This week we are featuring a repost from one year ago - May 21, 2023, when Constanza Roeder spoke on forgiveness.
In a society where the "cancel culture" and social media witch hunts are common place and even seemingly normal, forgiveness is not a topic we often hear about or read about. But since when is living out the Christian life NOT counter-cultural and even counter-intuitive? It's seen as normal to have a "bitterness pet" that we nurse, feed and cultivate - - especially when we want to feel self-righteous. As Stanzy Roeder pointed out in her teaching today, this "bitterness pet" only ends up growing and eventually takes up more space and room in our lives and relationships. Before we know it, there is no more room for love, joy, patience, peace, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self control, which are, of course, the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).
What might it look like to have a forgiveness culture rather than a cancel culture? It begins in each individual heart. Could you be harboring a "bitterness pet" in your heart and life? Have you ever been hurt by someone and found yourself hitting "replay" over and over about how they deserve to struggle and suffer?
INVITATION: Join us this week as we look at what forgiveness is....and what it is not. We will also examine what to do when someone wrongs us, and why the cross of Jesus Christ matters.
MONDAY: Matthew 6:9-14: Forgiveness is the only topic in the Lord's Prayer that was repeated. Notice also from verse 14 how forgiveness is a matter of stewardship. We offer forgiveness to others because we have graciously received it from God. Have you ever thought of forgiveness as a matter of stewardship before? Does that help you as you consider having a spirit of forgiveness for someone in your life who may not deserve it? Do YOU deserve forgiveness from God?
TUESDAY: Psalm 51:1-17: Justice and mercy are combined at the cross. When we sin against an eternal being, we have an eternal debt. Only Jesus Christ could pay that debt for us, and he did so on the cross. He took your place and he took my place. Part of forgiveness is Confession., which is an honest expression of our evil thoughts, intentions, desires, etc. Sometimes it's hard to be honest with ourselves about these things. This Psalm is a heart cry from David after egregious sin in his life. Are you willing to be this honest with God about your sin? Perhaps this Psalm can help you as you pray. Or, perhaps you might want to write your own Psalm of confession to the Lord? You are invited to let David's ancient prayers be a script for your current ones. One of the biggest mistakes we've made in the modern church is to reimagine spiritual maturity as the need to confess less. The unspoken assumption is, "As I ascend in relationship with God, I confess less because I have less to confess." True spiritual maturity, though, is the opposite. It's not an ascension; it's an archaeological dig as we discover layer after layer of what was in us all along. Spiritual maturity means MORE confession. Confession is an inner excavation tool. Could your excavation tools be getting rusty from not being used?
WEDNESDAY: Ezekiel 11:18-20 & Romans 10:9-10: Another element of forgiveness is Repentance. We turn our back on our sin. We cannot do this on our own human efforts. We need the power of Jesus Christ and the change of heart provided by the Spirit of God. These Romans verses are Paul's unequivocal affirmation that faith in Jesus is the only possible way to become righteous before God. This allows no theological room for legalism to creep into our thinking. We cannot owe on a debt that is already paid, but sometimes we keep trying to work toward paying our own debt or we refuse to forgive ourself. Legalism kept the Pharisees from accepting God's grace and it can be a snare even today. What might be keeping you from full acceptance of God's grace and forgiveness? When God looks at you he no longer sees any debt. He only sees that you are His beloved child.
THURSDAY: Matthew 5:23-25. Another element to confession is to reconcile with someone you may have wronged. The highest value in the kingdom of God is love. As you spend time in prayer today, are you willing to ask the Spirit of God if there is someone you need to reconcile with?
FRIDAY: Psalm 140:8-12: Stanzy had some scriptural instructions regarding what to do when someone wrongs us. She first brought up anger....which most of us probably initially feel and experience. When someone "wrongs" us, anger is an "indicator light" that every person should notice and analyze. Sinful anger is when our ego gets involved. Righteous anger is when it hurts God. The first step when anger rears its head is to honestly express your pain, rage and anger to God. This Psalm is an example of a Psalm regarding anger. Have you ever thought to express your anger to God before? He can handle it! This process will help us remember our OWN need for forgiveness - even when someone has wronged us. Is there any anger in your life that might need to be brought to the foot of the cross in prayer?
SATURDAY: Matthew 5:43-45; Revelation 21:3-4: We all need to let go of our desire for vengeance. God instructs us to let it go because of what has already been done for us. This does not mean we forget and pretend the wrong didn't happen. (Lev. 19:17-18). Stanzy stressed the importance of remembering that forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation. If the wrongdoer is unrepentant there may never be reconciliation. This process isn't quick and easy. Is there a desire for vengeance bubbling in your life? How might you and God talk about that today? Stanzy pointed out that there is a time and place for lovingly confronting a wrong-doer, and scripture has some things to say about that (Matthew 18:15-17). However, it is imperative we are well down the road of forgiveness before we even consider implementing this scriptural form of confrontation. Otherwise our ego and bitterness will be involved. There are strong words in today's lesson: vengeance. Ego. Bitterness. Unrepentant. As you give some time, space and prayer to these things, is there an invitation from God for you regarding "Forgive us our trespasses and we forgive those who trespass against us?"