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LINT
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, February 8, 2025 – It can cling to you like lint – a careless word spoken in haste or a quick sideways glance that’s just as quickly forgotten, but not by you. Not by some part of you that noted it, recorded it, catalogued it, and filed it away for later ruminating in a moment of uneasy solitude or weakness.
We’re not immune to these moments as born-again believers. They can sneak up on us as much as they can sneak up on anyone else, but the difference is that we have an obligation to see them for what they are and to disperse them with a silent “I choose to forgive”, even if we don’t feel like forgiving.
Because being born-again is much like being in the army. It’s not option for us not to forgive, any more than it’s not an option for a soldier to disobey an order. We forgive not because we feel like it but because we’ve been ordered to forgive.
What a wonderful thing, to have been ordered to forgive, since the root of nearly all human suffering is unforgiveness. It starts as a grudge, or resentment, or a simmering hostility that grows into self-pity, hatred, false memories, depression, and a whole range of emotional disorders that for some may even lead to suicidal ideation. I know this progression from a careless word to slit wrists, because I lived it as an unforgiving atheist. And the more burdened by unforgiveness I was, the shorter the time span between the perceived slight and the slitting.
As born-again believers, we have no grounds to have so much as a spiritual bad-hair day. That’s because we’re not merely advised to forgive, we’re ordered to forgive, and in forgiving we instantly unburden what could have weighed us down and compromised us. This is a profound blessing, to be ordered to forgive. We bless ourselves and others when we choose to forgive and in return are blessed and forgiven by God.
However small the slight, choose to forgive. However careless the words, choose to forgive. Even if the slight and the words were calculated to hurt you, choose to forgive. Never let your hurt progress to a grudge or a tit-for-tat. Never let the devil get his claws in you that way, because he will, if you let him. He’s always looking for a way in.
Resentment can accumulate like lint on your soul, so light that you don’t even know it’s there. Don’t let it. Blow it off. Always choose to forgive.
ARE YOU A MISERABLE CHRISTIAN? HERE’S THE SOLUTION
CAMPBELLTON, New Brunswick, May 16, 2023 – At the root of every miserable Christian with weak faith and a messed-up life is unforgiveness, is a bitter heart, is finger-pointing and a refusal to let go of grievances.
John, in one of his letters, says that you can’t love God and at the same time hold a grievance against someone. Holding a grievance cancels out your love for God. What’s worse is that holding a grievance while saying you love God makes you a hypocrite, because you can’t hate and love at the same time. If you hate someone (which is what you’re doing if you hold a grievance against them), it’s impossible to love God.
And you know what Jesus says about hypocrites.
You definitely do not want to be on Jesus’ hypocrite list.
Did you know that you cannot get into Heaven with bitterness in your heart? If you die with a bitter heart you go to Hell first, and then to the lake of fire for all eternity. That’s the reward for having a bitter heart from refusing to let go of a grievance.
Having faith in God and Jesus necessarily means that you love them and trust them, but you can’t love them and trust them and at the same time hold a grievance against someone. It’s impossible to do that, and if you say you’re doing it, you’re lying to yourself.
Do you have any bitterness in your heart? Is there someone you’re still blaming, someone you talk about when they’re not around, rehashing what they did to you? Maybe you still throw it in their face when you talk to them. Maybe you don’t do it directly; maybe you just mention the grievance in passing. Or maybe your grievance is against the government or against a system you see as stacked against you. Maybe you’re blaming society in general or even the devil. Whatever it is, if it involves finger-pointing, you show that you’re still blaming, still hanging onto your grievance.
If you’ve forgiven someone – genuinely forgiven them – you don’t talk about the grievance anymore, not to your friends, not to your relatives, not to your lawyer, not to law enforcement, not to your therapist, not to your priest or minister, not to the person you’ve forgiven, not even to yourself OR TO GOD. If the grievance comes to mind, you simply say within your heart “I’ve chosen to forgive”. Anything else means you haven’t.
It’s important to note that you need to make the choice to forgive as many times as the grievance comes to mind. If it comes to mind 70 times 7 times a day (or more), you make the choice to forgive 70 times 7 times a day (or more). It’s that simple.
Did you know that a heart bitter with unforgiveness will separate you from God? If you’re separated from God, you’re separated from Jesus, and if you’re separated from God and Jesus, there’s no way you’re going to make it Home, never mind the miserable messed-up life you’re going have for the rest of your time on Earth.
At the root of every messed-up, weak-in-the-faith, unhappy Christian is a bitter heart that is harbouring unforgiveness. The only way to overcome it is to make the choice to forgive (as many times as you have to), and then God can forgive (heal) you.
THE ECSTASY OF FORGIVENESS
ANNAPOLIS ROYAL, Nova Scotia, April 21, 2022 – For God, forgiveness is miraculously instantaneous. When he forgives us, he does so perfectly, and we are miraculously healed.
For us, however, mercy is a process that unfolds over time.
When we forgive, that isn’t the end of the process. It’s just the beginning.
A true act of forgiveness continues for the lifetime of the person doing the forgiving.
It has three main steps.
STEP 1: MAKING THE CHOICE TO FORGIVE
Forgiveness is not a feeling, at least not initially. Many people drag their heels on making the choice to forgive, as they “don’t feel like forgiving” or they say “I can NEVER forgive him for doing that!” But for born-again believers, forgiveness is not optional: It is a command. There is no time and no circumstance when you can righteously choose not to forgive.
Forgiveness is first and foremost a decision of the will.
In other words, it’s a choice. It’s a decision you make of your own free will.
You CHOOSE to forgive, you don’t always necessarily feel like forgiving.
You make the choice to forgive, and then the process of forgiveness begins.
STEP 2: FOLLOWING THROUGH ON THE CHOICE TO FORGIVE
I watched a video a few months ago posted by a pastor who claimed to have forgiven his wife for having an affair with his father. I’m not naming the pastor (to protect the identity of his wife and father), but the whole thing blew me away. It was essentially a textbook case of what NOT to do after you make the choice to forgive. It was clear from the video that the pastor was still hurt and angry about the affair and was still pointing fingers of blame. The anger and the pointed fingers are clear indications that no genuine forgiveness has taken place. I find this deeply saddening for everyone involved.
After you choose to forgive, you don’t talk about the grievance anymore, not even as an example. I can’t stress enough how important this is. You don’t say “Oh, I chose to forgive him for what he did to me, even though it nearly destroyed my life”, you just simply say (if anyone asks) “I don’t talk about it anymore, thank you”. And people will ask, trust me. The devil will prompt someone every now and then to remind you about the grievance. Don’t give into the temptation. Similarly, if the grievance pops into your mind (as a test or temptation), simply dismiss it with “I’ve chosen to forgive”, and say another prayer for whoever it is you’ve forgiven. And thank God for his love and mercy.
That is how you follow through on your choice to forgive: You don’t talk about it anymore and you don’t choose to think about it anymore, even when you’re tempted and tested to do so.
It’s also critically important not to put yourself in a position to be hurt again. Your decision to forgive the person who hurt you doesn’t require their repentance. Of all the people in my life I’ve forgiven, none have come to me with an apology. I don’t expect an apology. Their apology isn’t required for me to forgive them. However, I also will not put myself in a position to be hurt again. To do so would not be using the brain and common sense that God gives us all. Forgiving does not mean to look past the physical or emotional danger and pretend it doesn’t exist; forgiving means stopping blaming someone and refusing to think or talk about it anymore. But it NEVER involves putting yourself into the position to be hurt again. That is not part of the forgiveness process.
STEP 3: HONORING THE CHOICE TO FORGIVE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE
The decision to forgive is just the start of the process. You must honor your choice for the rest of your life. Just as in the short term you’ll be tempted on occasion to remember and relive the grievance, you’ll also be tempted to do so over the long term. The temptation to blame will likely not leave you until the day you die. Your response should be the same regardless of the time that’s elapsed between your choice to forgive and the test or temptation to resurrect the grievance: You simply say that you don’t talk about it anymore or think about it anymore, thank you very much. And then you say a prayer for the person you’ve chosen to forgive, and you thank God for his love and mercy.
The best and most representative example of how to forgive is Jesus’ final prayer just before he dies on the cross. He simply states: “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” In this statement, he doesn’t name the grievance, he simply indicates his choice to forgive while at the same time praying to God to forgive them. This prayer of Jesus is, hands down, the best example of how to choose to forgive, regardless of the extremity of the circumstances.
The three-step process of forgiveness outlined above I have used myself for the past 23 years (and counting) since my rebirth. I have tested it on numerous occasions, and I guarantee you that it works 100% of the time.
THE MIRACULOUS HEALING OF FORGIVENESS
The miraculous part – the part where God gets involved – is when the choice to forgive turns into the feeling of forgiveness and then the ongoing desire to forgive. When God knows that your choice to forgive is genuine, he then effects the feeling of forgiveness in you. That means, he certifies the forgiveness with his own personal seal of approval. When that happens, you feel God’s mercy flowing through you, directly from God.
There is no greater feeling on Earth. It’s God’s love, straight from the source.
God’s love straight from the source was in fact the first feeling I felt when I was reborn 23 years ago.
When we make the genuine choice to forgive (and God knows whether or not it’s genuine), God then forgives us whatever sins we’ve accumulated. The feeling that results is the feeling of God’s grace and mercy interacting with our soul.
It’s healing and feeling all at once, giving us a taste of divine ecstasy.
And once you’ve tasted divine ecstasy, you want more and more. You don’t want it ever to stop.
That’s when the directive to forgive becomes the desire to forgive and you cannot imagine not forgiving.
But remember – God forgives us only to the same extent that we forgive others. That is the fair exchange that Jesus spoke about when he gave us examples of prayer topics. For one topic, he advised us to pray the following: “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”. In this request (which is actually a formula), we are to forgive first, and then God will forgive us to the same extent and at the same time as we’ve forgiven others.
My advice is always to forgive entirely, holding nothing back.
And rush to forgive. Don’t drag your feet – RUSH TO FORGIVE.
And God will rush to forgive you.
BE RADICAL, NOT FANATICAL
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, December 8, 2019 – Jesus was a radical in the truest sense of the word. Once he started his ministry work, he lived only for his mission: nothing else mattered.
But being radical and being fanatical are two different things. (more…)
LOOK BACK WITH LOVE
ROCKINGHAM, Nova Scotia, August 22, 2019 – Being born again is a definitive marker in a person’s history. It is that “moment outside of time” when the spirits of the world are cast out and God’s spirit enters in. The entrance of God’s spirit into a soul means that the soul has come to life, as there is no life outside of God.
You literally become a new person not by your own hand but by God’s.
But this new person still lives in the world, with all its decay, filth, and problems. Even worse, the possibility to go back to one’s “old ways” is constantly a temptation not because the old ways are better than God’s ways but because they’re familiar and habitual. Familiarity and habit are strong temptations, if they’re against God. When you become born again, you need to establish new God-centered familiarities and habits, but that takes time. (more…)
LOVE BOMB
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, March 10, 2017 – What does it mean to love one another?
The simple truth is that you can’t really love anyone unless you let God love through you.
That’s the love Jesus was talking about, and that’s the only kind of love. Everything else is fake. (more…)
A BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER’S DAILY TO-DO LIST
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, December 10, 2015 – Not a wish list, not a bucket list, just an everyday to-do list that prioritizes the only things that matter. Do them, and you’ll live.
- Get up early.
- Choose to forgive everyone for everything.
- Spend time with God and Jesus.
- Do something that will help someone get closer to God.
- Eat a healthy breakfast.
- Clean up yourself and your living environment.
- Choose to forgive everyone for everything.
- Spend time with God and Jesus.
- Do something that will help someone get closer to God.
- Eat a healthy lunch.
- Earn your daily bread.
- Buy what you need.
- Choose to forgive everyone for everything.
- Spend time with God and Jesus.
- Do something to help someone get closer to God.
- Eat a healthy dinner.
- Choose to forgive everyone for everything.
- Spend time with God and Jesus.
- Do something to help someone get closer to God.
- Choose to forgive everyone for everything.
- Choose to forgive everyone for everything.
- Pray for your enemies and your loved ones.
- Choose to forgive everyone for everything.
- Spend time with God and Jesus.
- Go to sleep.
STOP, AND CHOOSE TO FORGIVE
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, March 5, 2015 – Every day, I ask God what I should write about. Today he said: “Forgiveness.”
Then he said to tell everyone to stop what they’re doing.
Just STOP.
He said this is the most important thing you’ll do today.
Stop whatever else you’re doing and pay attention.
Forgiveness is not a touchy-feely warm ‘n’ fuzzy group hug kind of emotion.
Forgiveness is a choice.
And chances are that you won’t want to make that choice.
But if you don’t, you won’t get to heaven.
These are the facts. God isn’t going to change the facts just because you don’t feel like forgiving everyone.
Yes, EVERYONE.
No-one gets into heaven with any unforgiveness on their soul. If you’re harboring resentment or grudges, that’s unforgiveness. If you’re blaming someone for something they did last week or 60 years ago, that’s unforgiveness. Having unforgiveness on your soul is the same as having unrepentant murder.
The end of your world will come in your lifetime. That’s a guarantee. It may come in 20 years or it may come in 20 seconds.
But when it does come, you won’t get into heaven with unforgiveness on your soul.
Once your time is up, it’s too late to make the choice to forgive. God, in his mercy, may give you one final chance, but don’t count on it. It all depends on how many times you’ve been told to forgive, and how many times you’ve rejected the advice.
God is patient, but he’s no sucker.
So whatever it is you’ve been holding onto, let it go. Just say: “I CHOOSE TO FORGIVE.”
Just like that.
Say: “I CHOOSE TO FORGIVE.”
And then make good on your choice by choosing not to think or talk about the grievance anymore. And if it pops into your head for whatever reason, say again: I CHOOSE TO FORGIVE. Every time it pops up, say again: I CHOOSE TO FORGIVE.
Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling.
Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling.
Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling.
If you don’t choose to forgive, God will not forgive you.
If God doesn’t forgive you, that means no soul healing and no ‘heaven on Earth’ as a born-again.
And if you refuse to forgive even up to the moment of your death, your unforgiveness means you go to hell.
Forever.
There is no other option.
Forgiveness leads to heaven; unforgiveness leads to hell.
This is a spiritual fact of life.
If you’re living or working in an abusive situation, leave immediately and choose to forgive.
Do not go back. Do not press charges or file a report. If you’ve already pressed charges or filed a report, drop them.
Do not go back into the abusive situation, but choose to forgive.
Jesus says we are to forgive our abusers not seven times by seventy times seven.
He means there are no limits to how many times we forgive: we forgive as many times as we’re hurt.
Jesus says that if we don’t forgive those who hurt us, God will not forgive us. If God doesn’t forgive us, we won’t get into heaven.
If God doesn’t forgive us, we won’t get into heaven.
Let that sink in: If God doesn’t forgive you, you won’t get into heaven.
That’s another spiritual fact of life.
So how do you get God to forgive you?
By choosing to forgive others.
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
There are ZERO exceptions.
Just like there are no asterisks on the Ten Commandments, stating in fine print below that it’s OK to murder in self-defense or in the line of duty, there are no asterisks and fine print below Jesus’ directive to forgive.
What you choose to do with this information is up to you, but God and Jesus are begging you to choose NOW to forgive everyone for everything.
CHOOSE TO FORGIVE.
It may be the best and last thing you ever do.
A BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER 