holding people to a harsh standard…

any time you find somebody really judgmental, really critical, hyper critical, they’re unforgiving, they’re unbending, they’re rigid, they’re unloving.  they’re always putting people down and they’re always giving a judgmental attitude toward others.  you can know one thing.  they are hiding unresolved guilt.  count on it!

and inside they don’t feel forgiven so they are being unforgiving of others.  if i don’t like the way i feel i certainly don’t want you feeling good. 

if you find a parent who’s rigid, demanding perfection in his or her children they are revealing their own insecurity and their own guilt.  when we feel unforgiven, we tend to be unforgiving and we hold people to a harsh standard. 

so if you’re ever going to let it go and get on with your life, the people who’ve hurt you you’ve got to realize first that GOD has forgiven you.  and the first key to understanding forgiveness of others is to remember how much you’ve been forgiven.  no condemnation.  it’s all been wiped out. 

GOD is not mad at you.  HE’s wiped out all your sin as you’ve put your trust in CHRIST.  you will never have to forgive anybody else more than GOD has already forgiven you. 

be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in CHRIST, GOD forgave you. 

just a thought from the front porch…

forgiveness and accountability…

some of you are thinking, “i don’t want to do that!”  there’s the real issue!  sometimes we just don’t want to forgive.  we don’t want to let go.  but the truth is that GOD has forgiven us so much, how can we hold unforgiveness in our hearts towards anyone else when you start to look at what HE’s forgiven us for. 

i understand the feeling full well of “i don’t want to forgive.  they don’t deserve to be forgiven”, but when i say for you to forgive them, i’m not saying for you to release them of all accountability for their wrong actions.  that’s not what forgiveness is about. 

forgiveness is not releasing them from accountability.  forgiveness is saying, “i'm not the one to hold them accountable.  GOD is.”  forgiveness isn’t saying, “i’m not going to act in a different way towards someone because of what they did to me.” 

if you had a business deal with someone and they stole a million dollars from you and you forgive them and they say, “let’s have another business deal,” i’d say forgiveness does not say you have another business deal with them.  that’s not forgiveness.  that’s stupidity.  forgiveness is saying, “i don’t hold you accountable.  i put that in GOD’s hands because HE’s the one who understands it all anyway.” 

we’re too small to hold the big issues of unforgiveness in our hearts.

just a thought from the front porch…

in bondage to unforgiveness...

judah is a forerunner of JESUS and the end of the story is better than the beginning.

maybe you had a tough beginning in your story of life.  maybe you made some real mistakes like judah did.  but when i read the story of judah i say, “here’s a man of faith!”  people can look at you the same way even if you had a tough beginning. 

genesis 45.7 (niv) joseph reveals himself to his brothers.  he weeps loudly.  he says to his brothers, “i am joseph.  is my father still living? GOD sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth to save your lives by a great deliverance.” 

forgiveness?  he’s able to say, “i understand what GOD’s doing.  HE didn’t send me here for my greatness.  HE sent me here to save your lives.”  that’s forgiveness.  that’s a man who’s come to a point in his life that he not only sees GOD’s hand at work and he’s able to say i forgive somebody else.  but because of GOD’s grace in his life, he’s able to see how GOD wants to use him in the life that HE’s forgiven.

you’re probably not there yet but joseph’s life tells us that you can be there.  it took him thirteen years of faith to get there.  you can be there.  if you’re in bondage to unforgiveness it colors everything.  it colors your attitudes, it colors your actions, everything.

how do you break out of that bondage of unforgiveness?  simple.  forgive.  you say, “i’d love to forgive, how?” 

write on a sheet of paper everything GOD’s forgiven you for.  and look at it everyday if you’re having a hard time forgiving somebody.

pray for the person that you have an unforgiving attitude toward every day.  at the beginning you may be praying for them to die!  but at least talk to GOD about them.  start to talk to GOD about them every day.

it’s not going to happen in a day it’s not going to happen in two days.  it’s probably not even going to happen in a month but if you’re struggling with unforgiveness that’s the way to break those bonds. 

some of you are thinking, “i don’t want to do that!”  there’s the real issue!  sometimes we just don’t want to forgive.  we don’t want to let go.  but the truth is that GOD has forgiven us so much, how can we hold unforgiveness in our hearts towards anyone else when you start to look at what HE’s forgiven us for. 

just a thought from the front porch…