{"id":135,"date":"2012-10-08T14:07:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-08T14:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=135"},"modified":"2012-10-08T14:07:00","modified_gmt":"2012-10-08T14:07:00","slug":"forgiveness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=135","title":{"rendered":"Forgiveness"},"content":{"rendered":"

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During the debriefing session of my recent service trip to SE Asia, a question was asked for us to reflect upon. The question was, \u201cIs there anyone you need to apologize to?\u201d I skipped the question initially, because I felt that I needed to go over every conversation and action in order to answer it honestly.<\/span><\/div>\n
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It got me thinking about my day-to-day living. Do I spend that much time thinking through my words or actions to see if I need to apologize to anyone. I will admit, I don\u2019t. But why not?<\/span><\/div>\n

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One online source says that the word \u201cforgive\u201d appears 116 times in Scripture and \u201cforgiving\u201d seven times.[i]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>It seems that God believes forgiveness to be pretty important. Let\u2019s look at some of these passages.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Why Does God Forgive?<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
God desires a relationship with mankind, with each of us. With that relationship comes forgiveness. God\u2019s willingness to forgive us for our imperfections is part of who He is. It is a characteristic He possesses. Here are some passages that show His forgiving nature.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cThey refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them.\u201d<\/span><\/i>(Nehemiah 9:17 \u2013 NIV)<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cYou are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.\u201d<\/span><\/i>(Psalm 86:5 \u2013 NIV)<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cThe Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are from the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.\u201d<\/span><\/i>(Psalm 103:8-12 \u2013 NIV)<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cThe Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.\u201d<\/span><\/i>(Daniel 9:9 \u2013 NIV)<\/span><\/div>\n
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God\u2019s Forgiveness Toward Us<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
I believe we need to have an understanding of how God forgives us so that we in turn may forgive others. Some Scripture that shows God\u2019s willingness to forgive are below.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cIf my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.\u201d<\/span><\/i> (2 Chronicles 7:14 \u2013 NIV)<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cIn him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God\u2019 grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.\u201d<\/span><\/i> (Ephesians 1:7-8 \u2013 NIV)<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cFor he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.\u201d<\/span><\/i>(Colossians 1:13-14 \u2013 NIV)<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cIf we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive all unrighteousness.\u201d<\/span><\/i>(1 John 1:9 \u2013 NIV)<\/span><\/div>\n
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Our Forgiveness Toward Others<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
Because we have been lavished with forgiveness from our heavenly Father, we must in turn forgive others. It isn\u2019t an option, it is a command. And yet, more of God\u2019s Word and how we are to forgive.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cFor if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.\u201d<\/span><\/i> (Matthew 6:14-15 \u2013 NIV)<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cThen Peter came to Jesus and asked, \u201cLord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? Jesus answered, \u2018I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/i> (Matthew 18:21-22 \u2013 NIV)<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cGet rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ god forgave you.\u201d<\/span><\/i> (Ephesians 4:31-32 \u2013 NIV)<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u201cBear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.\u201d<\/span><\/i>(Colossians 3:13 \u2013 NIV)<\/span><\/div>\n
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I believe the conclusion here is to forgive, ask for forgiveness, and know that we will be forgiven by God. Unfortunately, when we allow our human nature to rule our hearts instead of God\u2019s Spirit, this concept gets a little muddled.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Today I must ask two questions. Is there anyone you need to apologize to? Is there anyone you need to offer forgiveness to? If someone comes to mind, spend some time with your heavenly Father and ask Him how to pursue reconciliation. He will lead and guide you through this process. You won\u2019t have to do this alone.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Forgiveness is a tough issue, because it is a heart issue. It isn\u2019t easy. It isn\u2019t fun. But bitterness and guilt are even more difficult to live with, so we must forgive. Don\u2019t waste another day living without forgiveness. It really isn\u2019t worth it.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Donna<\/span><\/div>\n

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[i]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> http:\/\/www.ehow.com\/about_4587728_does-bible-say-forgiving-yourself.html<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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During the debriefing session of my recent service trip to SE Asia, a question was asked for us to reflect upon. The question was, \u201cIs there anyone you need to apologize to?\u201d I skipped the question initially, because I felt that I needed to go over every conversation and action in order to answer it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_s2mail":"","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,17,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asking-god","category-obeying-god","category-trusting-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}