LUKE 17:1-4 TPT
"One day Jesus taught his disciples: “Betrayals[a] are inevitable, but great devastation will come to the one guilty of betraying others. It would be better for him to have a heavy boulder tied around his neck and be hurled into the deepest sea than to face the punishment of betraying one of my dear ones! So be alert to your brother’s condition, and if you see him going the wrong direction, cry out and correct him. If there is true repentance on his part, forgive him. No matter how many times in one day your brother sins against you and says, ‘I’m sorry; I am changing; forgive me,’ you need to forgive him each and every time.”
"One day Jesus taught his disciples: “Betrayals[a] are inevitable, but great devastation will come to the one guilty of betraying others. It would be better for him to have a heavy boulder tied around his neck and be hurled into the deepest sea than to face the punishment of betraying one of my dear ones! So be alert to your brother’s condition, and if you see him going the wrong direction, cry out and correct him. If there is true repentance on his part, forgive him. No matter how many times in one day your brother sins against you and says, ‘I’m sorry; I am changing; forgive me,’ you need to forgive him each and every time.”
Forgiveness is difficult in part because we do not understand it properly.
At this point it is necessary to clear up some of the misconceptions about forgiveness. In some ways, it is easier to say what forgiveness is not than what it is. These misconceptions matter because sometimes when we say we can’t or won’t forgive, we are actually talking about something other than biblical forgiveness. Let me list a few things forgiveness does not mean:
It does not mean approving of what someone else did.
It does not mean pretending that evil never took place.
It does not mean making excuses for other people’s bad behavior.
It does not mean justifying evil so that sin somehow becomes less sinful.
It does not mean overlooking abuse.
It does not mean denying that others tried to hurt you repeatedly.
It does not mean letting others walk all over you.
It does not mean refusing to press charges when a crime has been committed.
It does not mean forgetting the wrong that was done.
It does not mean pretending that you were never hurt.
It does not mean that you must restore the relationship to what it was before.
It does not mean that you must become best friends again.
It does not mean there must be a total reconciliation as if nothing ever happened.
It does not mean that you must tell the person that you have forgiven them.
It does not mean that all negative consequences of sin are canceled.
Forgiveness in its essence is a decision made on the inside to refuse to live in the past. It’s a conscious choice to release others from their sins against you so that you can be set free. It doesn’t deny the pain or change the past, but it does break the cycle of bitterness that binds you to the wounds of yesterday. Forgiveness allows you to let go and move on.
If the video does not show up here below view in your Browser or click here: https://youtu.be/youjv09i0_k
At this point it is necessary to clear up some of the misconceptions about forgiveness. In some ways, it is easier to say what forgiveness is not than what it is. These misconceptions matter because sometimes when we say we can’t or won’t forgive, we are actually talking about something other than biblical forgiveness. Let me list a few things forgiveness does not mean:
It does not mean approving of what someone else did.
It does not mean pretending that evil never took place.
It does not mean making excuses for other people’s bad behavior.
It does not mean justifying evil so that sin somehow becomes less sinful.
It does not mean overlooking abuse.
It does not mean denying that others tried to hurt you repeatedly.
It does not mean letting others walk all over you.
It does not mean refusing to press charges when a crime has been committed.
It does not mean forgetting the wrong that was done.
It does not mean pretending that you were never hurt.
It does not mean that you must restore the relationship to what it was before.
It does not mean that you must become best friends again.
It does not mean there must be a total reconciliation as if nothing ever happened.
It does not mean that you must tell the person that you have forgiven them.
It does not mean that all negative consequences of sin are canceled.
Forgiveness in its essence is a decision made on the inside to refuse to live in the past. It’s a conscious choice to release others from their sins against you so that you can be set free. It doesn’t deny the pain or change the past, but it does break the cycle of bitterness that binds you to the wounds of yesterday. Forgiveness allows you to let go and move on.
If the video does not show up here below view in your Browser or click here: https://youtu.be/youjv09i0_k
ACTION STEP: Allow yourself some time to listen to the above video. Then ask yourself if you have ought against anyone, including yourself. Those of us that have been abandoned, violated or experienced trauma may have a harder time actually processing the need to forgive. We have perhaps shoved it so far down that we actually have refused to feel and process. Do it anyway. It is truly freeing and necessary.
I believe in you and you need to believe in yourself.
UNTIL 5/24/21 enjoy archives or catch up on episodes you missed!
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I believe in you and you need to believe in yourself.
UNTIL 5/24/21 enjoy archives or catch up on episodes you missed!
Binge Watch!
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