For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:3.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלוהים) says:
Forgiveness is letting go of all ill will toward yourself and others.
Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the lovingkindness of the Lord. 1 Peter 2:1-3.
Forgiveness is freeing. It breaks chains of rejection and self-doubt, and takes down barriers. It makes you whole with Me. It lets you know I love you and you are forgiven as if you had never sinned.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being (shalom, your wholeness, the whole pie of life) fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. Isaiah 53:5.
Forgiveness makes peace on earth and good will towards men from Me and among men to one another. It was what I sent Jesus to give you. Forgiveness that makes you whole, valued and beloved with all that was dividing us gone forever. Even now if you should sin, I forgive for in Christ I already gave you forgiveness.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 1 John 2:1-2.
I have given you the most precious gift of all gifts, the gift of forgiveness. How is it the most precious gift? It not only frees you, but it gives you eternal life and fellowship with Me now and forever. Forgiveness reinstates you with Me as if sin had never been. You can hear from Me by My Spirit in your heart. A whole new level of communication that Adam extinguished in himself and all his descendants (his seed) by sin.
Knowing you are forgiven, cleansed and made whole by the sacrifice of My Son only comes by revelation of who you are in Christ. We have been reunited, reconciled, and made One in My Son. And as you have freely received so you should freely give. Come learn the joy of giving by forgiving.
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and good will towards men.” Luke 2:10-14.
Unforgiveness results in only one thing—destruction. The pointing finger and the tearing claw will devour you and others.
For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. Galatians 5:13-15.
If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday. And the LORD will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. Isaiah 58:9-11.
But forgiveness brings healing, emancipation, and restoration. Forgiveness is the door to joy. Being forgiven and forgiving is the opening to the path of joy and all good things. To live the life you were meant to live you must forgive and be forgiven. There is no wholeness and security without knowing you are forgiven, accepted, and beloved. Without knowing you are forgiven by Me, you will not look at Me. You will hide as Adam did in fear. And without forgiveness in your heart for others you will be trapped in the prison of bitterness, blame, anger, and hatred.
Jesus tells you that He is the door. The door to what? Every blessing. I have blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Heave IN CHRIST JESUS. He is your new and living way to My throne.
The first benefit I list in Psalm 103 is forgiveness as your Covenant right, and there is a reason. Forgiveness of your sins proceeds your ability to receive all the remaining blessings.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; He pardons all your sins, He heals all your diseases; He redeems your life from the pit, He crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; He satisfies your days and years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. Psalm 103:1-5.
The is a progression out of oppression. And if you recall, Jesus equated healing with forgiveness of sins.
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’? Mark 2:9.
If you are in the prison of being unforgiving and unforgiven I cannot get My benefits and blessing into you for you have closed the door to your heart to Me. It is all bound up and closed with bitter roots of shame and blame.
I tell you that it is of first importance that you know that Christ died to take away your sins and the punishment due them. 1 Corinthians 15:3. If you do not know that I have taken all your sins and accounted them to Christ and in exchange counted His goodness and righteousness to you, you cannot face Me with confident joy. You will not be comfortable with Me if you have allowed Satan to put you under a cloud of self-condemnation.
Understand this Satan, is the accuser of the brethren, meaning you who believe and are joined in Me as the body of My Son, the Church. He accuses you night and day, so if you listen to him, you will be under self-condemnation. But I did not send Jesus into the world to judge and condemn you but to save you. To give His eternal life in the flesh for the eternal life you lost through sin.
If you do not know you have been cleansed of all sin, you will not be able to go forward to your high calling in Christ. You will hang back in the shadows of shame.
For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you. 2 Peter 1:9-10.
My apostle Peter understood the power of being forgiven. He raised him from one weeping bitterly and hanging in the shadows, to the one who I appointed shepherd of the first Christian community of followers of My Son. And he brought 3,000 to salvation the first time he preached. And what did he tell them that made so many want what he had?
Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38.
Sins forgiven opening fellowship with Me by the gift of My Spirit. And that was the same way he called the first gentiles into the church.
“Of Jesus all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” Acts 10:43.
And what was the result of them knowing they were forgiven of sin?
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days. Acts 10:44-48.
Forgiveness and fellowship with Me by My Spirit and with all the brethren come together. Forgiven you have confidence to keep close to Me and enjoy My fellowship. No longer two but one. The sins are gone, the celebration is on. And all are called to My house to celebrate with Me. Fellowship, unending fellowship with your forever Father, lover, friend, Creator, and LORD.
If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7.
How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light, Psalm 36:7-9.
Even if you are not under condemnation for your own sins, if you are unforgiving of another you still will not go forward. When you stand in unforgiveness you are looking to the past.
But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62.
You cannot put your hand to the plow to go forward in the great works I have for you if you keep looking back with regret and hate, bitterness and shame. You will be of no use to the Kingdom. Unforgiveness is the biggest cause of unhappy, isolated lives. It divides families, friends, co-workers, and nations and keeps you from going forward.
Joseph, when betrayed and sold by his brothers would never have gone on to become the highest official in Egypt next to Pharaoh if he had stayed stuck in unforgiveness for his brothers, or for Potiphar’s wife, for that matter. But he stayed close to Me and lived in a higher realm so that he could walk forward in forgiveness.
Sin is the cause of all unforgiveness, the sin of another or your own sin, whether it be a sin of omission or commission. And that is why I sent Jesus to take care of the sin problem. I was in Christ not counting your sins against you, put accounting them all to Him, and thus reconciling you to Myself. Become My ambassadors in the world as ministers of reconciliation.
I love you. Remember, you are forgiven by the blood of My Son. The life is in the blood and He gave His eternal life in the flesh to pay for the eternal life you lost. Plead the blood as the law on which you base your case, for I know well your sins it did erase. I want to give you joy, joy unspeakable filled with glory, the joy of living the forgiven and forgiving lifestyle, set free to never ending fellowship with Me and one another. I in you and you in Me all one in Christ Jesus, your hope, forever. The good times never end when you know Me as your savior and friend.