A Message About Forgiveness

Praise God for my friend and her kindness in creating this blog for me! Discouraged and tired from recent adversity, I had just opened my e-mail to find this:

Dear Judi,
Don't be discouraged because as Jesus said the resistance against you is actually against him….You write the truth in a fair and reasonable way. The world is fast approaching the place where they cannot bear the truth.

Keep writing and I will look for your material anywhere it can be found.
In Christ's Love,
Rev Michael

And so, with the encouragement of friends, I will continue to write about what I know to be true, and, as the title of this blog suggest, “Life As It Happens.”

Today, as an exercise to get used to the idea of being a “solo blogger,” I will just jot down some morning thoughts. As promised on my last post at SearchWarp, I have decided to begin each day with a meditation that follows the liturgical year.

Today’s reading: Luke 17:1-6

[1] Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. [2] It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. [3] So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. [4] If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." [5] The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" [6] He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.

What Is God Telling Me Today? Could this message be about fo-o-o-r-r-r-rgiveness? I think so…

We have all been hurt at some time in our lives. What’s more, many of us carry that hurt around all the time. It’s a constant companion—a recurring complaint, a rancorous story told repeatedly, a horror movie that plays persistently in your thoughts. Even if you don’t speak about the hurt, the result is the same: Fear, shame, and resentment deepen; bitterness festers.

The chains that those hateful emotions forge only tighten and become heavier over time. We don’t have to live in that kind of bondage. Forgiveness is the key.

Forgive! And if the hurt resurfaces, forgive again. And again. And again, and again. Seven times seventy times, if necessary. Get your heart to a place where you can forgive, even if you have to do it step by step, over a long period of time.

Picture yourself sitting with our Lord. Tell him what hurts and how hard it is to forgive. And ask him to help you. He will! This is why the apostles cried, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5).

They were asking Jesus to increase their conviction of the truth that their heavenly Father would take care of them—that their Father is capable of healing any hurt and that he wants to do it. “Increase our faith” means to increase our conviction of the truth that You, Father, will take care of us. It means that you, Father, have saved us and promise to uphold us in that salvation (Philippians 1:6).

“Increase our faith” means that you will also do it in others—yes, even in those who have hurt us.

“Father God, as the apostles cried, we, too, cry out to You to “increase our faith.” Teach us to forgive as you do and help us to let go of all bitterness and resentment. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

©2008 Judi Lake. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.


Judi Lynn Lake has kept up with leading edge business trends throughout her varied and successful career. She had already had her "15 minutes of fame" over and over again before starting her family. Judi and her family now reside in South Carolina, but, having been born and raised on Long Island, NY, it is clearly evident that she will always be a "New Yorker." Today, she successfully runs her own advertising agency which handles everything from logos, branding and package design while she continues to work closely with self-published authors from design to promotion. For more information, visit judilake.com