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Be very careful when you say, “I can love them from a distance!”

“I’m not ‘fooling’ with them anymore!” “I’m not dealing with them anymore!”

There’s usually a form of this statement for every regional or social dialect.

Have you ever heard anyone say something like that? Have you ever said something like that yourself?

Yes, sometimes things can happen when relationships will never be the same but be very careful when you judge that someone doesn’t deserve fellowship with you anymore. Matthew 7:1 is broad in its application…

Matthew 7:1-2  (NKJV)

“Judge^[a] not, that you be not judged. ² For with what ^[b]judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

When you judge someone doesn’t deserve your fellowship are you opening up yourself to the same judgement from God?

Not only is forgiveness one of the greatest gifts we receive from God, but we are supposed to forgive AS He forgives us…not LIKE He gives us. We are supposed to forgive in the same way…

Ephesians 4:32  (NKJV)

³² And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

So, what if God said, “I forgive YOU, but I’m not going to ‘fool with you’ anymore?”

Remember, He forgives us AS (in the same way) we forgive others. That means He withholds forgiveness in the same way we do….

Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)

¹⁴ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.^{(A) 15} But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.^(B)

BE BLESSTIFIED!