Forgiveness

6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 Therefore when thou doest [thine] alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. 5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites [are]: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses , your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses , neither will your Father forgive your trespasses .

That was the answer! I would just pray for him and turn him over to the Lord, then I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. Well, at first I didn't notice any change. I felt like maybe I don't have enough faith, but I continued to pray for him anyway. Eventually I began to see how it worked. The Lord was healing me. I started to look at the man in a new perspective; He no longer irritated me. What a relief it was

I see now that when we ask the Lord to bless someone, we are blessed. To forgive someone, then we are forgiven.

God bless you!

James Carroll

By James Carroll

If I believe the Bible, and I do; then that means when I say The Lords Prayer… I am asking God to forgive me of my trespasses against my neighbors.

It also means that I am asking Him to forgive your trespasses against me; even the ones not yet committed.

I believe that forgiveness is the ultimate in Anger Management. Just try it for a few days, and if you don’t feel better about yourself, it didn’t cost anything. Think of someone that you just can't stand, and forgive him. In a day or two you will notice that you like yourself more. You may even begin to like that person a little... then just work it.

 If you decide to try it, I wish you all the luck.

 James

The following article I found on the Internet. It didn't list the author.

HATCHING COCKATRICE' EGGS

 "They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper," Isa 59:5.

Webster's Christian Series tells us that Cockatrice means, "The king-serpent, a serpent imagined to proceed from a cock's egg." A viper is, "1) A serpent . . . whose bite is remarkably venomous, 2) A person or thing mischievous or malignant."

To hold our text in the context it was written we must first consider Isa 58. Therein we see how the Lord caused Isaiah to cry aloud to His people to show them why they were approaching unto God, but received no answer to their prayers.

God tells His people therein, as He does in Eze 33:30-32, that their hearts were divided. "They hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness."

The chapter before us begins by telling us that, "The Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear."

As I pointed out, God's main controversy with His people was the sins of the heart. The mind is the womb of the heart, and the thoughts are the seeds and\or the eggs. Evil thoughts are cockatrice eggs which will hatch into serpents, if they are not immediately destroyed. Is it not true that all too often we allow evil thoughts to harbor in our minds about our neighbor?

When our minds become a stronghold of Satan, these strongholds must be pulled down. "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ," 2 Co 10:4-5.

Oh, beloved, that our eyes may be raised by faith unto that blessed Redeemer to deliver us from the power of this sin. If we feed on these evil thoughts, or "cockatrice eggs," our text says, "he that eateth of their eggs dieth."

If someone misunderstands you or says some unkind things about you do you allow those things to harbor in your mind? This is hatching cockatrice eggs, which is venom or bitterness in your heart. As a man, "thinketh in his heart so is he," Pr 23:7. Christians are to cast down such thoughts as soon as they appear. We are not to entertain these thoughts in our mind, but kill them as soon as they arise.

We may not wish for revenge, even in the secret thought of our heart, He 10:30. If we would obtain that revenge by crushing our adversary, our text says, "that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper." Oh, beloved, revenge gives place to the devil. We must remember that God knows the secret thoughts of every heart. Do you harbor hard thoughts, allowing these cockatrice eggs to hatch in your heart? Have these sins, "hid His face from you, that He will not hear?"

If we want God to answer our prayers, we must observe what our Saviour says. "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses," .