Sheesh!!
Would you just settle down?

I am going to post about the topic (bite my tongue).. F orgive..by request...

This TOPIC..(yipes! that word... ) is so fundamental..

Jesus uses it in Matt 5
"23": Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

"24": Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
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Matt 6
"12": And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
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Matt 18
"21": Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

"22": Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

"23": Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

"24": And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.

"25": But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

"26": The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

"27": Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

"28": But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.

"29": And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

"30": And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

"31": So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

"32": Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:

"33": Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?

"34": And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

"35": So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
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Interpersonal conflicts take place so often..due to miscommunication, unmet expectations, and selfishness..

25 years ago a conference employee friend shared with me that he felt spiritually handicapped and low on enthusiasm..
I thought for a moment and asked him if there was someone who he had a grudge against or has not forgiven.
He lit up and mentioned that it was his father.
He seemed to get a release realizing the connection I made.

I had read the 2 Cor 2 passage years before that and knew the consequences of harboring an unforgiving attitude.

Just like Jesus said...we ask for forgivenes AS we forgive..(NOT because we forgive)

I consider it getting to 1st base in the Christian experience when we can forgive others...

The vertical relationship and horizontal relationship are codependent..
1 John 4

"20": If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

Here is a personal note..
I had a falling out with a mother in law after my father passed away...
I hadn't any contact with her for 5 years...til a recent wedding.
I greeted her and got met with a cold shoulder even after 5 years..
she resents me and most family members know she is on the wrong side of the issue..yet she is in a prison of her making because of the unfounded grudge she has against me..
Some people are cheated in life because of idols, obsessive complulsive disorders, or grudges...SATAN doesn't care which one as long as he can get God's creation to suffer.

(From a previous post..)

What contributes to thin skins, short fuses, touchy feely, insecurity??

UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS?????

WHICH GENERATE DISAPPOINTMENT>>>>RESENTMENT>>>>BITTERNESS>>>>DRAMATICS>>>
WITHDRAWEL>>>ISOLATION???

Guess what??? It might not stop there...

2 COR 2

[7] So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
[8] Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.
[9] For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
[10] To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;
[11] Lest Satan should get an advantage of us : for we are not ignorant of his devices .

Some become pawns of SATAN as they stew in bitterness.

HEB 12

"15": Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled ;
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well..
what is it over????
Lack of respect or appreciation by others?
Money?
Sexual abuse?
You are unattractive and mad at God?

I thought you were going to talk about "faith".

Greg...now that I have contemplated your reply a bit...
I sense something interesting...
faith gets classes into a tizzy real fast with the conflict of those who emphasize works verses those who don't...

Whereas... forgiveness just seems to stop people dead in their tracks...and leaves many clueless as to why.

Going further prompts the outcry..."now don't judge"..

here is a question for ya out there..

Will anyone inherit eternal life who harbors unforgiveness toward anyone?

No.

Good Post JimBob,

Forgiveness is most difficult when we apply it ourselves. Sometimes it is easy to ask God to forgive us and then tell everyone that we believe our sins are forgiven. Then we go back to him again, and again, asking forgiveness for the same "sin" Surely He looses patience with us when we do that.

That's one F word that only through the Holy Spirit's help can we as humans learn. Forgiveness for others and for ourselves.

Quote:

---

Will anyone inherit eternal life who harbors unforgiveness toward anyone?

---

NO!

I'm confused ...

News at 10 is over. We're way into late-night programming. Mrs. Gray is nowhere to be seen ...

And now here's JimBob, waxing loquacious and elequent. JimBob? huh?

I don't get it. My head hurts. I can't keep up around here; things change too fast.

Regards (I think),
Norm

Dear person,

Mrs. Gray is glad that you referred to "F" for forgiveness as an inappropriate word beginning with that character provided the topic's draw.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Gray

I thank you...
Leslie thanks you...

Wow, how far back does that take you??

Was it Groucho?: My mudder tanks yuh; my fahder tanks yuh; and I tank yuh.

Wait a minute, what are we thanking for? ...

I'm soooo confused.

Norm (I think?)

And I thought the F word was going to be Friends and friendship

Forgiveness makes friends and /or keeps them.

Mmmm. A little AlkaSeltzer for the mind. Thanks, I needed that.

Uh..here we go again...
this time the challenge is for child molestors

Not bumped by popular demand but because it is necessary..

Edited by Amelia to remove crude and rude comment

Yes Nico, your point is valid...
so is my post..then there is the chicken and the egg principle...

I have run into people who through unforgiving hatred and unforgiveness have caused themselves undue anxiety/stress and have broken down their vital force and upset their chemical balance and ended up with biochemical disorders.

I would be inclined to believe they were biochemically predisposed at the outset with an inability to process those things the way a normal person might, and so their seemingly self-inflicted anxiety and stress is actually itself a product of a pre-existing and underlying condition. This is just another area in which those without these types of conditions manifest their failure to comprehend the experience of those who have them: they cannot conceive of anything resulting from this condition as anything other than either a character flaw (or "wrong choice"), or the result of a character flaw (or "wrong choice" -- and bear in mind the implication of deliberateness in using the word choice). But such a model is inappropriate, and does nothing to actually help the person suffering an illness which is the product of a biochemical imbalance in the brain.