HAVE YOU BEEN FORGIVEN?

If Jesus has forgiven you, there will be some changes in your life. This isn’t a comprehensive list but I believe it covers some basics:

2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Your desires will change-

            You’ll have a desire to attend church, read your Bible, be around other Christians, to please the Lord and not man, to share your faith...

Your duties will change-

            You’ll want to help others for nothing, coming to church will be a priority, giving the Lord His tithes and offerings will be cheerful thing to do; not a chore.

Your destination will change-

            No more going to the bar, the liquor store, the whore house, the casino, the sweepstakes buildings, the drug dealers house.... Hey- if Jesus has forgiven you, you’ll be on your way to Heaven and you’ll want to be familiar with what Heaven is going to be like!

            Think about what Paul said to the Christians in Rome:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:1-2

FORGIVEN TO FORGIVE

Every person should have a special cemetery lot in which to bury the faults of friends and loved ones. –Anonymous

Ephesians 4:32, And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Forgiving someone when they do us wrong is definitely one of the hardest things we do as a people. They leave us with many different thoughts in our minds such as; They broke our trust, disrespected us in the greatest way, stabbed us in the back, caused us to question if we have wasted years, made us to wonder what we did wrong, and left us feeling empty on the inside. Don’t they know I loved them, I cared for them, I invested many years in them? Why did they do this to me?

Let’s look at it this way for a moment: How much have we done against the Lord? Have we not disobeyed, disrespected, and at one time or another denied the Lord? Do you know He loves you? Do you know He cared enough for you that He sent His Son to die on the Cross for your sin? Do you know how much He has invested in you?

To sum these thoughts up….. How could we expect the Lord forgive us when we are not willing to forgive? Don’t you know, you were forgiven to forgive? Mark 11:25-26, And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

FORGIVEN

He who cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for every one has need to be forgiven. –Herbert

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32

God has forgiven you for all that you have ever done to Him, don’t you think it would be wise to forgive the one who has done you wrong?