Below, you will find a devotion from our Bishop on forgiveness.  It was in the newsletter from the conference this week, and I wanted to share it with you. Pastor Burt 

SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT FORGIVENESS

Do you want joy and contentment in your life? Then learn how to forgive. The

capacity to forgive cracks open your heart and allows God to do the deeper

work of not only forgiving your sins—but helping you live a righteous life.

The call to forgive other people is a central message in the Bible. Joseph

forgave his brothers for selling him into slavery. Moses forgave the Israelites for

their stiff-necked rebellion. David forgave Saul for trying to kill him. And Jesus

told us to pray for us to be forgiven in the same way we forgive others.

A woman was delightful in her youth but became bitter with age. As a young

woman, she was engaged to be married, but her fiancé ran off with her sister

three days before the wedding day. The pain was overwhelming, and she never

recovered. But she could have—if she had followed the way of Jesus, who

prayed from the cross:

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

It’s easier to forgive others after they stop hurting us, but Jesus forgave his

killers while they were still killing him. God may permit us to suffer deeply, so

that we can learn to forgive deeply, because his purpose is to make us like

Jesus.

Forgiveness is choosing not to punish the person who hurt you, but Jesus

taught us to do even more. Jesus said:

“Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:28)

This is the best and surest way to recover from hurt—pray for those who hurt

us. Over the years, I’ve often prayed something like this:

“Father, I forgive <insert name> for what they did to hurt me. Would you give

them a double portion of your grace? Bless their relationship with you. Bless

their marriage and children. Bless their spiritual life so that they may perfectly

love you. Bless them in ways that grow their relationship with and witness for

you. Amen.”

It works! Before long—you’ll find that you’ve not only forgiven them, but God

has blessed you! The most beautiful people aren't those who have never

experienced hurt, but those who have suffered deeply and learned to forgive.

Do you want joy and contentment in life? Learn to forgive, my friends!

Bishop Jeff Greenway