by David Brenneman
"Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions." Mark 11:25.
"For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." Matthew 6:14-15.
"But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." Matthew 6:6-8.
"And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” Mark 7:20-23.
There's much to be learned about concerning a life in Christ. It should never be that we come to Christ only for that and then do nothing significant in the eyes of God towards becoming more like Christ.
We can read that passage from Mark 7:20-23 to see what is possible to come out of the hearts of mankind. Including Believers if their hearts aren't right before Jesus or if they're living for themselves only.
The Father wants personal prayer time with each of us. Not our constantly repeated words that have no heartfelt meaning behind them. In your world how long would you stay in a relationship if someone talked to you that way?
We can also be a people thinking we've justified our bitterness concerning others who have wronged us. Was anyone wronged more than Jesus?
We can easily justify our choices concerning ourselves and others.
What we often miss is Jesus wasn't just talking to be heard concerning what we read earlier on the requirements of forgiveness. If you don't then you won't be forgiven.
It's this very thing on not truly forgiving others that really is what the "you shouldn't judge!" crowd mistakes for judging people. No one has the right to sit in judgment on other people with regards to saying who is or isn't worthy of the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. We don't decide who is worthy or who isn't. We are to evaluate, judge, people based on their fruits. Jesus said you would know people by their fruits.
This isn't to say you toss everything to the wind after you are wronged. You might be wise not to forget the incident but you are required to truly forgive from your heart.
And please don't start with "But you don't understand what they did!". Nobody went through more of anything than Jesus in His life and ministry, through it and up to and including the cross on which He died.
Scripture says: "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin." Hebrews 4:14-15.
We are called to forgive ourselves and others wholly and from the heart. Period.
We are to enrich our lives through dedicated time with Jesus. We can't learn from the Spirit if we aren't in class. We cannot know what the character of Christ is if we aren't trying to find out.
We are not here to be all we can be for our own sake. We are not here to be as successful as we can be in the eyes of the world. We are to be successful in the eyes of God on His terms in His ways that are taught by His Spirit.
It took me a very very long time, on the order of decades, to realize that I had been mad at myself and hadn't forgiven myself for my past and present actions. I have known people, and in some instances it was me as well, where anger towards others superceded true forgiveness. The words may have been there saying they forgave but the actions and speech reflected an unforgiving heart.
Bitterness is a pill that nobody should take internally.
You can't truly hold your breath longer than God. You cannot justify your position when He says that you must first forgive from your heart...then that is what you must do.
We set ourselves up for failure when we try to justify our self-righteous position before men and women.
We then open the door for these things to come into our lives and we self-sabotage our walk with Jesus. "proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness." All these things even a Christian is capable of.
You are still capable of every single imagined and unimagined sin.
Our first, best, defense is what the Scriptures say.
"Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity." Ephesians 4:26-27.
"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world." 1 Peter 5:8-9.
Peter would know. Peter was thinking he was in the right in his thought processes.
"But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Mark 8:33.
We can be crafty and be as self-centered as any unbelieving person on the planet. We can talk ourselves into what we say is right, good and acceptable before God without ever once asking God what really is!
From the heart...
What is coming from your heart to the world around you? What are people seeing? Yes it does matter and don't try arguing that it doesn't. Scripture says that we should live our lives in Christ in such a way that people see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven.
Our first testimony about a life in Christ has nothing to do with a pre-written testimony of how we came to Christ for salvation.
It's how our lives are lived.
Are we weeding out these things that Jesus said that comes from the heart?
Are we setting our minds on the things that are above and not on the things that are of this world?
Are we forgiving others the same way that Christ forgave us?
Are we recognizing any idolatry in our lives and are removing it?
Are we recognizing anything that is more important than pleasing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and doing something about it?
Jesus said that we will know people by their fruits. What do your fruits really look like? Ask not from your own perspective. Ask someone who's another whom you trust is firmly walking in Christ to answer you.
Jesus said that disciples should be taught all that Jesus commanded them.
What are you striving to know and understand about all that Jesus commanded you?
How can you expect to be told "Well done" by Jesus if you aren't doing, aren't living, the life in Christ that He has in mind for you?
Jesus guarantees that your prayers will be hindered if you are not truly forgiving from your heart.
It a guaranteed wall between you and Jesus if you're insisting on holding onto sins in your life with no regard for what the Bible says that we should be doing about them.
Matthew 18 goes further to say what should be done concerning unrepentant people.
Hands down God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have established that sin is a barrier between God and mankind that must be dealt with.
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord; Teach me Your statutes." Psalms 119:9-12.
We may sin against ourselves but we always will sin against God first. Daily cleansing by the asking of forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ is necessary to keep that communication open.
Look at your heart. Ask Jesus.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way." Psalms 139:23-24.
All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.
No comments:
Post a Comment