Forgiveness

Mark 11:26 says:
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.

Did you know that verse was in your Bible? If we don't forgive others then God will not forgive us! Wow! That's serious.
God wanted me to write to you today about the importance of forgiveness. It's not always easy to forgive but it is essential. Forgiveness doesn't start with a feeling, it starts with a choice. We choose to forgive, then we choose to give our negative emotions to God. When I forgive someone I say, "Person, I choose to forgive you. You no longer owe me anything." Then I pray to God and tell Him exactly how I feel. I ask Him to take the bitterness and anger and turn it into love. The Word says that God will give us beauty for ashes. So I ask Him to make beauty for my ashes.
Then if the negative feelings come up again I just remind myself that I have already forgiven them.
Another really good and Biblical thing to do is to pray for them and then do something to bless them if possible. This can be really hard to do! But it is amazing how it helps.
So let's walk in forgiveness today! If someone offends us or does us wrong let's immediately begin the process of forgiving them. Also, ask God to bring to your mind anyone that you need to forgive and go through this process with each one.
You can do it!