Forgive To Be Forgiven!

The greatest risk we face as a church in these last days is not that we may lose a musician, or that we may lose money, or that we may lose members, or that we may lose staff, or that we may lose reputation.
The greatest risk is that we may lose heaven. Because one way to lose heaven is to hold fast to an unforgiving spirit.

Jesus said (in Matthew 6:9, 12), "Pray like this: 'Our Father who art in heaven . . . forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.'" Then in verses 14–15 he explains why he taught us to pray this way: "For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions."
If we hold fast to an unforgiving spirit, we will not be forgiven by God. If we continue on in that way, then we will not go to heaven, because heaven is the dwelling place of forgiven people.

Here is forgiveness: when you feel that someone is your enemy or when you simply feel that you or someone you care about has been wronged, forgiveness means,
1. resisting revenge,
2. not returning evil for evil,
3. wishing them well,
4. grieving at their calamities,
5. praying for their welfare,
6. seeking reconciliation so far as it depends on you,
7. and coming to their aid in distress.
All these point to a forgiving heart. And the heart is all important. Jesus said in Matthew 18:35—"unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Forgiveness is not the absence of anger at sin. It is not feeling good about what was bad.
When you are wronged, you are not expected to feel good about what happened. Anger against sin and its consequences is fitting up to a point. But you don't need to hold on to it in a vindictive way that desires harm for the one who has wronged you.
You can hand it over to him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23) again and again, and pray for the transformation of the one who has wronged you. Forgiveness is not feeling good about horrible things.

We are not bound to trust an enemy; but we are bound to forgive him.
You can actually look someone in the face and say: “I forgive you, but I don't trust you.”
But be aware of how crucial the heart here.
What would make that an unforgiving thing to say is if you were thinking this:
“I forgive you, but I don't trust you. What's more, I don't care about ever trusting you again; and I won't accept any of your efforts to try to establish trust again; in fact, I hope nobody ever trusts you again, and I don't care if your life is totally ruined.”
That is not a forgiving spirit. And our souls would be in danger.
Perhaps we are at risk in some way, we all have people we need to forgive. We need very much to see Jesus and feel what it means to be forgiven of our huge debt.

Book Review

I have been in ministry in one capacity or another during the past 18 years. Often, people have recommended books to me that are said to be “life changing” revelation. In many cases, disappointment is all that I get from many Christian authors. However, this book is not like that. Gary Wood uses a principle in his writing that many would do well to follow when writing about biblical principles. Isaiah 28:9-10 says, “ whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept , precept upon precept ; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:” KJV

That’s what you get from “The Sixth Day Rapture, The Shabua Principle” Line upon line, scripture after scripture of understanding that is truly life changing. If you are hungry to know what the Bible actually says about the End Times and the rapture of the Church, this is the book you must read. This book will challenge many people’s understanding regarding the return of Christ for His church. And for those who are willing to yield to the truth of scripture, “that day” will not take you unaware. To order "The Sixth Day Rapture, The Shabua Principle" go to
www.sixthdayrapture.com