Forgiveness

Jesus forgave you of all your wrongdoing! Past, present & future sins were pardoned. No need to ask for His forgiveness, He already forgave you, thank Him for it! Likewise we are to forgive others and not hold anything against them or be bitter with them (Ephesians 1:7, 4:32, 1 John 1:9, Colossians 3:13). Helpful tips for cultivating forgiveness:

• Remember how much Jesus forgave you (1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:5, 1 John 2:2)

• Meditate on the truth that if someone breaks one area of God’s commands they are guilty of breaking all of it. It is the same for God to forgive someone of committing genocide as it is for Him to forgive someone who tells a lie (James 2:10, Acts 4:12)

• Consider how serious it is to not forgive someone (Matthew 6:15, 18:21-35)

Forgiveness is a choice, not just based on if you feel forgiving.

Application

A simple template for forgiving others is “I forgive __(name)__ for __(wrongdoing)__, even though they don’t deserve it”.