Matthew 6:1–34 (Continued)

April 2, 2012

Forgiveness—the gift you give yourself and an attitude God honors.

"Yes, if you forgive others for their sins, your Father in heaven will also forgive you for your sins. But if you don't forgive others, your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins."

Life is not about you/me. It is not up to us to decide if someone is "worthy" to be forgiven. God is the judge. When we refuse to forgive, we are attempting to put ourselves on the throne that only HE has the right to occupy and our actions show we are not surrendered to the Lordship of God. In our selfishness we decide we will be in control. We will hold on to the hurts, we will hold on to our anger, etc. Our actions are the evidence of what "truth" is. We have either given over the "wrongs" to God—or we haven't. We have either chosen to trust God—or we haven't. We have either surrendered to God—or we haven't.

God is saying—Look! I want you to understand this! You are not in control! You are not God! I AM. Keep your hands off. Surrender to me. I am the judge, so you quit trying to judge. I am the One who avenges, so let go of your revenge  I will decide if there needs to be vengeance. If there does it will be my holy vengeance and not your human spite. Don't come to me half way, I won't have it. (Revelation 3:15,16) Don't say I am your Father in heaven when your actions show you are your own god. If you want my forgiveness—give forgiveness. If you want me to be your Father in heaven—then be my child. The child does not decide what the Father should or should not do. The child surrenders and trusts, KNOWING the Father loves him and will do what is best for him.

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Today, our grandson (our son's son) asked me to help him pray for Jesus to forgive his sins. Woo Hoo!! What a precious gift and how appropriate with what I am writing about tomorrow. Nothing this world can offer compares to loving God. Thank you Jesus for his willingness to surrender his heart.  


Next Entry: Matthew 6:1–34 (Continued)