Forgiveness..

I started reading a devotional book as I shared recently and one of the stories in it is about Forgiveness.
It explained Forgiveness in a different light and I just wanted to share.

Key Verse:
Matthew 6:12
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

In our hearts we sometimes store unforgiven words to God, to ourselves, to a family member, to a neighbor, or to someone at work. When we have not forgiven we become captive to that act and it holds us prisoner until we forgive. So we need to clean that slate of unforgiveness - to release and let go.

Forgiveness is very costly; there can be pain when we seek to forgive. Yet Jesus forgave while on the cross and we have to do it as well. True forgiveness from us to others isn't possible unless we have experienced God's forgiveness to us. We can't give away what we haven't experienced.

We first have to let God forgive us before we can forgive others. Out of our gratitude for God's forgiveness to us we are able to understand this whole area of forgiveness. When we are right with God we want to get right with others. The only person who is a slave to un-forgiveness is ourself. When we consider this area of forgiveness we think of three groups of people:
.Those who need our forgiveness
.Those with whom we need to seek forgiveness
.Those who need our help in forgiving others.

Our longest list would probably be found in group two above. As in today's Scripture passage, Jesus says that we are to be forgiven of our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. We cannot be forgiven unless we forgive. Un-confessed forgiveness clogs up our spiritual arteries. We will never have good blood flow to our heart until we get rid of what clogs us up. God wants to go to our hearts, but we can't receive his blessings and abundance because we need to clean up this matter called forgiveness.

One of God's biblical principles is that unforgiving people cannot receive forgiveness. Jesus didn't say that it wouldn't be painful, for many times it is. However, to become fresh in our Christian walk we must clean the slate of all the marks we have logged against others. Then God can flow freely in our lives. First John 1:9 states, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."