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IT BEGINS WITH FORGIVENESS
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, December 30, 2024 – It begins with forgiveness – not with the getting of it but the giving of it. That’s why it’s called ‘forgive’, not ‘forget’. You get forgiveness by giving forgiveness and only by giving it. This is a great and simple mystery that even a child can understand.
We, as born-again believers, start with forgiveness, but we don’t stop there. We dare not stop there. We don’t forgive and then later forget to forgive and let the grudges build. The worst thing we can do is let the grudges build. You’ll know they’re building because the siren song of temptation will grow louder and louder even as the Word grows fainter and fainter. That’s how you’ll know there’s unforgiveness in your heart that needs to be gone right away.
Never delay forgiving. Never say “Well, he had that coming, and maybe I’ll think about forgiving him, and maybe I’ll do it tomorrow.” I know you’d never say that, but I’m just reminding you how silly it would be even to think it, let alone say it (let alone do it [let alone teach it!]). When I say “silly”, I mean foolish, and in fact I actually mean fatal, and that in the spiritual sense: Fatal in the spiritual sense. You should never harbour any unforgiveness toward anyone for any reason, because if you do, you’re in danger of losing God’s Spirit and therefore God’s protection, in which case you’ll end up like Judas Iscariot just as fast as he ended up like that.
The world claims that “big” crimes such as murder and treason are the only ones worthy of death, but we know that these pale in comparison to the harbouring of unforgiveness. Murder and treason are birthed in unforgiveness. God can only forgive us if we forgive others first. Did you know that “forgive” is another word for “love”? Forgiveness is love in action. When you choose to forgive, you’re acting like God, you’re loving like God, and you’re being perfect like God. Jesus told us we need to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect, just as he told us that we need to forgive before God can forgive us.
But if, against our better judgement, we let unforgiveness build in our heart, we’ll eventually get to the point where we can no longer be forgiven. We’ll have crossed the spiritual Rubicon of the unforgiveable sin, and there’s no going back. It’s a one-way trip. We’ll be stuck on the other side with Judas Iscariot and the fallen angels and everyone who’s ever had and lost God’s Spirit, ultimately to be joined by all those who never had God’s Spirit at all. This is a dreadful place to be and there’s no escaping it because there’s no forgiveness there. No matter how much you beg or plead or cry or wail, there’s no escape: There’s only damnation.
We begin with forgiveness and end with forgiveness and continue with forgiveness all the way from our beginning to our end. There is no time and no occasion when we don’t forgive. You’re reading this because you need to be reminded. We all need to be reminded every now and then, sometimes every day, sometimes all day. We begin with forgiveness, continue with forgiveness, and end with forgiveness. Everything flows from forgiveness.
And then we get to go home.
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.
WALKING OUT YOUR FAITH
CAMPBELLTON, New Brunswick, May 1, 2023 – Christians love to talk about their faith – oh, how they love to talk! But it’s quite another thing when it comes to walking out their faith. They cherry-pick scriptures that assure them all they have to do is “believe” and “have faith” and their eternal reward is guaranteed. Meanwhile, they conveniently overlook the verses about how they’ll be judged by every word they utter, every thought they think, and every deed they do.
They confuse the works of the law (don’t eat this, don’t touch that) with walking out their faith. Those kinds of works have nothing to do with walking out your faith. But works are required, have no doubt about that. God himself requires them of you. In fact, everything that God asks you do to is required of you. Willful submission to God is non-negotiable for continued membership in God’s Kingdom on Earth. Not what you say but what you do shows God your faith. Words without actions to back them up have zero value in God’s economy.
When you walk out your faith, you’re like the son who initially said he wasn’t going to work in the field, but later changed his mind and went. Or you’re like the person who heard the Word and did it, meaning that you built your house on a rock, whereas the person who heard the Word and didn’t do it built his house on sand.
We need to be very careful to distinguish between doing the dead works of the law (don’t eat this, don’t touch that) and walking out our faith. If we don’t walk out our faith, all our declarations of love for God and Jesus are just so much hot air. We’re like the hypocrites who say but do not do.
Don’t be like the hypocrites.
Just before I was born again, I made a choice to forgive someone. God knew that in my heart I’d made that choice. He also knew that even as I made that choice, I didn’t feel forgiveness in my heart for the person I was choosing to forgive; for me, it was a decision of the will, not an emotional response.
But in choosing to forgive that person and subsequently being born-again, I also had to walk out my forgiveness. I had to do certain things the next day to show that my decision was sincere, if not (yet) heartfelt. It wasn’t enough for me simply to agree to forgive that person; I had to walk out the forgiveness in real time. Walking out the forgiveness required me not just to say I was going to do it or to intend to do it, but actually to do it.
And the funny thing was, after I’d done the few things that God asked me to do the next day – when I’d walked out my faith in real time – I finally FELT forgiveness for the person. I felt compassion and love. That was 24 years ago, and the feeling of forgiveness for that poor soul has never left me.
There’s an intellectual and spiritual laziness that’s taken hold of many Christians. So, for instance, instead of reading the Bible for themselves, they rely on being spoon-fed God’s Word by someone else. The problem with being spoon-fed God’s Word is that you have to take everything that person says as Gospel truth. You have to swallow it whole. But not everyone is honest in relaying God’s Word.
Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness are a good example of this. The devil quoted scripture during his temptation (oh, how the devil loves to quote scripture!), but he purposely misapplied it and took it out of context. Jesus was able to refute the devil because he not only knew scripture, he knew it in context and how it should be applied. So when the devil told Jesus he should throw himself off a building because God’s angels are always there protecting him, Jesus responded with the scriptural warning not to tempt God. Yes, the devil was correct in saying that God protects his people through his holy angels, but he was incorrect in saying that God will protect his people if they purposely do something to hurt themselves while relying on God to save them.
Our faith needs to be more than just empty words and recitations of our alleged beliefs. If we don’t back up what we claim to believe with actions – that is, if we don’t walk out our faith – then our claim has no validity. God’s a heart-reader, not a lip-reader. He knows who intends to follow through by walking out their faith and who’s just mouthing words for public approval.
We need to walk out our faith in God’s timing and under God’s direction. That’s how we make our faith real.
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.
STOP TALKING ABOUT IT! Choosing to Forgive Means Not Talking About it Anymore
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, January 22, 2015 – Christians are a funny bunch. They spend a lot of time in group hugs and “sharing” sessions, all the while lamenting what a rough time they’ve had at the hands of parents, spouses or acquaintances before they became Christians. They even sometimes go into gory details about their abusers, offering up their abuse stories for sympathy (I suppose), although they mask it as a learning or a teaching moment.
These stories aren’t teaching anyone anything except how NOT to choose to forgive.
When we choose to forgive, we should do the same thing as God does when he forgives – forget about it. Forgetting about it means to CONSCIOUSLY choose to put it to the back of our minds, even if it keeps popping up. It’s a decision of the will. It’s not a feeling (you won’t feel like forgetting and you may even feel like you can’t forget; that’s why it’s a decision, not an emotion-based response). Ask God to help you with this. He’s more than happy to help you. THAT’S WHAT HE’S THERE FOR.
If you truly want to forgive, don’t talk about people who’ve hurt you and whom you’ve chosen to forgive. Don’t talk about what they’ve done to you, however horrible it was and however deeply it scarred you. As a born-again, you’ve become a completely new person. God has forgiven you because you’ve chosen to forgive everyone who’s hurt you. Whatever people did to you in the past, pre-rebirth, is dead and done; whatever people are doing to you now, post-rebirth, is likewise dead and done after you’ve chosen to forgive them (which you should do as soon as you notice someone’s hurt you).
Here’s what you do when you choose to forgive: You simply act as if it never happened, you pray for your abusers, and you keep a safe distance from them. If people prod you to talk about your experience, tell them it’s over and you don’t want to talk about it anymore. If you feel it starting to overwhelm you, take your pain to God in private. He wants to counsel and comfort you. He’s your counselor and your comforter. Chances are pretty good that he’ll tell you what I’m telling you – if you want the pain to go away, choose to forgive and TOTALLY forget.
Imagine if God says he forgives us one day, and then turns around the next day and starts railing at us about things we did two years ago! That would be very confusing for us and also very un-Godlike. Once God forgives us for something, he forgives us that thing forever. We’re supposed to do things God’s way, as Jesus did, and as Jesus taught us to do.
Remember: “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”
Choosing to forgive also means choosing to forget.
God will help you with this. Just ask him. He loves you. He’s waiting. Ask him.
A BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER 