T.T. 36 - Steps to Forgiving others.
T.T. 36 - Steps to Forgiving others.Jesus said "For 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." (Matthew 6. 14,15).
Here is a simple three step reminder of how we can forgive others from our hearts.
1. Make a decision. You need to choose to forgive someone that may have hurt or harmed you. Don't wait until you feel forgiving or good thoughts towards that person - because you would probably wait for ever! No. By an act of your will you choose to forgive that person. By doing this you are not saying that what that person did is not important or doesn't matter. No, what you are basically doing is handing that person over to God to deal with in whatever way He chooses. As for you, you have chosen to forgive them.
2. Pray. Tell God about your decision. You could pray a prayer like this. "---------------- hurt me, but I choose to forgive them. From now onwards I will think and act as though that person never hurt me. I know this may be hard at times, but I know you will help me, because your Word says that 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me'."
3. Guard your thoughts. Just because you have chosen to forgive a person, and told God about it, doesn't mean that you will never feel unkind thoughts towards that person - perhaps when you see them again, or even think about them. This is when you need to guard your thoughts. Refuse to dwell on those unkind thoughts. Reject them and remind yourself that you have forgiven that person, and then pray that God will bless them. If you continue to do this, you will eventually find that you really have forgiven that person from your heart.
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Ephesians 4.32).
posted by Maurice Sweetsur @ 6:43 PM
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