July 5, 2010

“Forgive each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.” Colossians 3:13

In 1991 after three years of spiraling down, I resigned my church totally burned out. I would spend the next few years in a hospital called Crest View Baptist Churchbeing healed through the angels he had working there. During that time I began to study about burn out and finally came to the realization that burn out is the result of resentment. When I confessed that as a sin, God began to heal and restore me. Because of my resentment I had developed an unforgiving spirit. I had been hurt, abused and used, and I wanted revenge. God was patient and he kept hitting me with the verse above. So, I began to pray for a forgiving heart, but I could not forget. I stated many times that to forgive is to forget. But that is not in the Bible. I have since learned that what the Bible does teach is that we must forgive and then let it go. Biblical forgiveness means that we “give up our right to get even.” By that I mean that when we forgive, God can then begin the work of freeing us from the stewing resentment and boiling anger we have. We may never forget the hurt, but we no longer fantasize about payback and getting even. After you choose to forgive, whether you remember or not is irrelevant. What is at issue is that God can free you from the resentment and once that is done, he can begin to lead you to love those who hurt you. Resentment almost cost me my life, and left me with physical problems I will carry for the rest of my life. But I chose to forgive and God has freed me from all those resentments that caused me to burn out. I testify to you today that freedom is better than bondage and forgiveness is better than resentment. “…you must forgive.” Leave the rest up to God.

Thought for the week: Illegal aliens have always been a problem in the United States. Ask any Indian. -- Robert Orben

Funny for the week: WHAT CAUSES ARTHRITIS?

A drunk who smelled like beer sat down on a subway next to a priest. The man's clothes were stained, his face was plastered with red lipstick, and a half-empty bottle of gin was sticking out of his torn coat pocket. He opened his newspaper and began reading. After a few minutes the man turned to the priest and asked, "Say Father, what causes arthritis?"
The priest replies, "My Son, it's caused by loose living, being with cheap, wicked women, too much alcohol, contempt for your fellow man, sleeping around with prostitutes and lack of a bath."
The drunk muttered in response "Well, I'll be damned!" Then he returned to his paper.
The priest, thinking about what he had said, nudged the man and apologized. "I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to come on so strong. How long have you had arthritis?"
The drunk answered, "I don't have it, Father. I was just reading here that the Pope does."

MORAL: Make sure you understand the question …………Chaplain Barnes

Last week’s answer: In which book of the Bible do we find the story of Jacob and Esau?

Genesis (25:19-26)

This week’s question: Does the Bible forbid tattoos?