The prophets from the beginning through John the Baptist proclaimed
“Repent. Make straight the way of the Lord”. Martin
Luther proclaimed “Believe. It is through faith that we are
saved.” I am proclaiming “Forgive. It is by
forgiving others that we are forgiven.”
Matthew 6:9-15 “‘Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth
as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us
our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to
the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For if
you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father
forgive your trespasses.”
Mark 11:24-25 “So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe
that you have received it, and it will be yours. ‘Whenever
you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so
that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.’”
Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”
Luke 6:35-36 “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting
nothing in return.* Your reward will be great, and you will be children
of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be
merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
James 2:13 “For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown
no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Luke 17:1-4 He said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that stumbling
blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! "It would
be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were
thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones
to stumble. "Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke
him; and if he repents, forgive him. "And if he sins against
you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I
repent,' forgive him."
Luke 23:34 “Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not
know what they are doing.'”
Luke 6:30-31 “Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes
away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would
have them do to you.”
Matthew 7:12 “‘In everything do to others as you would have them do to
you; for this is the law and the prophets.”
Luke 23:34 “Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not
know what they are doing.'”
Luke 6:30-31 “Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes
away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would
have them do to you.”
Matthew 7:12 “‘In everything do to others as you would have them do to
you; for this is the law and the prophets.”
Hebrews 2:17-18 “Therefore he had to become like his brothers and
sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful
high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for
the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he
suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.”
Matthew 18:21-35 "Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how
often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven
times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but
up to seventy times seven. "For this reason the kingdom of
heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his
slaves. "When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him
ten thousand talents was brought to him. "But since he did
not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along
with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be
made. "So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself
before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you
everything.' "And the lord of that slave felt
compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. "But
that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a
hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him,
saying, 'Pay back what you owe.' "So his fellow slave fell to
the ground and began to plead with him, saying, 'Have patience with me
and I will repay you.' "But he was unwilling and went and
threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.
"So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply
grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had
happened. "Then summoning him, his lord said to him, 'You
wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with
me. 'Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave,
in the same way that I had mercy on you?' "And his lord,
moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should
repay all that was owed him. "My heavenly Father will also do
the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your
heart."
Romans 12:17-21 “Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such
a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to
live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take
revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures
say, 'I will take revenge; I will pay them back,' says the
Lord. Instead, 'If your enemies are hungry, feed
them. If they are thirsty, give them something to
drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on
their heads.' Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by
doing good.
Matthew 18:18 "Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall
have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have
been loosed in heaven.”
What more can I say other than learn to forgive. It is hard,
but if you really want to do it, then start right now remembering
little hurts or things some has done and openly forgive them.
As you grow in grace, you will find it is easier to forgive bigger
hurts. You might remember some hurt that a loved one has done
and you have forgiven it. That is the perfect starting
point. Love those who have done something to you and it is
much easier to forgive.
I pray to the Father that the whole world may learn to love and forgive
so everyone may know that we are in the Kingdom of God. In
Jesus name we ask with the assurance that it will be done.
Amen.
