Forgiveness

 How Many Times?

 

Matthew 18: 21-22. Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times".

 I used to ask this question in my head, "how many times should a husband or wife offend each other and they forgive"? As long as they are married. You are not supposed to go into marriage, if you cannot forebear, forgive, or let go. Marriage is a place where your faith is constantly tested. Our parents are pastors, but we were raised differently. When we have disagreements, my husband will tell me "let us get over this disagreement so that we can start the next one". Let us not linger on this one. Because the truth is, we will have another one. There will be issues we will disagree about. So, I agreed quickly. Ephesians 4:32 "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

The church is like a hospital where people have different spiritual needs. In the hospital, we have patients seen by doctors. Some are responding to treatment. In most cases, some are not responding to the treatment given by the doctor. People come to church , but are not imparted by the word. So, you begin to wonder why marriages are failing, and why the rate of divorce is high. One factor the enemy uses to drive his agenda is the inability to forgive. 

God's Agenda

Everything has an agenda. God has His agenda, and it is stated clearly in Genesis 1: 28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moved upon the earth.”

Our marriages are supposed to promote the agenda of God. Someone somewhere or a family is connected to your purpose. They are waiting for your obedience by working on God’s agenda. Your family standing together will promote the agenda of God which is your appointment  “over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” Jeremiah 1:10.

The Enemy’s Agenda

The devil is the enemy. His agenda is to kill, steal and destroy. The enemy is after your seed, purpose, ministry, peace of mind and more. One strategy the enemy is using to achieve his purpose in order to kill God's agenda is to corrupt your heart. The heart is where messages are translated to your soul. The Bible says to guard it! If you let him get your mind first or reshape your thoughts, then he gets the upper hand.

The Power of Agreement

The enemy knows that with grace, and anointing, there’s a lot two of you can do. There is a covenant with the power of two! If two can agree concerning anything. The presence of God, answer, and progress, is guaranteed. Even in the tower of Babel, God observed that the people are one.  God said "I can’t stop". One way the enemy can stop you is when you are not in agreement. Matthew 18:19-20 (KJV) "again I say to you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven".

When people hurt you, they do so because they act out of lack of love or bad experiences. Face the enemy not your husband or wife. The enemy you are dealing with is not flesh and blood.

But when our hearts are corrupted with unforgiveness or offense, there is little or nothing that God can do in us and through us. God cannot not work with corrupt vessels. You are limiting your possibilities in God when your heart is corrupted or living with offense.  Your heart sets boundaries of how effective you can be as a couple. For you to be able to carry the weight of the assignment God has for your marriage, your heart must be pure.

That was how Jesus was able to fulfill his assignment, of saving the world. “Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.” Proverb 4 v 23, “Keep your heart with all diligence from out of it flows the issues of life.” 

 

Prayer:

   Ask the Lord to do a deep work in your heart. Psalms 139:23-24 Amplified Bible (AMP) Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart; Test me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.