Released and Free…

Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you”

Daily we’re offered the opportunity to become offended with people. It may be with our politicians, pastors, friends or strangers. No matter who offends us, if we don’t deal with it, our future becomes incapacitated.

This weeks verse clearly shows us why we need to forgive. It simply says that our heavenly father doesn’t forgive our offence unless we forgive others. We must learn how to forgive and release people who offend us.

So, how do we know if we’re carrying offence? If we clearly remember the pain and hurt of the event then it’s likely that forgiveness towards that person is still in process in our life. We must continue to release people from the blame for what they’ve done so we can be released from the clutches of offence.

This week let’s work on forgiving those who have offended us. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to release them and forgive them. Then commit to pray for them just like you would pray for yourself. As you do this any bitterness in your soul will leave and hindrances to your future will dissolve.

We’ve done this and it works, so we encourage you to do it as well. Get ready because as you apply this principle to your life it will propel you forward into God’s amazing plans for your future.

Heart Attack…

Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for it determines the course of your life.”

Nowadays wherever we go there are people guarding things. Wether it’s the palace, the airport or the shopping centre. People are on guard and protecting whatever they think is valuable.

Proverbs says that you and I should, above everything else, be guarding our hearts. Our heart carries our desires, motivations, and intimate purposes. So, think for a moment about how much energy, finance and time is spent protecting other things while our hearts are left open to attack. We should be guarding it ABOVE ALL ELSE.

There’s very good reason why we do this. Our heart determines the course of our life. Matthew 12:35 says that a good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart. If our heart isn’t protected and healthy then we’ll become sick and eventually discover ourselves far from God’s course for our life.

So, if life is not heading where it should, then our heart is probably under attack. This can happen through gossip, offence, anger, competition or neglect to name a few. But our heart can be made well and restored when we guard it and action Gods Word in our lives.

This week let’s check in with our heart specialist: the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to tell us what’s up and how to rectify it. Before long our life’s course will be restored and we’ll be producing good things from the treasury of a good heart. Above all we must GUARD YOUR HEART!