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FORGIVEN
"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness,
and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."
Hebrews 8:12
Forgiveness
A letter written to a man on death row by the Father of the man whom the man on death row had killed:
You are probably surprised that I, of all people, am writing a letter to you, but I ask you to read it in its entirety and consider its request seriously. As the Father of the man whom you took part in murdering, I have something very important to say to you.
I forgive you. With all my heart, I forgive you. I realize it may be hard for you to believe, but I really do. At your trial, when you confessed to your part in the events that cost my Son his life and asked for my forgiveness, I immediately granted you that forgiving love from my heart. I can only hope you believe me and will accept my forgiveness.
But this is not all I have to say to you. I want to make you an offer -- I want you to become my adopted child. You see, my Son who died was my only child, and I now want to share my life with you and leave my riches to you. This may not make sense to you or anyone else, but I believe you are worth the offer. I have arranged matters so that if you will receive my offer of forgiveness, not only will you be pardoned for your crime, but you also will be set free from your imprisonment, and your sentence of death will be dismissed. At that point, you will become my adopted child and heir to all my riches.
I realize this is a risky offer for me to make to you -- you might be tempted to reject my offer completely -- but I make it to you without reservation.
Also, I realize it may seem foolish to make such an offer to one who cost my Son his life, but I now have a great love and an unchangeable forgiveness in my heart for you.
Finally, you may be concerned that once you accept my offer you may do something to cause you to be denied your rights as an heir to my wealth. Nothing could be further from the truth. If I can forgive you for your part in my Son's death, I can forgive you for anything. I know you never will be perfect, but you do not have to be perfect to receive my offer. Besides, I believe that once you have accepted my offer and begin to experience the riches that will come to you from me, that your primary (though not always) response will be gratitude and loyalty.
Some would call me foolish for my offer to you, but I wish for you to call me your Father.
Sincerely,
The Father of Jesus
A Full Pardon
Four men sat in a prison's death row, with no chance of a reprieve. A stranger offered to die in their place, if only they would believe.
"Man,
what would my friends think?"the
first prisoner replied. He
then became a dead man walking, because
of his foolish pride.
The 2nd
man said, "How much will this cost? There
must be a price indeed. He
also rejected the stranger's offer and
died because of his selfish greed.
The 3rd
man said, " Now I believe you're sincere, but
I'll wait until another time". Procrastination
cost him his life, He
too, died for his own crime.
The 4th
man said, " Oh I believe what you say, and
I'll forever be grateful to you!" The
stranger then released his chains, and
he began his life anew!
Now, we are ALL prisoners of sin, with Satan as our warden. But when Jesus died on Calvary's cross, He offerd us each a full pardon.
GOD Forgives
As time went on she became a faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children.
It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son. The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans.
This is when the problems began. You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor's son. The church began to argue and fight about the matter. So they decided to have a meeting. As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out of hand. The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past.
As she began to cry the pastor's son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife to be. He began to speak and his statement was this:
"My fiancee's past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin. Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So, does it wash away sin or not?" The whole church began to weep as they realized that they had been slandering the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Too often, even as Christians, we bring up the past and use it as a weapon against our brothers and sisters. Forgiveness is a very foundational part of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. If the blood of Jesus does not cleanse the other person completely then it cannot cleanse us completely. If that is the case, then we are all in a lot of trouble. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus....end of case!!!
The Gift Of Forgiveness
One of my teachers had each one of us bring a clear plastic bag and a sack of potatoes. For every person we'd refuse to forgive in our life experience, we were told to choose a potato, write on it the name and date, and put it in the plastic bag. Some of our bags, as you can imagine, were quite heavy.
We were then told to carry this bag with us everywhere for one week, putting it beside our bed at night, on the car seat when driving, next to our desk at work. The hassle of lugging this around with us made it clear what a weight we were carrying spiritually, and how we had to pay attention to it all the time to not forget, and keep leaving it in embarrassing places.
Naturally, the condition of the potatoes deteriorated to a nasty slime. This was a great metaphor for the price we pay for keeping our pain and heavy negativity! Too often we think of forgiveness as a gift to the other person, and it clearly is for ourselves!! So the next time you decide you can't forgive someone, ask yourself ... isn't your bag heavy enough?
Forgiveness
He paid the price in full for me
That day upon the cross
He never wavered, not one time
He counted not the cost
And when he rose victorious
One sunny bright spring morn
His mission here on earth was done
Forgiveness had been born.
By Karen Shaw Matheson
"Forgive and Forget"
Wondering why they said the things they said,
I began to to weep and scream,
I only wished I could wake myself from this dream.
The problem was this dream was real,
I felt every emotion there was to feel,
Anger, sadness, and even hate,
I didn't know what to do at this rate.
I knew forgiving and fogetting was what I had to do,
But how could I possibly when they would just continue?
I try my hardest to get over it,
But truthfully it is pulling at my spirit.
How can I just put it behind me and in my past,
When I know that it will continue to last,
They aren't trying to help me out,
It makes me want to give up and shout.
I am understanding you see,
But people just keep hurting me.
God I need you here to help me when I fall,
I know in the past I haven't given you my all.
But you were able to forgive and forget,
That's something I'll never get.
I wish I could be that way,
But it just seems so hard to do that today.
Please help me let go of this chore,
I don't want to have to lug it around anymore,
You are the only way I can forgive,
And with you I can forget and continue to live.
If I don't take the time to let go,
I will never ever know,
How it would have been,
If I would have just let go of that one sin.
So, Jesus I now give it all to you,
I know that you will always be true,
Thank you for taking the pain away,
And for brightening up my day.
The Forgiveness of God
I. God is faithful to forgive our sins.
1 John 1:9
II. Through Jesus Christ, and because of the debt He paid (2 Corinthians 5:18, 19; Colossians 1:21, 22), we can draw near to God with freedom and boldness.
Hebrews 4:15, 16; 10:19, 22
1 John 3:21
III. Scripture well describes the completeness of our forgiveness in Him.
Psalms 85:2
Isaiah 55:7 (" ... He will abundantly pardon!")
A. All our past sins have been forgotten. (The Lord forgives and forgets!)
Isaiah 43:25
Jeremiah 31:34
Hebrews 8:12; 10:17
B. God has blotted out our transgressions as a thick cloud.
Isaiah 44:21, 22
Colossians 2:13, 14
C. He has cast them into the depths of the sea.
Micah 7:18, 19
D. Our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west.
Psalms 103:11-14
E. Scripture says our sins are covered up. God does not look upon them any more.
Psalms 32:1
F. We are washed whiter than snow.
Psalms 51:7
Isaiah 1:18
G. God has cast all our sins behind His back.
Isaiah 38:17
IV. God requires more than confession with the mouth. It is the heart of man with which He is really concerned.
A. The continual forgiveness of our sins in a day by day walk with God is conditional upon our forgiveness of others.
Matthew 6:9-15; 18:23-35
Mark 11:22-26
B. God demands true repentance (a complete turnaround, the forsaking of our own way).
Isaiah 55:7
John 8:11
C. Sorrow for sin is necessary (Psalms 38:18), but it is not in itself sufficient (Mark 10:17-22; 2 Corinthians 7:9-10; Hebrews 12:17).
D. We must expose and confess our sin. Nothing can remain hidden from God.
Psalms 32:2-5; 38:17-18; 66:18; 69:5
Jeremiah 16:17
Ezekiel 8:12; 9:9
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