10/01/2018
Matthew 6:15, Matthew 11:25, Matthew 18:21-22, Luke 6:27, Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13.
Forgiveness
Children, anger kills, anger destroys, anger infects and infests. Words spoken out of hurt are pure venom, you are literally spewing venom out of your mouth and the person on the receiving end of it is being stabbed by daggers that hurt deeper than a real one would. Children, you must follow what is in my word. It is true, you should never let the sun go down on your anger, learn to forgive quickly, learn to be silent and listen instead of being ever ready to comment without understanding. If you are however still filled with anger step aside and take time to cool off before responding or confronting the one whom you are angry with. Remember if the pain in your heart is still raw and festering what comes out of your mouth will be an attack, a vicious attack in an effort to empty yourself of hurt yet still holding on to the pain. Much damage has been done to families, churches, communities and nations because of festering anger, unresolved anger. Children, when you have anger in your heart it not only reflects the pain in your heart but when in addition to this you refuse to forgive, it not only indicates unforgiveness but also pride. It is a shame how so many refuse to forgive because of pride. Some feel that by forgiving the other person and admitting fault first that in some way they have diminished themselves or lowered themselves and are therefore inferior to the other person. This is absurd children; a person who forgives does so from a position of humility not from a lowly place. It is not about the place you are occupying as far as your level of physical or emotional standing, quite the contrary it is from a place of maturity, a place of healing, a place of seeking a new beginning, a clean slate, a place of great emotional and spiritual power. Children, do not ever feel like you are demeaning yourself when you forgive, you are not, you are like a breath of fresh air in the middle of a sewer of bitter emotions, a drink of water to a dying thirsty man, a shady tree in the middle of a desert. There is too much pain and hurt and unforgiveness in my house. It is time for reconciliation, for the emptying of the bitter vessels, for healing, for restoration, for new beginnings, for bright mornings and sunny days instead of the dreary shadows of misery and bitterness. It is time; I want clear hearts, clear minds and clear hands in my house. I am weary of the many bloody hands that are raised up to me in my house of worship. How can I come and dwell with you when I can see the evidence of your sin in your hands? A sin that you have not yet repented of. It is time for a cleansing in my house. Do it voluntarily of your own accord otherwise I will have to come to you and cleanse you with bitter herbs, for a purging must take place, a burying of the past hurts, a burning away of the very fragrance of bitterness, a charring, a consuming fire that destroys all evidence of the past. Children, this is important, forgive and rid yourself of this torment and pain that is in your heart. Let it go children, stop holding onto a flame that is burning into your bosom, before you know it you will be so consumed with bitterness that you will be a festering sore filled with pus and ever inflamed, one prick and all the venom will come bursting out and infect all that is around it. Forgive, let go, repent, rid yourself of pride.
Jesus, Amen.
