Tuesday 9/1/15 Forgiving (1)

Dear Father in Heaven: I love You. Thanks for taking care of us in this heat. Thanks for another day on this earth. Praise You, Lord, for all things. Please help me this day with the message and then to get it dispatched. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters, thank you for all the notes I have been receiving since I have come back to the keyboard. They are really appreciated. I missed yesterday because of the heat. Our air conditioning is out in the house. Today it is still out as parts had to be ordered. Gosh, growing up as kids we never had air conditioning in our home, and when it got too hot in the house, little Danny would sleep on the back porch on a glider or on the floor in the living room with the doors opened and fans running. Oh, it is hot, but remember Christmas is just 117 days from today. Now that should cool you off. I want to write a few days about FORGIVING, so let me get started.

Tuesday: September 1, 2015: Forgiving (Day One)

Matthew 6:14 - "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." 15 "But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (New International Version or NIV)

Once again as I write I want to tell you that I truly believe everything that is in the Bible, for if I would not believe one thing how could I believe the rest? I do also cross-check other versions of the Bible.

Have you ever had people do things to you or say things about you that were not true? Maybe it really hurt you or maybe even they said things out of your past that were true and that really hurt you and you have carried that around with you for a long time. Let me answer that this way. There is only one that never sinned and He died on the cross for our sins, which means you and I are sinners saved only by the Grace of God and what was done on the cross. To start this series I want to call your attention to Matthew 6:14 and 15 where it is spelled out really plain that we are only forgiven as we forgive others. So if you are carrying hate against someone else, give it up and forgive them regardless of what they did. Let me tell you also that many people will pray the Lord's prayer over and over again and miss this part. Look at this scripture.

Matthew 6:14 - "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." (NIV)

Matthew 6:14 - "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." (King James Version KJV)

Matthew 6:14 - "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." (Gideons)

Matthew 6:14 - "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." (Life Application Bible) This is another Bible by (NIV)

So why did I take time to type this verse four times? I just wanted to show you that DEBTS, TRESPASSES, AND SIN are one and the same and if you are indeed praying the Lord's prayer in church week after week after week, you need to understand what you are really praying. I also want to get into this, brothers and sisters, we do not need to confess our sins to anyone other than our Father through our Lord Jesus. I tell you nobody else needs to know what our sins have been and once you have given them to God they are gone and please do not let anyone cast them up to you again. Enough for today. Please pray with me.

Today I come to You, Father, asking You to help me to forgive others so that You will forgive me. Please, Lord, help me clear my heart. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Brothers and sisters, you do not need to tell Jesus each sin. He already knows. Tomorrow is Salvation Wednesday on this line, and I hope I will be at the keyboard again. I do have morning and afternoon doctor appointments and the air conditioning is scheduled to be repaired, so it will be a busy day.

Go forth now and serve Jesus.  Love ya.

Pastor Dan