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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 PRAYING TO GOD OR TO THE WALL?
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, October 28, 2024 – Jesus taught us to love our enemies. He also reminded us that before we petition God in prayer, we need to make sure we’re not holding anything against anyone or God will not hear us. He will simply refuse to allow our petition to be heard. That’s a pretty bold statement, that God will refuse to hear us. Did Jesus really mean that, or was he just speaking figuratively?
I believe that Jesus really meant what he said. God will not hear our prayers if we go before him holding a grudge. Even worse, when we go to God in repentance, God will refuse to forgive us unless we first forgive others. We can go through all the motions of repentance as loudly and elaborately as we want, or as quietly and humbly, but either way we’ll accomplish nothing if we’re harbouring so much as a smidge of unforgiveness. In other words, we might as well be talking to the wall if we come before God holding a grudge, as our prayers will go nowhere.
God outright refusing to forgive us is also a bold statement. Nonetheless, I believe it’s true and vitally important to the repentance equation, although it’s nearly always left out of sermons about repentance. We’re told by our pastors that it’s good to repent and that we need to repent and that we should do so often, as if the act of repenting in and of itself is all it takes for God to forgive us. Rarely, if ever, are we reminded that we must first resolve our grudges or our repentance cannot be accomplished. In other words, if you go before God with hate in your heart, God will not only not forgive you, he won’t even acknowledge your petition, no matter how many times you pester him.
Repentance only works if you first forgive. That’s what Jesus taught us.
Then why do so many people beg God’s forgiveness while holding onto grudges? Some people are even holding onto grudges against God while asking God to forgive them! But as Jesus taught us, there’s no point in asking for forgiveness if you haven’t first forgiven. This includes forgiving people you know personally as well as (and just as importantly) those you don’t know personally, like politicians or people you’ve read about in the news.
When you go before God, your heart should be squeaky clean of any form of grudge or judgement whatsoever. You should be holding nothing against anyone, including the neighbour down the street who has a habit of firing up his lawnmower at 7 in the morning. So many Christians wonder why God doesn’t seem to hear their prayers let alone answer them, and there’s the reason why – grudges. If you want God to hear you loud and clear and to answer your prayers as they’re leaving your mouth, come to him with a clean heart. Love your enemies by praying for them and blessing them.
Hold nothing against anyone, and God will hold nothing against you.
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.
LOVE
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, April 7, 2015 – People who are hurting hurt people.
Happy people don’t hurt people. Happy people want to help people, not hurt them.
We need to remember this when people are mean or rude or cruel to us.
Jesus said that it’s the sick who need help, not those who are well.
Scratch the surface of anyone who is mean or cruel or hurtful in any way, and you’ll find a painful festering sore below.
The greater the pain gets, the more people deflect it to other people and blame other people.
People who are in pain will growl and bite you if you get too close, the way animals will growl and bite you when you reach to help them.
People in pain need prayers, not curses. They need a gentle presence (from a safe distance, if necessary).
Those people who treat you like dirt – PRAY FOR THEM. Don’t tell them you’re praying for them, just PRAY FOR THEM.
And choose to forgive them.
Don’t dwell on their cruelty; dwell on how miserable they must be, not to know God’s love.
That’s a horrible cold dark wretched place to live, where God isn’t welcome.
We are blessed to know God’s love, to live in his brightness and joy and warmth. Each of us who is born again has enough of God’s love to share with all the world and still have love to spare, just like Jesus had enough loaves and fishes to feed the hungry masses and still have leftovers. Each of us has that much love – enough for every human in the world, and then some – if we let go of any lingering resentment, and let God love fully through us.
That’s your job, as a born-again, to love like God loves, to love like Jesus loved, fully and without reserve.
Only people who are hurting hurt people.
Don’t make their pain worse: help them.
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 