Him to forgive. Once God forgives you; your sin is gone! Psalm
103: 12 explains, "He has removed our sins as far from us as the
east is from the west" (NLT).
By choosing God's love, accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord,
giving control of your life to God, refusing to fall for Satan's lies,
developing
a real relationship
with God, taking responsibility
for your actions, and repenting of your bad decisions-you
are
well on your way to breaking free! But freedom is a process, and
there are other steps you need to take.
Give and Receive Forgiveness
Another
important
step to freedom is to forgive those who
have hurt you and to receive forgiveness for your mistakes. It
has been said that it is impossible to be bitter and get better at
the same time. The only person you are hurting by holding onto
unforgiveness is yourself. You are actually creating a spiritual tie
to the person you refuse to forgive.
Forgiveness is often mistakenly
thought to be an emotion.
It
is easy to forgive others when they apologize or when you are
no longer hurt or angry, but what about in the midst of your
pain? That is when you have to recognize that forgiveness is a
choice, not a feeling or an emotion.
Forgiving others for what they did to hurt you does not make
what they did right, nor does it minimize your pain. Your angry
and hurt feelings are normal, but you only hurt yourself if you
continue to hold onto them.
As you forgive others, you are opening the door to receive
God's forgiveness. If you do not forgive others, the Lord cannot
extend His forgiveness to you. You have to forgive others if
you want Jesus to forgive you. Matthew 6: 14-15 says, "If you
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