[Faith-talk] FW: [URCTCPrayerGroup2] The benefits of forgiving byLarry Ollison

[fswilliams049 at aol.com]

 Thanks for sharingt this wonderful and powerful devotion.
God bless,
Felicia

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From: "Eric Calhoun" <eric at pmpmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 11:56 PM
To: <faith-talk at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [Faith-talk] FW: [URCTCPrayerGroup2] The benefits of forgiving 
byLarry Ollison

>
>
> Original Message:
> From: "Donna" <godsgirl54 at att.net>
> To: <URCTCPrayerGroup2 at yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: [URCTCPrayerGroup2] The benefits of forgiving by Larry Ollison
> Date:
> Wed, 4 Jan 2012 20:12:32 -0500
>
>
> The Benefits of Forgiving
>
> by Dr. Larry Ollison
>
>
> After teaching about forgiveness, I had a man ask this question. He said,
> "I understand that as a Christian I am to forgive. I understand that Jesus
> commanded us to forgive. But what difference will it make in my daily 
> life?
> Who knows or cares if I forgive or not?"
>
> Well, the answer to that is a simple one. God knows if you forgive or not
> and God cares. If God didn't care whether or not we forgave, then He would
> not have talked so much about it in His Word. God is not a time waster. If
> He addressed it in His Word, then it's important to Him. And if it's
> important to Him, it better be important to us.
>
> So let's take just a moment and see why we need to forgive. First of all,
> we need to forgive in order to restore our minds. When we dwell on the
> hurts and pains of the past, then we will be consumed with self-pity. We
> will live so much in yesterday that we will be ineffective today. We need
> to keep our minds on the things of God.
>
> We are told in Philippians 4:8, "Whatever things are true, whatever
> things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure,
> whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there 
> is
> any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these
> things."
>
> Another reason we need to forgive is so our prayers will not be hindered.
> Jesus said in Mark 11 that when we stand praying, we must forgive others,
> otherwise God will not forgive us. And in 1 Peter 3:7 the Bible says that 
> a
> husband that does not treat his wife with honor will have his prayers
> hindered. Many men harbor unforgiveness in their hearts toward their wives
> for one reason or another. That is not honoring your wife and it will keep
> your prayers from being answered.
>
> Another reason to forgive is to be obedient to God. For a Christian, that
> should be enough. If the Word of God says to forgive, then we don't need 
> to
> try to figure out why. We just need to do it.
>
> Many times we talk about what we need to do but we don't tell how to do
> it. So, how do we forgive?
>
> This may sound oversimplified, but it actually is simple. You just decide
> to. You have to make a mental decision and do it. Let the offense go. Open
> your clinched fist and let it go. You cannot regard how you "feel" as
> truth. You must remember that you have decided to forgive and let it go 
> and
> not go back on your decision. Your "feelings" will come in line later.
>
> I have counseled people who have said they prayed for years for God to
> take away the unforgiveness in their hearts. They blame God because He
> hasn't removed it. Well that's wrong teaching. God is not the one holding
> on to the unforgiveness. You are.
>
> Jesus didn't tell us to pray to God the Father and He would take away the
> unforgiveness and bitterness in our hearts. He said that we were to get 
> rid
> of it. It's our responsibility. Just let it go!
>
> Forgiveness doesn't mean that you're to get back into a bad relationship.
> Forgiveness doesn't mean to continue to let an abusive husband beat you.
> But forgiveness means you have to let all the hurts, resentments and
> bitterness go. The situation may not change, but you will. You will be 
> free
> from the bondage of unforgiveness and when you stand praying, He will hear
> your prayers.
>
> Remember this. Satan wants to destroy Christians. He uses unforgiveness.
> God, on the other hand, wants us to be set free. He uses forgiveness. The
> choice is ours.
>
>
>
>
>
> This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Ps
> 118:24
>



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