it calls sin, sin Forgiveness says, "You hurt me and what you did was wrong, but I won’t hold it against you, I won’t try to get back at you and I will not hate you for it " God alone judges the heart

Forgiveness initiates the healing process. Don’t wait until the person that hurt you comes to apologize or ask for forgiveness, most likely you will be waiting a long time Let God sort that out

We all will answer to God for when we needed to forgive and when we needed to ask for forgiveness, repent and make restitution True forgiveness does not wait for repentance; it initiates and calls out repentance by offering forgiveness. Some people find great difficulty in forgiving Confronting someone about how their sin hurt is difficult, so instead you may dwell in un-forgiveness and refuse to do the hard work

Yes, I said forgiveness is work It’s not easy to give up your right to be hurt, to be angry, to get even or to hate someone for what’s been done.

God’s grace is free, but it came by a sacrifice When God’s grace comes into your lives, it does not leave you the same, it changes you One of the first changes it makes is to give you the power to forgive By forgiving others we are proving that you have accepted God’s forgiveness, and are living in it. “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins,’’ Mark 11:25

The Bible tells us the story of Joseph whose ten brothers planned to kill him. They lacked the courage to do it so they sold him as a slave to traders, who in turn sold him to an Egyptian Joseph went from slavery to prison, and then to a place in Pharaoh’s court Finally he became in charge of all Egypt second only to Pharaoh himself Famine hits and drives his brothers to Egypt; Joseph now has his enemies in the palm of his hand. He watches them for a while to see if they were still evil. Just before he reveals himself to them he wept so loud that the whole palace heard him I imagine it was because what he was about to do was hard and painful He forgave them By society’s standards he had the right and the power to kill them but instead he embraced them. It isn’t easy to forgive, but God in His grace gives us the power to do it. Joseph said to his brothers: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives," Genesis 50:20 God takes even the things that were meant to hurt us, and He uses them for good IF we let Him “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to

We are able to forgive in the light of God’s forgiveness If you refuse to forgive, then you really haven’t grasped your need for forgiveness or just how much God has forgiven you. This type of pride shows a lack of true repentance “But He gives more grace Therefore He says, ‘God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble,’” James 4:6 When you have your eyes on the pain and suffering that Jesus went through on the cross in order to forgive you and cleanse you from your sin, it appears pretty minor to forgive those who harm you. God loves you and He wants what is best for you Un-forgiveness causes bitterness and grows like a cancer It causes stress, illness and lack of joy to take havoc on your body When you refuse to forgive you allow the sin that was committed against you to hurt you twice: once when you were sinned and again by the pride and bitterness that is keeping you from receiving God’s forgiveness The first was out of your control and the second is totally in your control “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you,” Col 3:13 Being quick to forgive is spiritual maturity

Forgiveness is an act of faith by saying, "If there is any punishment that is needed, or any giving of mercy, God will look after it just fine." I encourage you to search your own hearts and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any hurts that have not been given to Him Choose obedience, choose faith, and choose freedom from the bitterness of unforgiveness

If you don’t have a Bible please contact me at sfadebbie@yahoo com and I will provide you with one

Dispelling rumors about Abby’s Restaurant

Lilly Avila, owner of Abby’s Restaurant, wants to share with the public, “I’m not going from 12pm-1pm, there’s hardly a parking spot available in the downtown area.