forgiveness

Christmas for You, in 60-Seconds

Jesus, God’s only begotten son, vacated his right place in heaven, therefore giving up his Godhood, to become one of us!  He was born to a woman named Mary and came to carry out a mission: to make way for the salvation of all humankind.

Of course he succeeded!

Jesus grew up, lived a sinless life, rallied many toward the Kingdom of Heaven, and then died upon a cross, sacrificially shedding his blood in the ultimate act of forgiving all of us of all of our sins.  He died for every bad thing, every bad thought, every lie, every hurt. Three days later he arose from the dead.

All you have to do is believe this, willingly receive Him as your Savior, trust him as Lord of your life, and you will be saved from an eternity in Hell and instead be guaranteed life in Heaven. He will then place His Spirit within you, to empower you to live as He would have you to live.

As the Bible says:

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).

Perhaps a simple prayer for you could be: Lord Jesus, I need your forgiveness, please take away my hurts and pain, and fill me with joy. I surrender my life to you. Empower me to do this Lord, because I can’t do it on my own. Amen.

Find a Bible and read the Gospel of John. You will love it.

Merry Christmas from the Sussman household to yours!

This was originally published on December 24, 2013, and updated Christmas day 2022.

What the Bible Says About Forgiveness

CBN is carrying a timely article on forgiveness by Cathy Arrington. I thought you would find it useful, given the terrible stuff in the news today. –Brian

Forgiveness

We all appreciate being forgiven, but forgiving others, especially when they have wounded us, feels like a different thing. Emotions get involved. We decide they need to suffer for the hurt they’ve caused, and we delay offering forgiveness, sometimes for years, decades, or forever.

Getting Even Instead of Forgiving

When we hurt, we want the person who is the source or that wound to hurt as much as we do. But the Bible provides a different perspective.

“Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God, for he has said that he will repay those who deserve it. Don’t take the law into your own hands” (Romans 12:19TLB).

Forgiving Those Who Don’t Ask for Forgiveness

As Jesus suffered on the cross, he asked God to forgive those who wrongly condemned him to death. Often those who offend us never ask for our forgiveness or admit any wrong-doing. Forgiving these people is perhaps the hardest. But Jesus is our example for forgiving those who don’t appear to be sorry or ask to be forgiven.

“Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” (Mark 11:25 NIV).

“The one who forgives an offense seeks love, but whoever repeats a matter separates close friends” (Proverbs 17:9 NET).

Forgiving Others

While it may seem forgiving others is to their advantage, you are really the one who benefits most. Unforgiveness breeds anger, and swallowed anger results in depression. When you choose to forgive others, you give yourself a gift. Once you decide to forgive, you can move on with your life instead of stagnating in hurt and resentment, and in forgiving, you mirror a forgiving God.

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6: 14-15NLT).

“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Colossians 3:13 NLT).

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32 NIV).

You can read the rest of the article here…