Melcena’s Words on Christian Themes

For the next few blogs we are going to be on the subject of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the crux of what we believe. Without it, nothing else makes sense.

The lesson on Forgiveness is an extensive one. It covers the forgiveness we receive from God, the forgiveness we extend to others and the forgiveness we receive from others. Pride can stand in the way of receiving forgiveness from others. They don’t want to receive forgiveness because they are relishing in their pride. That is not easy to understand.
Let’s look at the conditions of forgiveness by the Father.
Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
This lesson is for those who already believe those who do not believe will not understand what is being said. Sometimes we do not value the Grace of God that has been given us and we choose not to extend mercy and that really troubles the Lord. He wants us to reflect and remember. Back when there were animal and bird sacrifices being made, they had to watch the slaughter of something they had daily contact with. When they sinned they had to give a bullock that they had daily contact with. They witnessed the terror that came on an animal that they had contact with on a daily basis. The consequence of their sin was visual.
God wants us to reflect on our previous life and remember that because of the slaughter of the Lamb of God, you are in a position of Grace and you have received forgiveness, not by your own merits, but because of Sovereign Provision, you have been extended Grace. In other words, because of Christ being crucified you received provision so that you could receive the spiritual remedy of forgiveness. Forgiveness is a spiritual remedy. It is a remedy for the burden of your sin. If you are not forgiving others, you have lost your way. You have forgotten that you, too, were under condemnation, you, too, had sins multiplied. In other words, He wants us to reflect on the state of our condition prior to us receiving forgiveness from Him.
The Holy Spirit is teaching us to emulate Christ. Remember the woman at the well? There Jesus recalled the woman’s sins and forgave her. If we do not forgive other’s sins then we cannot receive God’s mercy. If we hold unforgiveness in our hearts then it is like a seedling and it seeds bitterness. And every other kid of confusion and evil will follow. It becomes a seed that grows into weeds of hard heartedness and hard headedness and every other kind of wickedness will come from that seedling.
God wants you to tend your temple. Allow the gardener to tend you and you tend the temple. What temple am I referring to? 1Cor. 3:16 Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that God’s Spirit lives in you? Can unforgiveness abide in the temple of the Holy Spirit and be in good standing with God? Absolutely not. It is a matter of stewardship that you tend the temple that is you. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
It is not just for your benefit that God wants you to forgive, but, it is for the sake of your witness. What does your face look like when you are holding unforgiveness? It looks like you ate on lemons and sour pickles for an hour. There is no joy. When unforgiveness settled in the camp, joy left. What does that do for your witness? John 15:9-12 I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.
Why does He want you to forgive? Because you receive forgiveness. Why does He want you to tend the temple? Because you are a witness. A witness of what? A witness of the Living God Who is dwelling in you and if you hold to unforgiveness, it is contrary to Christ’s likeness. Therefore the witness to Christ is damaged.
Luke 3:3 He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins.
Can you expect to receive forgiveness without repentance? It’s folly. It is like expecting to receive the promises of God without belief. It’s insanity. You’ll never receive with double-mindedness. You’ll never receive the promise without belief. Confession of sin is just one portion of the process. Repentance is a universal requirement of God. The repentance that Christ is looking for in your life is a life-style. It means you have a value set that would not permit you to hold unforgiveness. It means that you are unwilling to allow that to occupy the Temple of God in which you are. That is repentance in light of unforgiveness.
When you accept unforgiveness, then you are accepting the unacceptable in light of who you are; In light of the calling of God on your life, of the office of the ambassadorship, the priesthood of the believer. Do you realize that you have been called and you have been called by birthright in to the priesthood of God? And the countenance of unforgiveness does not allow the emulation of Christ to come forth in the ministry and priesthood. Do you see the danger of it? So, what is repentance in light of unforgiveness? That you would have a value set and that you would not tolerate unforgiveness and see it as an enemy. You would see it as an unacceptable character that God does not want to remain in you.
Luke 17:3-4 Be careful. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”
For your sake, forgive even if they do not repent. If you hold unforgiveness, whether they repent or not, you become the prisoner. When Jesus says that someone comes to you seven times a day and says they repent, you should forgive them, does that sound negotiable? It is non-negotiable. This is a direct command. Do you understand the weight of this? Why, of who you are you would not let the value set of unforgiveness remain in you. As an act of obedience forgive everyone, even the one in the mirror.

Tomorrow we will continue with this thought. God bless.

“Hi. I was wondering where the best place is to look for books to teach my children at home? With all the violence and false teaching in the schools today, I am leaning toward home study for my children.”

“Totally understand your concerns. I found Christian Books to have the most extensive selection of home study books. They even have them bundled so you can buy a subject all together. And they have all sorts of wonderful Easter cards and projects and things that cover almost every aspect of the Christian lifestyle. I get into the Christian fiction books myself. I’ll tell you where I found Christian books. Just go to http://www.soulwinnerradio.com and click on the Christian Books.com link right above the picture of the station manager. It is small but, if you click it, you are in for big rewards.”

Surrounding myself with Audible Faith keeps me in an atmosphere that is much easier to experience the faith that I have. They say that there is constant music and praise to the Lord in heaven. So, I guess Audible faith is as close to heaven as we are going to get down here.

I find myself overwhelmed with the selection at the Audible Faith music store. To help me, I first go to the charts to find what is being played most often. Hanging around this website and the store is where I want to be.

I found Audible Faith by going to: http://www.soulwinnerradio.com and scrolling to the ad for Audible Faith and clicking it. Wow! Do they have what I was looking for!