No more apologies!

I finally had a little bit of time to get on the computer and do some updating and while I was thinking about and reading some of my previous blogs I realized that most of them have began with an apology. I'm tired of apologizing. I've come to realize that most of my readers probably don't have time to sit down and read a blog every week anymore than I have time to write one every week! They say "absence makes the heart grow fonder" so I assume you must be pretty fond of me by now!
God has been laying a few different things on my heart lately and some recent events have convinced me that tonight was the night to share all of it. To be honest, I don't even know where to start. So many times I've started a blog wanting to say one thing but God guides my fingers to type something very different. I haven't forgotten about Captivating and many of the things that I've been blogging about have come about because of things that I've learned by reading that book. But I've decided to ditch the chapter by chapter stuff and just share with you lessons that I've learned. One of the very important lessons that I learned reading that book was about forgiveness.
Forgiveness is a funny thing. You can learn it the easy way or the hard way but I've yet to meet anyone who hasn't learned it the hard way. One way or another you will learn it though. Either that or you will live a bitter angry person your entire life. There have been many times in my life that I truly thought that I had forgiven someone only to find out that I either hadn't actually forgiven them or that I had taken back my forgiveness. There have been people in my life that have wronged me that I have simply forgiven once and forgotten about the situation. But there are also people in my life that I must forgive everyday. My pastor's wife has a saying that if something isn't sweet it's bitter. If you have someone in your life that you cannot have sweet thoughts toward, then there is bitterness there. Isn't that convicting?!?! When I heard her say that, the list of people in my life that I was bitter towards became longer than I could see.
You see, conquering bitterness isn't a one time deal. It's something that you must be on the lookout for constantly. It's one of the devil's best weapons because so many times we never see it coming. There have been so many times when I've become angry because while I was just simply thinking about something an image or a memory came to mind that I thought was long gone. But that one memory has enough power behind it to ruin my entire day because just for one moment I allowed myself to be bitter. That's how powerful bitterness is. And where there is bitterness there is unforgiveness.
What do you really think gives you the right to be unforgiving towards anyone? I've made it very clear in this blog that I never intend to insult or offend anyone but I also will not keep from saying something that I feel like I need to say simply because I'm afraid of offending someone. So if what I'm about to say offends you I'm sorry but no one is forcing you to read this. I get really upset when I see people that don't feel like they need to be forgiving. I see so many people that feel like they're serving out justice by being unforgiving. Is that really your place to serve justice? Because my Bible says that you're no better than anyone else on this earth saved or unsaved. It says that "all have come short of the glory of God" and that our rightousness is to God "as filthy rags." So maybe you should leave the judging and justice up to God. But you know what else? God doesn't judge you anywhere close to what you deserve. I mean just think about everything that God has done for you. Do you really think that you even begin to come close to showing God how much you appreciate that? Yet He still loves you, still watches out for you, and is there for you every single time you come back begging for mercy to get out of the mess you got YOURSELF into. So if you really think that you have any right to hold a grudge towards anyone, maybe you should just take a moment to stop and think about what would happen if God did that to you.
Forgiveness is not the same as forgetting. When someone rejects God and His love, He has no choice but to leave them to themselves even if it means self destruction, because He will not force His love on anyone. Sometimes in our lives we must do the same. We must leave people to themselves and stop trying to give them help that they do not want. Sometimes you must completely separate yourself from them in order to be sure that you yourself do not go down with them. You know how I said that "if it's not sweet it's bitter?" Well sweetness is not something we can produce on our own. It comes from a life of loving and living for Christ. So where do you think bitterness comes from? Unfortunately our sinful nature produces that on it's own quite well. When people do not live for Christ they are living for themselves and are furthering the devil's purpose on earth. The devil doesn't need to recruit people, he just needs to get people away from Christ.
The only reason I feel like I can say anything on the subject of forgiveness is because I've had to learn this lesson more than once. And honestly, God continues to teach it to me even now. The bottom line is that bitterness is sin and sin is of the devil. So be on a constant watch for it. Fill yourself with the love of Christ by dwelling with Him and the devil won't stand a chance. If you think you can do it on your own I'm afraid you're mistaken. It's more trouble than it's worth because God wants to fight for you and win your battles for you. Let Him be your warrior! And take comfort in knowing that when it comes to God vs. the Devil, God has never lost. So beginning now, give your unforgiveness to God and relax! Enjoy the sweetness that will soon fill your heart! Until next time...
Cass