FORGIVENESS

English Standard Version
Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. Matt. 18:22

The above statement was made by Jesus regarding forgiving and how many times to forgive.

Forgiveness is such a wonderful concept. We all need forgiveness from God. We often need to forgive other humans in our life and to accept forgiveness from them.

The path of life is often filled with wrongs. We wrong God, we wrong others, and others wrong us. If no one forgives then we have war and disaster and absolute destruction.

I urge all to follow the path of forgiveness. Start each day with this statement: "I HEREBY FORGIVE EVERY HUMAN BEING OF EVERY WRONG EVER DONE TO ME." Determine to free yourself of bitterness and pain that comes from an unforgiving heart. Forgive freely, forgive often.
There are two kinds of forgiveness taught in the Bible. First, we must not have a bitter heart and hold grudges against others. Jesus on the cross said to the thief, "today you will be with me in paradise". He said to the mob that was killing him, "Father, forgive them, for they know what they do". He held no bitterness. You cannot control the actions of others. They may or may not make things right with you, ever. You can only control your mind, the thoughts of your mind, and the deeds that flow from your mind. Second, forgiveness from God comes when humans repent and turn to God in obedience. Peter told the crowd (some of which had been involved in killing Jesus), to "repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38). God would forgive as they turned to Him in obedience.
We leave that with God. Sins and wrongs done against us by others we leave with God. We can express our pain and tell the person they have sinned against us. We can ask them to repent and we can seek to make it right. However, in the end they must find their forgiveness from God. Whether they make it right with us or not we forgive in that we do not harbor hate and bitterness in our heart toward them.
We strive to live a life of love and freedom from hate and bitterness. We can do this because we know we are sinners and God for Christ's sake has forgiven us. So we can give forgiveness to others. It has been said, "to err is human and to forgive, is divine".
If you harbor resentment in your heart it will destroy you. You will hurt yourself far more than those whom you hold the resentment against. Release it. Declare today, freedom from resentment. Forgive all. Go outside on a sunny day. Hold your arms up in the air and proclaim, "I hereby declare, I forgive everyone of every wrong, I am free". Leave it to God and move on with your life. God be with you and bless always.