Dear Grandkids,
I'm writing this letter to let you know how important it is for you to forgive others who may have wronged you or made you mad. Forgiveness should be immediate and sincere. It is not that easy to do and again this may take practice on your part.
As you grow and mature you are bound to have someone in your life that will do or say something that will hurt or offend you so the sooner you learn this lesson the better for you. Because 9 out of 10 times the person doing the offense could care less if you are hurt so you are not forgiving for their sake but for your own sake. The longer we hold unforgivness in our hearts the longer we are robbing ourselves of joy and peace in our own minds. Here's what Jesus said about forgiveness, "Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" "I do not say to you up to seven times, but seventy times seven....." Matthew 18:21-22. That means forgiving always. Like if you are at school and another kid does something to you that hurts or offends you and you don't forgive them then every time you see that kid you have a bad feeling in your heart and remember what they did or said. This is a joy stealer and a peace of mind thief. Yes, if we hold back forgiveness then we give them that power over us to take away our joy and peace. So be quick to forgive and slow to get mad. As soon as someone does something to steal your joy tell them something like this, "What you said really hurt my feelings but I forgive you." "What you did really offended me but I just wanted to let you know I forgive you for it."
This is maybe a little harder than the other way, which is the opposite, like a "pay back." Like if someone calls you a bad name and then you call them a worse name. Or if someone steals from you or lies to you then you pay them back by doing worse to them. Again, I take this advise from the bible where it says, "Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men." Romans 12:17 (N.K.J.V.) And again, this may take practice because it is our natural instinct to want to pay back evil for evil but that only makes things worse for everyone. I'm sure you will have the opportunity to try this both ways, being "forgiving" and choosing "pay back," you'll see what I mean.
Now here's the hardest part of forgiving, it's when you do something really bad or hurt someone you love and care about and when you have to forgive yourself, now that's the hard part. I struggle with this daily. I have a hard time forgiving myself for the things I've done in the past that hurt the people I love the most. I won't go into all the details because I don't want to go back there. I only wish I could take back all the hurtful and selfish things I've said and done in the past to the people that I loved the most. So what I'm trying to tell you now, is to think about what you say or do before you do or say something you will regret because you can avoid so much heart ache that way. OK say, you are disrespectful to your dad and mom or you hurt their feelings in one way or another, later on you may wish you hadn't been that way toward them and now you must forgive yourself. Or you get into a relationship with someone and you are unfaithful to them and hurt them deeply and they never heal. Even though you love that person the pain you caused them will still haunt you. It's just easier to not to do things for which you need to be forgiven or you need to forgive yourself for.
Jesus died for all of us to be forgiven of all our sins and wrong doing so we need to likewise forgive those who have wronged us. This is more wisdom from His Word. This is the "Kingdom" way. The "world" does not think this way so if you take this wisdom to heart it will make your life much better and you will be blessed on account of it. If you chose to do things the way of the "world" then you will be under the curse of the "world." We can chose "blessing" or "cursing" I would chose the blessing, it's a way better way. Love Grandpap
SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
Here's what Jesus says:
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." Mark 11:24-26 (N.I.V.)
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord God, in the name of Jesus, thank You for Your Word and the wisdom that You share with us. Thank You for loving us and forgiving us and for saving us from all our wrong doing and sin. Help us to be better people and bring glory and honor to Your name. Let us be forgiving to others who have wronged us not only for their sakes but especially for our own sakes and help us to forgive ourselves for the wrongs we have done that still haunt us and hold us back from feeling joy and peace within us. I forgive all those who have hurt me in the past from the least to the greatest and I pray for extra strength to forgive myself for the ignorant and selfish things I've done in the past to those I love the most. In the name of Jesus, Yeshua, our Lord and King make it so..... Amen
I'm writing this letter to let you know how important it is for you to forgive others who may have wronged you or made you mad. Forgiveness should be immediate and sincere. It is not that easy to do and again this may take practice on your part.
As you grow and mature you are bound to have someone in your life that will do or say something that will hurt or offend you so the sooner you learn this lesson the better for you. Because 9 out of 10 times the person doing the offense could care less if you are hurt so you are not forgiving for their sake but for your own sake. The longer we hold unforgivness in our hearts the longer we are robbing ourselves of joy and peace in our own minds. Here's what Jesus said about forgiveness, "Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" "I do not say to you up to seven times, but seventy times seven....." Matthew 18:21-22. That means forgiving always. Like if you are at school and another kid does something to you that hurts or offends you and you don't forgive them then every time you see that kid you have a bad feeling in your heart and remember what they did or said. This is a joy stealer and a peace of mind thief. Yes, if we hold back forgiveness then we give them that power over us to take away our joy and peace. So be quick to forgive and slow to get mad. As soon as someone does something to steal your joy tell them something like this, "What you said really hurt my feelings but I forgive you." "What you did really offended me but I just wanted to let you know I forgive you for it."
This is maybe a little harder than the other way, which is the opposite, like a "pay back." Like if someone calls you a bad name and then you call them a worse name. Or if someone steals from you or lies to you then you pay them back by doing worse to them. Again, I take this advise from the bible where it says, "Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men." Romans 12:17 (N.K.J.V.) And again, this may take practice because it is our natural instinct to want to pay back evil for evil but that only makes things worse for everyone. I'm sure you will have the opportunity to try this both ways, being "forgiving" and choosing "pay back," you'll see what I mean.
Now here's the hardest part of forgiving, it's when you do something really bad or hurt someone you love and care about and when you have to forgive yourself, now that's the hard part. I struggle with this daily. I have a hard time forgiving myself for the things I've done in the past that hurt the people I love the most. I won't go into all the details because I don't want to go back there. I only wish I could take back all the hurtful and selfish things I've said and done in the past to the people that I loved the most. So what I'm trying to tell you now, is to think about what you say or do before you do or say something you will regret because you can avoid so much heart ache that way. OK say, you are disrespectful to your dad and mom or you hurt their feelings in one way or another, later on you may wish you hadn't been that way toward them and now you must forgive yourself. Or you get into a relationship with someone and you are unfaithful to them and hurt them deeply and they never heal. Even though you love that person the pain you caused them will still haunt you. It's just easier to not to do things for which you need to be forgiven or you need to forgive yourself for.
Jesus died for all of us to be forgiven of all our sins and wrong doing so we need to likewise forgive those who have wronged us. This is more wisdom from His Word. This is the "Kingdom" way. The "world" does not think this way so if you take this wisdom to heart it will make your life much better and you will be blessed on account of it. If you chose to do things the way of the "world" then you will be under the curse of the "world." We can chose "blessing" or "cursing" I would chose the blessing, it's a way better way. Love Grandpap
SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY
Here's what Jesus says:
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." Mark 11:24-26 (N.I.V.)
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord God, in the name of Jesus, thank You for Your Word and the wisdom that You share with us. Thank You for loving us and forgiving us and for saving us from all our wrong doing and sin. Help us to be better people and bring glory and honor to Your name. Let us be forgiving to others who have wronged us not only for their sakes but especially for our own sakes and help us to forgive ourselves for the wrongs we have done that still haunt us and hold us back from feeling joy and peace within us. I forgive all those who have hurt me in the past from the least to the greatest and I pray for extra strength to forgive myself for the ignorant and selfish things I've done in the past to those I love the most. In the name of Jesus, Yeshua, our Lord and King make it so..... Amen
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