We’re in Part 4 of our HAPPY series and this week we’re looking at Matthew 5:7, which says “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.”
Unfortunately, too many people today are allowing their happiness to be held captive for former hurts. In doing so, we end up enslaving ourselves to our past. But Jesus offers a way out - that is FORGIVENESS. Forgiveness frees me from the torture of resentment and it allows me to experience true freedom and true happiness within.
Read More“Let all BITTERNESS, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” Ephesians 4:31
We wrapped up our No Big Deal series by looking at one of the hardest “minor sins” to detect - a sin that lies far beneath the surface but can have a major impact on your life. The sin of BITTERNESS.
Bitterness may not seem like a big deal, but as we saw in this week’s message, it might be the most self-destructive thing you can do to yourself. By choosing to hold on to the past, you may be holding your future hostage.
Why? Because “when you forgive, you in no way change the past. But you sure do change the future."
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In last week's post, I spoke about bitterness/anger of the heart and the damage it can do. I wrote “the most self-destructive thing you’ll ever do in life is to hold on bitterness. That is the quickest way to ensure that you live miserably and lonely for the rest of your life.”
So what’s the cure for bitterness? How do we get rid of it?
There’s only one way. You can try to ignore it (won’t work) or pretend it isn’t there (definitely won’t work) or convince yourself that you’re past it (YEAH RIGHT!). Our goal shouldn’t be to “get past” the bitterness, but rather to treat the bitterness and to heal it.
How? There’s only one way…FORGIVENESS!
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It’s there. You may not want to admit, but you know it's there. It’s inside you. It’s behind the excuses… behind the rationalizations… behind the self-deception… behind all the ways we may “spiritualize” it… but it’s definitely there. And like termites within your house or cancer within your body, if you allow it to live within you, it’s just a matter of time before it eats you up and destroys you completely.
"It" is no joke. "It" is BITTERNESS.
Read More"Anyone unwilling to forgive is usually thinking of what was done TO THEM vs FOR THEM."
It's easy to be kind to those whom we deem worthy of our kindness (loved ones, friends, family, etc.), but there's another category of kindness that we need to look at as well. And that is kindness to those who have hurt us.
In this week's message - Part 5 of The KIND that Breaks - we look at the subject of FORGIVENESS and how we can display "Kindness When It Matters Most."
Read MoreAnd we're off! The 30 day kindness challenge has begun and we kicked it off by discussing the first of three components: Say nothing negative, either TO your person or ABOUT them to someone else.
And before you say "That's easy; I'm not a negative person" - be sure to check out this message above. We discussed 4 different types of negativity and you might be surprised to find out what else falls under the negativity umbrella.
All that and more in part 2 of The KIND that Breaks.
Read MoreWait a minute...are you saying that I do NOT need to forget in order to forgive? That I can forgive someone even though I still feel hurt and pain?
Absolutely! Why? Because forgiving and forgetting are not the same thing!
Not only do I believe that you don't need to forget in order to forgive, I believe that in some cases, you CAN NOT forget no matter how hard you try! But that doesn't mean you can't forgive.
How? Check out Part 3 of Things Jesus Never Said and find out for yourself. If you struggle with forgiveness and resentment and anger, you MUST listen to this message.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment.” Matthew 5:21-22
Week 3 in our latest series at The Well, God's Ethics: Realigning Your Moral Compass and this week's topic is a MUST LISTEN for every single person (and I don't say that often).
The topic is anger and where it comes from and how we should deal with it. But realize that when Jesus speaks about anger, He isn't speaking only about losing your temper and going crazy. He's speaking about anger of the heart... the kind of anger that we often justify and excuse... bitterness, resentment, grudges, hatred.
Trust me, there isn't a person out there who isn't struggling with this kind of anger in some way and until we learn to deal with it, we are doing nothing except enslaving ourselves to a life of misery.
"I cannot REALIZE my future if I'm still REACTING to my past."
Ever tried to drive a car looking exclusively in the rear view mirror? Think you'd be able to get very far that way? I'd say that your chances of crashing are significantly higher than your chances of success. Right?
Well, that's how many of us are living today - especially when it comes to relationships with friends, family and loved ones. We think we moving forward but the truth is that we're just dragging the past with us. And it is SABOTAGING THE MOST IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS IN OUR LIVES!
That's why today's message at The Well is a must-listen. Listen to it prayerfully and with an open heart and God just might open your eyes to something that you've never seen before.
