God Speaks Forgiveness

Have you ever forgiven someone?  Has someone ever forgiven you?  I suspect the answer to both of these is YES.  Forgiveness is the "intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense, and overcomes negative emotions such as resentment and vengeance."  There are a couple key words in or missing from this definition. First, this definition is missing the sadness.  Forgiveness does not eliminate sadness; it eliminates resentment and vengeance. There can still be feelings of sadness after offering forgiveness and that's okay.  The other key words IN the definition are "intentional" and "voluntary".  Forgiveness does not usually just come upon someone...it is an intentional and voluntary act.  Forgiveness is a choice! 

According to an article put out by hopkinsmedicine.org, your very health is dependent on whether or not you choose to forgive.  Per the article, unforgiveness can lead to heart attack, poor sleep, and higher levels of pain, blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and stress.  Forgiveness, on the other hand, calms stress levels, which in turn, eases the other symptoms.  The article goes on to say, “It is an active process in which you make a conscious decision to let go of negative feelings whether the person deserves it or not,”

From a science standpoint we can see that forgiveness is good and necessary.  Right in line with the thinking of science is what God has to say about forgiveness.  It is good and necessary.  There are many verses in the Bible that deal with forgiveness. All throughout the Old Testament, God continually forgives the nation of Israel for things they do against His will. He is constantly giving second (and sometimes third, fourth, fifth) chances.  God often declares His sadness at the misdoings of Israel, but there is never a time He refuses to forgive them.  If our family or children acted out against us as often as the nation of Israel did against God, we may be tempted to reach a point where we just can not forgive anymore, but God does not reach that point.  The people of Israel always see the error of their ways and ask for mercy from God and He always intentionally and voluntarily gives it.

The New Testament talks about forgiveness as well, but in the NT the focus seems a little different.  In the NT, we are introduced to Jesus, God's Son.  He is still a part of the Godhead but has come to live on earth.  Jesus tells us that God wants us to live forever in heaven with them, but because of Adam and Eve and the choices they made, it is impossible as only perfect people can live in heaven and we all know, no one on this present earth is perfect. We ALL sin, or do bad things, in one way or another.  Some SEEM to have worse sins than others, but to God, all sins carry the same weight.  A sin is a sin is a sin!  These sins keep us from being perfect and keep us from gaining entrance to heaven.  God decided that the only way to solve this problem was for someone who WAS perfect to bridge the gap for us.  God sent Jesus, as the perfect one, to make this happen.  Jesus intentionally and voluntarily took the punishment for our bad things dying not only physically, but also going into Hell to overcome our punishment after our death.  Additionally, Jesus forgave us even before we were born.  Some of His last words on the cross were, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."  Most believe He was talking specifically about those who put Him on the cross, but He was likely also talking about ALL of those people in past and to come and the bad things they would do.  

Since this forgiveness came BEFORE we were born and before we had done anything wrong, it is up to us to realize and accept it.  I believe the time is coming quickly when we will no longer have the opportunity to receive this forgiveness that God and Jesus give to us.  Remember that God created Adam and Eve to have perfect fellowship with them.  They disobeyed God, humans then became imperfect and did and do bad things.  These bad things prevent us from living in a perfect world with God when we die.  Jesus forgave our bad things and made a way for us to live in the perfect world and all we need to do is realize and accept His forgiveness. 

If you are ready, but unsure how/what to pray, feel free to use this prayer or something similar.  "Jesus, I acknowledge that I do bad things and I thank you for forgiving me ahead of time.  Thank you for preparing the way for me to live in the perfect world with You and God.  I accept your forgiveness for the bad things I've done.  Help me to live each day more like You!  Amen."

God Speaks Through a Paralyzed Man

(Matthew 9:1-8) Imagine the scene! Jesus had just returned to Capernaum, the town where He had been living. He and His followers had just had interesting spiritual and political experiences across the Sea of Galilee.

As Jesus disembarks from the boat in which he and the followers are sailing, He is approached by a group of men carrying a mat.This may not necessarily be a strange sight back in those days in that area; however, on the mat, was a paralyzed man. The men were bringing this man to Jesus for healing. Right away, because of their confidence, Jesus knew they had the utmost faith in His abilities. In other words, they did not approach Jesus with a half-hearted request of, "Do you think you can heal our friend?" or "We would like to see if you can heal our friend." No, they came to Jesus in order for their friend to be healed. They knew it would take place!  

Matt. 9:2 (The Voice)--"When He got there, some men approached Him carrying a mat. On the mat was another man, a paralytic. The men evidently believed that Jesus could heal the paralytic, and Jesus saw their faith, how much faith they had in His authority and power."

Jesus says to the paralytic, "Rest assured, my son, your sins are forgiven." I'm not 100% sure this is what the friends had in mind. I think their intention was for the friend to be physically healed. To me, this was an interesting turn of events. Why in the world would Jesus have said the man's sins were forgiven and not healed him physically, when he had healed others of physical ailments without this assurance of forgiven sins?

I believe there are two reasons. The first is that Jesus knew that what the paralyzed man really needed was spiritual healing. Before he could receive physical healing, he needed to be right with God. (Thanks to my pastor {Linda Pevey} for this revelation.)  I believe the second reason has to do with setting the lawmakers in Capernaum straight and revealing to the crowds who He really is.

To quote Paul Harvey, "And now, the rest of the story." Nearby there were Jewish lawmakers and leaders who were listening and taking in this whole scene. They begin to call Jesus out on, what was in their minds, blasphemy. Blasphemy is pretending or claiming to be God. The Jewish lawmakers were likely thinking, "Who is He to forgive sins, only God can do that". Since Jesus IS God, He has the power to forgive sins; therefore, He is not blaspheming. Although they spoke this to themselves, He knew their thoughts. Next comes my favorite part of this passage. I feel like Jesus just rolls his eyes and then let's them have it!

Jesus asks the Scribes and Pharisees why they are mumbling about blasphemy and why they are being wicked in their hearts. 

Matt. 9:4-7(The Voice)--"Why do you hold such hardness and wickedness in your hearts?  Look, is it easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or 'Get up and walk'? To make clear that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins (turning to the paralytic man on the mat), Get up, pick up your mat, and go home. And the man did!" 

I can almost hear the exasperated tone in Jesus voice as He speaks to them. 

"Look, anyone can SAY that sins are forgiven. You or your spouse, or even the neighbor next door can TELL someone that their sins are forgiven. They might even SAY to get up and walk, but that doesn't mean it really happens. Now let me prove to you who I AM. I have not only healed the sins of this man, because I know you need to see something to believe it, I will heal this man physically as well. That way you know that I have the power to do both."

Back in those days (and often in these days as well), there were many "religious" sideshows that would come around and claim they could heal people, but their claims never came to fruition. 

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So Jesus did just that. He healed the paralyzed man. The Bible tells us that the crowd was in awe. They were amazed and they praised God. Not only had Jesus healed the sins and physical ailment of this man, He had revealed His power and Nature to the town and they were praising God for it! The Bible does not tell us of the reaction of the lawmakers, but I imagine they turned and walked away quickly. 

We can see the power of Jesus through this Scripture. We see that because He is God, He knows all things and can do all things. We know that He is necessary for our lives and for our eternal life. It is He Who is able to forgive our sins. It is He Who can set us on a right path if we will just ask Him.

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