Forgiveness: Jesus and Lord Essay

A definition for forgiveness could be — giving up my right to hurt you, for hurting me. It is impossible to live on this fallen planet without getting hurt, offended, misunderstood, lied to, and rejected. Learning how to respond properly is one of the basics of the Christian life. The word â€Å"forgive† means to wipe the slate clean, to pardon, to cancel a debt. When we wrong someone, we seek his or her forgiveness in order for the relationship to be restored. It is important to remember that forgiveness is not granted because a person deserves to be forgiven. Instead, it is an act of love, mercy, and grace. Admiting that you are hurt, but willing to give up claims for restitution. Offering forgiveness is hard for us. When we are hurt or disappointed, we want to be repaid for the grief and inconvenience that we’ve suffered. It only seems right. But the Bible says, forgive as the Lord forgave you. Through Christ, all our sins are taken away freely and completely. To forgive as the Lord forgives requires that we let others off the hook with no compensation requested or paid. We don’t understand the value of forgiveness because we are flawed not just in our relationships but also in our thinking. It takes strength to put aside our thirst for vengeance and offer mercy instead. It takes a loving heart to work through angry feelings and reach out to embrace those who have hurt you. It takes wisdom to understand that no one is faultless and entitled to claim the moral high ground in a dispute. Genesis 45:4-8 4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, â€Å"Come close to me.† When they had done so, he said, â€Å"I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.[a] 8 â€Å"So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. Genesis 50:20 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 1 Samuel 24:3-7 3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, â€Å"This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said[a] to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’† Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, â€Å"The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.† 7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way. 1Samuel 26:8-11 Abishai said to David, â€Å"Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear; I won’t strike him twice.† 9 But David said to Abishai, â€Å"Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless? 10 As surely as the LORD lives,† he said, â€Å"the LORD himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. 11 But the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let’s go.† Hebrews 12:15 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshipping Him in awe. â€Å"When either the Hebrew Bible or Christian Scripture sanctions â€Å"the fear of the Lord,† it is referring to what Eugene Peterson describes as â€Å"a fear that pulls us out of our preoccupation with ourselves, our feelings, or our circumstances into a world of wonder.† Not dread but astonishment. Not terror but reverence. Not shaking-in-your-boots panic, but enraptured-with-love fascination. Thus we begin to understand why Scripture says: â€Å"Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him† (Psalm 33:8 NRSV). â€Å"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Proverbs 9:10). â€Å"Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (2 Corinthians 5:11). The God who has showed himself in history as Jesus of Nazareth is not a thug who threatens and pushes people around. He is the God who creates such beauty in the world that we stand speechless, upholds us in our crisis moments so that we do not â€Å"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses†(1 Timothy 6:12) Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go. – William Feather Don’t be discouraged. It’s often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock. – Author Unknown Keep on going, and the chances are that you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I never heard of anyone ever stumbling on something sitting down. – Charles F. Kettering The kingdom of God has been subject to violence Ephesians 6:11-12 New International Version (NIV) 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. . ( 2 Timothy 2:3-7) Endure with us , like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. he was born in San Diego on November 9, 1918. Chadwick had her first swimming competition win at the age of ten, and at the age of eleven competed in her first â€Å"challenging† competition, a rough water swim. She placed fourth in the event. Chadwick’s biggest contribution to swimming history occurred on August 8, 1950, when she crossed the English Channel in 13 hours and 20 minutes, breaking the then-current world record held by American swimmer Gertrude Ederle. One year later, Chadwick crossed the English Channel yet again, from England to France; this time, in 16 hours and 22 minutes, thus making her the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions, and setting a record for the England-France journey. In 1952, Florence attempted to swim the 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California coastline. As she began, she was flanked by small boats that watched for sharks and were prepared to help her if she got hurt or grew tired. After about 15 hours a thick fog set in. Florence began to doubt her ability, and she told her mother, who was in one of the boats, that she didn’t think she could make it. She swam for another hour before asking to be pulled out, unable to see the coastline due to the fog. As she sat in the boat, she found out she had stopped swimming just one mile away from her destination.[2] Two months later, Chadwick tried again. This time was different. The same thick fog set in, but she made it because she said that she kept a mental image of the shoreline in her mind while she swam. In 1954, she attempted to become the first person to swim across Lake Ontario but gave up after becoming ill a few hours into her swim. Canadian Marilyn Bell, succeeded the next day. She died on March 15, 1995. You must also have confidence in your weapons. Our weapons are â€Å"mighty through God,† we are told. God has told you how to win; and just as surely as you follow his instructions and trust in him for results, he will cause you to wear the victor’s crown. Our cause is a righteous one. Have faith in that cause, and know that right must triumph. But remember that you cannot win unless you put your faith into your fighting. â€Å"This is the victory that overcometh the world, even your faith.† Believe that you will win. No matter how weak you are, no matter how great your foe, no matter what may confront you, go into the conflict with that courage that is born of faith. Believe that God will give you the victory. Do no consider defeat at all. Let your faith mount up, and say: â€Å"I can win, and I will win. In God I will conquer.† Throw away your doubts. Make an end of them. Trust in God. His word is true. You can believe it if you will, and believing it, you shall be more than conqueror through him that loves you. God is concerned that a great number of devote Christians are at the verge of frustration and discouragement because their efforts to bring the power of God to bear on situations and circumstances around them are not yielding any tangible result. They have prayed, fasted and diligently sought the face of the Lord and yet the conditions remain the same. Some have actually concluded that God has abandoned them. In fact others are beginning to doubt whether Christianity is true or not. Their love for the Lord is going cold. If this is your condition, then you are one of those for whom God has prepared this message. Be assured that God has not forgotten nor forsaken you, rather He has been waiting for you to be ready for the truth you are about to hear. Indeed, it should be a concern to all of us that there is so much struggling with the Christian life today and the power of God seems to flow only in trickles in people’s lives. If we acknowledge that God is still God and that He never changes, then we will understand that the ————————————————-