Forgiving
The Surrendered Life
Definition-Forgiveness
verb (used with object), forgave, forgiven, forgiving.
1.
to grant pardon for or remission of (an offense, debt, etc.); absolve.
2.
to give up all claim on account of; remit (a debt, obligation, etc.).
3.
to grant pardon to (a person).
4.
to cease to feel resentment against:
to forgive one's enemies.
5.
to cancel an indebtedness or liability of:
to forgive the interest owed on a loan.
verb (used without object), forgave, forgiven, forgiving.
6.
to pardon an offense or an offender.
This society that we reside in seems to be over shadowed of forgiveness, Mankind has and will never be completed in the true remorse of forgiveness. Since the fall and disobedience of Adam and Eve the actions of forgiveness is as dried up and empty as a small pond in East Texas woods within a summer season until the rains come and provides it with the solution of its problem meaning filling up with rain water.
We as humans Christian or non-Christian seem to be dried up as that pond because we have never been supplied the necessary element of rain or God’s spiritual rain to fill us up to give forgiveness.
It’s as a river if the mountains don’t supply the melting snow after winter then the creeks and rivers would be empty with no source of water for the crops and farmers. The source will supply the rain and the river and creek bottoms will be willing to be filled.
John 3:36
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
God’s Spirit gives us the source and the ability to bring forth spiritual things for the flesh that is controlled by the world has no ability to forgive at all there is nothing good about the flesh God’s Spirit gives life. The fruits of the spirit are the fruit of life through God.
There will and never be a possible way for us to forgive under any circumstance in of our own carnal thinking and of our flesh. It doesn’t matter how long you have been redeemed you will and can’t forgive on your own you’re not built that way on earth.
The Christian Walk Is Not a Performance but A lifestyle of Surrender.
For many years or I refer to Moons Ago Lol. I always thought that I had to live the Christian life or act as a Christian even perform as a Christian. Folks no way can we do such a thing for the Christian walk is a total surrendered walk by allowing God’s Spirit to live in and through us.
It’s all of Christ and none of me at all, I depend on him, to walk, talk and live in and through me. We are his body the body of Christ on earth without him we can and will never do anything without he is living in you so that he can live out of you.
With this great truth, we see a very different walk as a Christian not a performance but a surrendered life so Christ not just dwells in our temple or bodies but he walks through us on a daily base.
As you work or play you have Christ with you and we must allow him to present his ministry in and through us as if he himself was walking the earth in this day and time. But there is a huge discovery to you this day he does walk on the earth today in and through his body the body of Christ.
The Secret to Forgiveness (It’s Not a Secret but A Truth.)
The Fruit of The Spirit of God
Galatians 5:22-23New International Version (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit is a biblical term that sums up nine attributes of a person or community living in accord with the Holy Spirit according to the Epistle to the Galatians: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."
The fruits of the spirit of God is a source that only God in Christ can do or present to the believe and through the believer. The teachings in the church for many moons lol, and centuries has the believer thinking that it’s something they can do or live on their own.
They teach you about these spiritual fruits from God but you seem to come up short by seeing them reside in and through your life. Why is that so you? You may ask. Because many believers try to do it on their own and try to live it on their own and not allowing Christ first to have a knowledge of him residing in you but tally allowing him to live his life through you.
Remember it becomes a surrendered lifestyle not a performance, many have gone down that path just to find themselves flat on their faces in despair speaking “I Can’t Live The Christian Life”
Yes, yes, your correct you can and never will live the Christian believer’s life but HE CAN you have to understand this truth to set you free from the ongoing false teaching of today and walk in victory because he is your victory.
: Remember its all of Christ and none of us”
In him you are Righteous
In him you are Holy
In him you are redeemed
In him you are Secured in his hand and love
It’s all what he has done from first the cross for the total forgiveness of the sin issue by not covering sin but doing away with it.
And by his resurrection to bring new life to those that believe and awaiting the day of our salvation through the redemption of Christ.
The fruit of the spirit of God is a source that he and Christ along can and will produce through us as believers. You will never while occupying the earth be able to live out the fruits of the Spirit of God for it will have to be lived by Christ and Christ alone in and through you on a daily base.
As for forgiveness, you can’t give such a reward to someone unless Christ given to them himself, you must be a willing vessel and a person of heart to want to allow Christ to live his life through you.
If a person is a true believer then they will be willing and anxious to surrender the Christ to live this kind of life. The reason the world comes up so short on forgiveness is because they have not met the one that created and lives forgiveness.
The Ultimate Test of Forgiveness
Now since you have not stopped reading but accepting the teaching I bestow before you we will now read what I believe will be a very huge challenge for many not just as believer though it will be much easier than not being a believer. But this truth that you have read will give you may I say ammunition against the evil one Lucifer to handle the coming challenges or to have a better understanding why things may have taken place of the past as they once did.
Life offers much grief and sorrow, crime and accidental happenings daily. You read it on social media and watch it on the evening news. There is such a darkness in our society where God has been forgotten in the world as we know.
But there is a big candle light amid it all and if that light shines in us then there is much hope. I want to share and hit on the matter of speaking about crimes. Daily there are so many crimes taking place every second of every hour.
The most hideous crime will be against an innocent child doesn’t matter of your skin color, your nationality or your spiritual back ground it happens to all.
The story goes that a family of four goes on a trip for the summer, saving has been a challenge for them throughout the fall and winter months. When school was out finally dismissed for the summer the family had the vehicle loaded and headed for their vacation spot. Along the way to meet family they had plans to visit a camp ground; the family were talking about this camping trip for months now the time has come and its happening.
They arrived at the camp ground and checked in with the camp host, they went to their site and began to set up camp. The parents originally planned to have one large tent for the entire family knowing it would be of greater safety for the family.
Before the trip the children could talk the parents into getting two tents one for the kids and one for the parents. The kids told them that they wanted the parents to have one to themselves so they could have some time to themselves.
And this way the kids can stay up late goofing off as most do until they collapse in their sleeping bags after a busy day.
So, two tents and everyone went to bed exhausted of the excitement of the camping arranged vacation. While they slept one of the children being a boy awaken from noises outside of the tent, it sounded as a small puppy in the distance needing assistance may be hurt.
The curious boy quietly unzipped the tent walked out toward the noise to see if he can see of the puppy was in distress. As he walked along the campsite boundaries a person came out from behind him with a towel and held it to his face, the boys fell onto the ground and the unknown person took him to far distance and went away with him.
I need to stop for a moment, as a writer in my past books I have been given a gift to write in a way that my readers are right there during what is happening. I don’t delight in writing such negative stuff but I am a paranormal/Christian writer within the scope of the spirit world.
I have a hard time writing this because this may be only a story made up but it’s a story of many true stories and I gave children so it is difficult to write.
But I realize the importance in doing so because this story will allow us to see how much we need God’s Spirit living in and through us. And in tragic times we need him the more. It will also show us our frailty to the need of Christ living in and through us daily.
The next morning the family realized the boy was gone, they contacted the state police, Sheriff and Park Rangers. The news gotten around so folks came from many areas of the park and the local community.
After several hours, they located the boy’s body near a creed deep in the wooded area. The autopsy reads he was strangled, beaten then beheaded. They captured a person just a few miles from the crime scene and DNA matched the subject and the boy so they had the person involved in this heinous crime.
When the day came to face their boy’s killer in court the judge found him guilty and gotten life in prison without parole. He will die in that hell hole for the crimes he committed.
He was also connected to two more crimes dealing with children. As the courts concluded they sent the person to jail and the family went home to visit the burial site of the boy.
Seven months have passed since the court proceedings, The mom and dad and children had a memorial fund set up in their sons name to assist other parents in this time of grief they also started having support meetings for those that had similar crimes against the family.
The mom and dad wanted to share about how God assisted them during a tough time in the life of this family. They decided to share and support other grieving families as they grieved but had great support from God.
The Mom and Dad knew for these meeting to take place they had to make peace with themselves and with others involved. They know that the only way to assist other families to heal is to heal themselves. They decided to visit the person that killed their boy. It was a very difficult decision at the first but as time prevailed Christ through the holy spirit taught them that he will help them through this time of trouble and he will live through them.
God knew the hearts of these parents just wanting to live and do what is right and to teach the other child how much God loves us all. Before they were scheduled to go to the prison the word about them had gotten out to the congregation and the pastor.
Sadly, many were discouraging them to dismiss the idea of going to the prison and meeting the one that did this to their child and share God’s love with him. The folks seemed distressed that they would want to do such things, even their pastor they leaned on for direction and support from the bible seemed to have sense of loss to his character to hear such a thing.
Despite all the many voices and opinions, the parents went to visit the man in prison. They brought the man into the chamber for a visit, he was a very rugged man seemed to be so lost in himself.
He had a very tough life as a child he was abused, and his parents divorced and left him with no home or life but they surrendered the rights to the state and he decided to hit the streets. He was very confused to see the couple there, he was angry at first that they were there not sure what they wanted maybe an explanation for the crime or an apology.
But to his surprise the mom and dad spoken in a soft voice. “ We For Give You” the man looked at them as they seemed to be crazy then the mother reached out and taken his hand and told them that they loved him and that Christ loves him as well.
The man went back into his chair and began to weep and then cried like a baby. He looked at the parents and told them no one ever loved him that his parents abandoned him at a young age though it was no reason to harm their son he did tell them he was truly sorry not knowing why he did the things he has done in his life.
The meeting was over and while they started to get up from their chairs he asked if they would pray for him he know he needed help God’s help. The guard given them a few more minutes and they shared with him about Christ and then prayed as they did he asked the lord to help him and to forgive him of what he has done in his life. The mother told him that Christ already forgiven him at the cross and raised from the dead to give him eternal life.
He thanked the couple and asked if they would write him they agreed. As the left there would be a huge weight off the couple and experience freedom like never before.
They began to share at the support groups weekly and each week many lives were transformed by this truth realizing that walking in the spirit is more than lip service but allowing Christ to live in and through us daily.
The family learned that the Christian life is something they can and will never be able to live. For in this flesh is no good thing but in Christ we can do all things with him we can even forgive a failed man.
The world today does not have an understanding to such love and forgiveness, the current world only wants to see revenge and destruction. The two criminals on both sides of Christ on the cross had committed the crimes that hung them there as the one man that committed the crime of the family’s child.
The one on the cross challenged Jesus” if you’re the son of God you claim to be then come off that cross and take us down as well. But the other man replied. We both are guilty of our crimes but this man has not done no wrong. He went to ask Christ to remember him when he entered his Kingdom, Christ told him this day you will be with me in paradise.
What great love he showed even on the cross for a criminal, today he echoes that same message in and through his people his body proclaiming his love for the world.
In of ourselves we cannot forgive it’s not in our making since the fallen nature of Adam and eve but in Christ he can and will love and forgive through us for this is the fruit of his spirit. The Christian life is not a performance but a surrendered life allowing him to live his ministry through us in a dark fallen world.
“Without Him We Can’t Do Nothing” in and among ourselves.
It’s All of Him and None of Us.
In Christ, we can do all things in his strength we are victorious.
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm…
Natalie Grant