YOU CAN FORGIVE ANYTHING…TODAY! #FORGIVENESS

Ephesians 4:31-32 (NKJV)

³¹Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. ³²And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you

MORE THAN CONQUERORS (Romans 8:37)

Isn’t it funny how some of us can claim to be more than conquerors…

Be filled with the Holy Spirit…

Blessed and highly favored…

Testifying every time we can get a chance…

Claim, “I love everybody!”…

…And REFUSE to forgive!

We can serve as a deacon, preach every weekend, sing in the choir, give to the poor…BUT WON’T FORGIVE.

There are preachers who get up and preach to some members whose souls they are responsible…and are withholding forgiveness from some of them.

Too many of us are holding on to…

Anger…

Animosity…

Hatred…

Resentment…

Bitterness…

Wrath…

PAIN…

What ever emotions, moods and attitudes that prevent us from FORGIVING.

Withholding forgiveness is one of the enemy’s most successful distractions.

We can’t love like God expects us to when we don’t forgive.

The enemy doesn’t mind you going to church or even serving in the Kingdom of God if you don’t forgive because it dims the light of God in you.

WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD (Matthew 5:14)…We can’t be light if we are DISTRACTED! Being unforgiving is a distraction…

Think about this…

The SUN provides light & the MOON reflects…

Sometimes Moon blocks light from Sun…This is an eclipse.

Sometimes Man blocks light from Son…This is a spiritual eclipse.

Distractions block eclipse our light from the SON…

Anger is a spiritual eclipse…

Bitterness is a spiritual eclipse…

Being unforgiving is a spiritual eclipse!

Our marriages, families…relationships CAN NOT exist WITHOUT forgiveness, but sometimes it’s so hard because of the pain…Because we are flesh.

Matthew 26:41 (NKJV)

⁴¹Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

God understands we are flesh, but he also expects more from us. It is not God’s will for us to go day in and day out holding on to STUFF!

Matthew 18:21-22 (KJV)

²¹Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? ²²Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

FORGIVENESS CAN BE A STRUGGLE FOR MOST CHRISTIANS.

We can put effort into ‘conquering’ everything, but forginvenss….getting a house, car, job, promotion, man, woman, getting a closet full of shoes, purses, ties…our neighborhoods full of crime, immorality, poverty, while many Christians are worried about conquering the ‘good life’.

That’s why some of us give, just so we can get….to some giving is a BLE$$ING bill. That’s why sometimes cousins, sisters, brothers and relatives keep coming asking for money cause that’s the only way God can get some people to spend money on someone besides themselves. Does anyone owe you money and you haven’t forgiven them?

The enemy knows God ONLY forgives us AS we forgive others…(Matthew 6:12)

That means if there is something that you haven’t forgiven someone for…your sin that you asked forgiveness for is still there.

Don’t let someone die before you let them know THEY ARE FORGIVEN!

Is anyone you refuse to forgive WORTH forfeiting your forgiveness over? Don’t let your feelings towards them come between you and God.

Remember, there’s someone out there that you have hurt too…

You may not know what you did, but most of the time you do!

THE ENEMY KNOWS WHAT’S HARDEST FOR YOU TO FORGIVE…

The enemy knows how to present the right situation to you…

The right person…

That one thing that he knows that’s most difficult for you to forgive…

That’s the thing that he will use.

It could be your wife, your husband, your sister or brother, mother or father, best friend…it could be a pastor, that job who fired you, that team that didn’t pick you….you know what it is.

Stop right now and think about that one thing you are still holding on to.

God WANTS…DESIRES…TO FORGIVE US!

Think about how much we hurt God and He forgives us…

Psalm 103:8-12 (NKJV)

8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

We (his church) are the bride of Christ…we ‘cheat on God’ every time we sin/ That’s why I know we can even forgive infidelity.

Every shameful thing done in the presence of His angels supposed to be there to protect you

He is there when we are tempted

He is there when we think about the fact that this is wrong and we still decide to do it

He is there when we do it.

That same conversation that the enemy had with God about Job, he had about you…Consider my servant ____________ !

Job 1:8a (NKJV)

⁸Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job…”

God witnesses us every time we cheat on Him…Every time we put Him to open shame…

He is willing to forgive us…

How could He be so willing to forgive? Because He WANTS to forgive us!

Isaiah 1:18

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool…

God is practically begging us to come to Him for forgiveness.

God wants to forgive you! God gets angry, but He doesn’t stay angry!

Psalm 103:8-9 (KKJV)

The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
⁹He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.

God can forgive us over and over because He DESIRES to do so! And He doesn’t WANT to stay angry.

God CHOOSES to forgive us!

Forgiveness is OUR CHOICE.

You can’t control how people treat you, but you can control how you react.

When we are honest with ourselves, we don’t forgive because WE DON’T WANT TO.. WE want to stay angry!

If we forgive…we take away our ‘excuse’ to be angry…

You can even hear the person who hurt you has made a change for the good, and it can make you angry…you don’t want them to do better. This can lead you to judge them saying, “They’re change isn’t sincere!” You can get to the point that you don’t even care about their salvation.

We don’t want to forgive due to our pain…

We don’t want to forgive because of our pride…

We don’t want to forgive because of our shame…

No matter how heavy it is, uncomfortable it is…we still hold on to it, because we want to do so! When our arms up…after a while we have to put it down, because they get too heavy

That’s what we have to do with our pain…put it down.

How?

Stop asking God to TAKE AWAY what He told you to PUT DOWN!

If your spouse is cheating, and you love them, do you want to make them stop, or for them to stop on their own?

Notice God Always tells you to put it down…

Colossians 3:8 (NKJV)

But now YOU YOURSELVES are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

Hebrews 12:1 (NKJV)

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

FORGIVENESS IS EASIER THAN YOU MAY THINK! AND WHEN IT HAPPENS…IT’S INSTANT!

No matter how slow or gradual any transition may seem…when you think about it, the change…the moment of change…the instant of change…no matter how minute the shift in thought or direction – THE CHANGE IS ALWAYS INSTANT!

MAKE UP YOUR MIND, AND IT WILL CHANGE!

This is simple but powerful…

TELL YOURSELF AND MAKE UP OUR MIND… “I DON’T WANT TO BE MAD ABOUT THAT ANYMORE!”

I’m tired of being angry…

I’m tired of being sad…

I’m tired of being bitter…

I’m tired of being resentful…

I’m tired of avoiding them…

I’m tired of wanting everybody else to be mad at them too…

I REFUSE TO FEEL THIS WAY ANYMORE!!!!!

Romans 12…Be transformed by the renewing of you MIND!

Refuse to let your emotions dictate how you feel and behave.

Controlling your EMOTIONS is the closest you can come to controlling your world.

Hebrews 12…How did Jesus react to Emotion? He “scorned” the shame of the cross for the “joy” thats set before him.

Once you make up your mind, and REFUSE to be angry….it will go away.

Once you make up your mind, and REFUSE to be angry….you can forgive.

Once you make up your mind, and REFUSE to be angry…you can forget.

Let me define forget…you will still think of it, but not the same way! You will forget that frame of mind…such as “What was I thinking when I dated him or her!”

Once you make up your mind, and REFUSE to be angry…you won’t even need an apology.

Why do you not need an apology? Because God still keeps showing you His love and kindness…even when you haven’t apologized or repented…

He keeps letting your heart beat…

He keeps feeding you and letting you live in the home He provided…

He keeps giving you strength to work…

He keeps on protecting you from harm…

He’s willing to forgive, even when He knows you will do it again.

One of the best exercises you can have in patience is to hold it together when you are being mistreated. Going on without an apology…showing character and patience of God will help you grow.

Once you make up your mind, and REFUSE to be angry…you can actually feel sorry for the one who hurt you. GUESS what? You are doing what God does! You are learning to love and learning to forgive like GOD!

That’s how you can even feel sorry for your enemies.

Jesus died on the cross to give the opportunity of salvation to those He knew would not only ask appreciate it, ask Him for forgiveness, or even believe in Him.

Exercise in forgiveness…Pray for God’s Spirit and Get a picture or go to a place, whatever reminds you of your pain. And practice looking at it and telling yourself..I don’t want to be mad at you…I don’t want to be bitter…sad and tell yourself that you won’t…

That’s what God does to us.

Sometimes people will try you back acting like they DON’T APPRECIATE YOUR FORGIVENESS…Be strong, cause that’s how we treat God sometimes.

Let your light shine…Get back your peace….Forgive as God is willing to forgive you!

YOU CAN GET OVER ANYTHING…TODAY!

BE BLESSTIFIED!

November 20, 2021 0

5 TIPS ON HOW TO WORK WITH PEOPLE YOU DON’T TRUST…

Your success, effectiveness and peace is not only determined by how well you relate with people you DO TRUST…but how well you are at relating with people that you DON’T TRUST.

Our ultimate trust is in God, but He didn’t put us on this earth alone.

God has also ordained it that there is little that we can accomplish alone.

Even God Himself uses His angels to relate to us…

Hebrews 11:14 (NKJV)

Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

God let the captives in Babylon know that though they trusted Him, they were to pray for the peace of the city in which they lived because their peace was dependent on the city’s peace…

Jeremiah 29:7(NKJV)

And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace.

Jesus sent the first disciples out in pairs (Mark 6:7, Luke 10:1)…

The apostles worked in pairs, teams and even depended heavily on the early church for help.

As much as we are interdependent on another in this life, God also warned us about putting our trust in people rather than Him…

Psalm 118:8 (NKJV)

It is better to trust in the Lord. Than to put confidence in man.

Of course we all want to be in relationships and situations with people we trust, but that’s not always possible…Sometimes we can’t even trust our own selves.

It seems it’s getting harder and harder to trust people these days.

We have families, jobs, churches, communities, organizations that we are all a part of in which to live, but the fact is that you KNOW you can’t trust everyone…

In your family…

On your job…

In your church…

In your community…

In our government…

Sometimes we go through seasons and situations when we can’t trust our spouse, children, parents or even friends…because we are human beings being human.

Do we abandon these relationships and resources because of the lack of trust or total trust?

Of course not!

Your ability to be successful, effective and have peace in your life is just as dependent upon your ability to work and relate with people you DON’T trust as well as those you DO trust.

How do you do it?

First of all trust God first. If He has you in a situation, or you have allowed yourself into a situation where trust is limited…you still have to lean on His word, truth, character and TRUST HIM.

Second pray for wisdom and discernment so you can know WHO to trust and WHO NOT to trust.

Third pray for those whom you don’t trust that they submit themselves to God through our Lord and Savior Yeshua, Jesus Christ. It’s bigger than just you or me…Ultimately it’s more about their relationship with God than ours with them.

Fourth, remain in God’s character so that you can set a standard and example of behavior and plant good seeds for God’s Kingdom. You do this by walking in the Spirit as defined in Galatians 5:22, 23.

Fifth, always make are always faithful and trustworthy in all your relationships.

And finally, remember that God had equipped you with everything you need for this LIFE and GODLINESS in this life, through His divine nature that is now inside you…

2 PETER 1:2-8 (NKJV)

²Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. ⁵But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁶to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, ⁷to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. ⁸For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

No you can’t trust everyone…

The fact that we aren’t always faithful means that God can’t always trust us. But, we can always trust Him.

So,

Trust God…

Trust Yourself…

Be Trustworthy…

And remember, GOD IS GREATER THAN THOSE WHOM YOU DON’T TRUST.

Add this to your prayer life…”Lord give me the ability to relate with those I don’t trust.”

BE BLESSTIFIED!

July 28, 2021 0

ARE YOUR RESPONSIBLE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE?

There are many celebrities, politicians, athletes and ministers who have huge audiences. They have great NAME RECOGNITION, people know them nearly everywhere they go, listen to what they have to say and even imitate their behavior. They have huge influence with their fans or followers. It’s disappointing to see what some people do with their voice and influence. Some are blessed with a social stage or public platform only to squander their voice and influence on foolishness or themselves.

We may not all be celebrities, but God has given all of us an audience and a voice. In your home, job, school, church, the park, the shopping center, in traffic, the restaurant people are watching you and listening to you. What are you doing with your audience? Many times we claim we want God to ‘enlarge our territory’ just as Jabez prayed in 1 Chronicles 4:10. We ask Him to give us more resources and influence, but are we being responsible with that we already have? Are we being responsible with those in our circle of influence, no matter how small?

How do you handle disappointment on the job?…in front of your children?

How do you act when you get bad service in the restaurant?…or in a store?

How do you behave when frustrated in traffic?…(That one hit me!)

Do you speak up for the right things when it’s not popular to do so or remain silent?

How do you represent yourself on social media?

How do you dress?

God tells us in 1 Peter 2:12 …

“Having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

Colossians 4:5 says… “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.”

And of course In Matthew Jesus says…

Matthew 5:14-16… “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. God expects us to be His Light in the world.

Too many people want God to move them to bigger and better when they aren’t even thriving where they’re planted.

Are you thriving where you’re planted?

What are you doing with your voice and influence?

How are you perceived in your circles?

Whether you have an audience of one or one million, God expects you to honor Him and be light. Men, Women and Children of God…let’s be responsible with our audience.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

April 9, 2021 6

ARE YOUR RESPONSIBLE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE?

How do you handle disappointment on the job?…in front of your children?

How do you act when you get bad service in the restaurant?…or in a store?

How do you behave when frustrated in traffic?…(That one hit me!)

Do you speak up for the right things when it’s not popular to do so or remain silent?

How do you represent yourself on social media?

How do you dress?

God tells us in 1 Peter 2:12 …

“Having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

Colossians 4:5 says… “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.”

And of course In Matthew Jesus says…

Too many people want God to move them to bigger and better when they aren’t even thriving where they’re planted.

Are you thriving where you’re planted?

What are you doing with your voice and influence?

How are you perceived in your circles?

Whether you have an audience of one or one million, God expects you to honor Him and be light. Men, Women and Children of God…let’s be responsible with our audience.

BE BLESSTIFIED!

March 2, 2018 11

LEARNING TO LIVE & WORK WITH PEOPLE YOU DON’T TRUST…

Your success, effectiveness and peace is not only determined by how well you relate with people you DO TRUST…but how well you are at relating with people that you DON’T TRUST.

Our ultimate trust is in God, but He didn’t put us on this earth alone.

God has also ordained it that there is little that we can accomplish alone.

Even God Himself uses His angels to relate to us…

Hebrews 11:14 (NKJV)

Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

God let the captives in Babylon know that though they trusted Him, they were to pray for the peace of the city in which they lived because their peace was dependent on the city’s peace…

Jeremiah 29:7(NKJV)

And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace.

Jesus sent the first disciples out in pairs (Mark 6:7, Luke 10:1)…

The apostles worked in pairs, teams and even depended heavily on the early church for help.

As much as we are interdependent on another in this life, God also warned us about putting our trust in people rather than Him…

Psalm 118:8 (NKJV)

It is better to trust in the Lord. Than to put confidence in man.

Of course we all want to be in relationships and situations with people we trust, but that’s not always possible…Sometimes we can’t even trust our own selves.

It seems it’s getting harder and harder to trust people these days.

We have families, jobs, churches, communities, organizations that we are all a part of in which to live, but the fact is that you KNOW you can’t trust everyone…

In your family…

On your job…

In your church…

In your community…

In our government…

Sometimes we go through seasons and situations when we can’t trust our spouse, children, parents or even friends…because we are human beings being human.

Do we abandon these relationships and resources because of the lack of trust or total trust?

Of course not!

Your ability to be successful, effective and have peace in your life is just as dependent upon your ability to work and relate with people you DON’T trust as well as those you DO trust.

How do you do it?

First of all trust God first. If He has you in a situation, or you have allowed yourself into a situation where trust is limited…you still have to lean on His word, truth, character and TRUST HIM.

Second pray for wisdom and discernment so you can know WHO to trust and WHO NOT to trust.

Third pray for those whom you don’t trust that they submit themselves to God through our Lord and Savior Yeshua, Jesus Christ. It’s bigger than just you or me…Ultimately it’s more about their relationship with God than ours with them.

Fourth, remain in God’s character so that you can set a standard and example of behavior and plant good seeds for God’s Kingdom. You do this by walking in the Spirit as defined in Galatians 5:22, 23.

Fifth, always make are always faithful and trustworthy in all your relationships.

And finally, remember that God had equipped you with everything you need for this LIFE and GODLINESS in this life, through His divine nature that is now inside you…

2 PETER 1:2-8 (NKJV)

No you can’t trust everyone…

The fact that we aren’t always faithful means that God can’t always trust us. But, we can always trust Him.

So,

Trust God…

Trust Yourself…

Be Trustworthy…

And remember, GOD IS GREATER THAN THOSE WHOM YOU DON’T TRUST.

Add this to your prayer life…”Lord give me the ability to relate with those I don’t trust.”

BE BLESSTIFIED!

February 20, 2018 3