Hello friends! I wonder if you are like me and amazed at the speed this month flew by! Let’s pray we all can breathe deeply and worship God through the beauty of a favorite season. As September wraps up,  I wanted to share a retreat talk I gave  9 years ago.  Prayerfully, it will be a fresh thought for us to “hagah” (Hebrew word meaning to “chew  or meditate”). There are certain things that are ALWAYS true in our walk with God… This topic will always BLESS you , FREE you, and CHALLENGE you…it is FORGIVENESS.

Perhaps one of those POWERFUL responses I have ever read was this: A child was asked…“What is forgiveness?” The little boy answered ,”It is the smell that flowers make when they are walked on.” You, too, can be a sweet aroma.

I. YOU ARE FORGIVEN IN CHRIST.…Christ’s death is the basis of forgiveness (Colossians 1:13, 14 and 2:13,14) You were forgiven…your past, your present, and your future. How many of your sins were in the future when Jesus died? ALL of them…no surprises to Him! What difference does it make to you to KNOW that you are forgiven? Ponder this. Ps.103:12, Ps. 32:1-5. As you meditate on this, give Him thanks that you are now clean!

II. FORGIVE OTHERS THE SAME WAY.…you knew this was coming, huh? How did Christ forgive you? COMPLETELY. Not half-way, not partially…..your sins were not just atoned for, they were removed!  You are FREE! I want to completely forgive others (quickly, I might add) because of what I have been given. It’s stunning this COMPLETE REDEMPTION, isn’t it? Col. 3:13, Rom. 15:7, Eph. 4:32.  We must learn to put the question” Will you forgive me?” as a common part of our language as opposed to the occasional (when things are really bad in a relationship) “sorry”. You will be shocked at how ALL of your relationships improve as you become a FAST FORGIVER. Smell that? I smell Jesus!

III. IF WE DON’T.…bitterness and an “everybody owes me” attitude is your best friend. You will be known as an angry person. You can push resentment down but it will not STAY down. Deal with your disappointments and your feelings of “being offended” by the power of Christ. If it’s His will for you to be a FAST FORGIVER, He will give you the POWER. People are going to hurt you, what will you do?

IV. HOW WE CAN!! Eze. 36:26. God gave me a NEW heart! Rom. 5:5.God poured HIS Love through me! All I need to do is to KNOW my identity as a forgiven person,  ASK God for help to obey Him and MOVE forward in forgiveness toward others.

*Can you imagine the feeling (much less the fact that we are obeying God!) that we will experience if we are FAST FORGIVERS? The freedom and peace? I can …because I have seen Him do it through me by changing me first. I love Jn. 21:20-23 when Jesus tells Peter in the question of John’s future  “If he is to remain until I come …what’s that to you? YOU FOLLOW ME.” My prayer for all of us is that we don’t wait on the other person to ask first , but we act out of our identity and  forgive quickly. Mmmm…smells like forgiveness in here!

Race you to the Cross! Happy September!

tristie