An encouraging word on how to forgive and love like Jesus, especially in times when it's the MOST difficult.

I have never really shared another person's words as a blog post, but this message was so encouraging to me that I just felt compelled to share it in hopes that it will encourage many others  the same way it encourages me when it comes to loving and forgiving like Jesus Christ. This was written by someone on Facebook.

"Here is scriptures to give you to help you on anger and bitterness....

2nd Corinthians 2:10-11,

Apostle Paul said, to HIS ENEMIES!
"Do you think I forgive my ENEMIES in my OWNSELF, NO!!!!
I forgive my ENEMIES through the Son of God IN ME, least Satan gets advantage over me through unforgivness, anger etc. etc....
Apostle Paul forgave his ENEMIES, through JESUS CHRIST IN HIM.....!!!!!

So dear brother when your ENEMIES overcome you, and you fill the SPIRIT OF ANGER.....just say "I feel angry Lord please forgive me, and FORGIVE AND LOVE MY ENEMIES through me!!!!!
Jesus Christ forgave unto death... He said Father Forgive them for they know not what they do?
So brother the whole mystery of the Gospel, is JESUS CHRIST IN YOU, who works mightily in you, says (Colossians 1:27,29)...

JESUS CHRIST IN YOU FORGIVES YOUR ENEMY. THEN YOU LOVE YOUR ENEMY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST IN YOU. And this is who your LOVE IS PERFECTED!
You LOVE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, (1st John 4:9,13, and verse 17)....
For where the Spirit of the LORD is there is LIBERTY!!! As you are changed into the same image of the SON of God from glory to glory transformed IN HIM, (2nd Corinthians 3:18)...

God bless you
Respectfully
Minister Sudegayel Rogers "


Recently, I've been feeling angry often and sad, I think even bitter at times and it begun to really consume almost all of my thoughts and it eventually became overwhelming till I felt I couldn't bear. A message like this, had I remembered, really would have helped to encourage me during that time. I did however pray a lot for God to strengthen me,  and He did.
This message, when I first read it, made me go, "wow! How did I not realize this or remember it?" It's never through our own strength but through God the Father's strength and through His Son Jesus Christ, that we forgive, be loving, show compassion, be gentle, patient, godly, holy, kind, perfect and bear all the fruit of God's Holy Spirit.
Whenever faced with anger or having problems forgiving, please remember we can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens us, (Philippians 4:13). Let the enemy know that we, the Children of God,  shall keep the commands of the Lord our God.

How God Saved Us: The Gospel of Jesus Christ

 

Every single human being has been counted as a sinner, Romans 3:23 explains this. Sinners cannot and will not inherit the Kingdom of God, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:5, explains this. So, if we're all born sinners, and no sinners will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but there will be people who enter heaven, so how do we become one of those people who enter heaven? Firstly, because we're born sinners, we must be born again. How does a person become born again? That is done when we believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, confess our sins, repent of them (turning away from sin), and are baptized and receive the Holy Spirit.

Being born again gives us a clean slate so we can start over, this is also a gift from God. Whatever sins we ever committed are totally forgiven and as far as God is concerned it never happened. Think about that for a minute, really think about it. God is willing to forget ALL of the sins you have ever done in your life, no matter how bad it was, as long as you confess your sins, repent and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him. Isn't that amazing, plus He himself takes the punishment that we deserved for our past sins, so we don't even have to pay it. He redeems us. It is written in scripture that He is faithful to do this. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. His faithfulness is something we can count on because God keeps His word. All throughout scripture we see where God has kept all of His promises, especially the covenant He made with Abraham.

This is a huge part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of (all) of our sins. Not only that, but with this new clean slate that we have,(this new life that we have), God gives us a helper to help us to resist temptation to sin again and to help us to walk in God's Holy ways, that helper is His Holy Spirit. (Jesus explains this in John 14:16-26 and John 16:7). And if we did sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, which is Jesus Christ the righteous, Apostle John explains this in 1 John 2:1. Isn't God amazing? Not only does He pay the price for us, but He also gives us help in the form of His very own Holy Spirit in order to help us to walk in His ways. This is love.

God's love, grace, mercy, forgiveness of our sins, and Him redeeming us, are the reasons anybody will enter into Heaven at all. God loved us so very much that He made a way for us to be cleansed of our sins so we can be able to enter into heaven. There is a saying that, "God helps those who helps themselves", but that actually is the opposite of what the Gospel of Jesus Christ teaches. The Gospel of Jesus Christ shows us that a loving God came in the form of a human being to help those who by no other way possible could help themselves. There was not a single perfect holy human being that could have done what God did, everyone was sold under sin.

How are sins washed away? By the shedding of blood, Hebrews 9:22 explains this. Blood had to be shed, this is one of the reason why God had to become like on one of us, a human being, in order to save us. Blood had to be shed, and it had to be a Holy sacrifice made unto a Holy God. 1 Timothy 3:16 explains how God was manifested in the flesh. He performed many miracles, as mentioned in all four of the accounts of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18-25), He was crucified (John 19:15-22, Mark 15:22-34), He died (John 19:28-30), He was buried (John 19:38-42),He was resurrected 3 days later by the power of God (John 20:1-18, 1 Corinthians 15:4), He was seen by many persons (1 Corinthians 15:5-7), He ascend to heaven,(Acts 1:9-11), and from that time He sits on the right hand of God the father until His enemies are made His footstool, as mentioned in Hebrews 10:12-18. All of this was prophesied by the Prophets, and Jesus Christ Himself explained all of this to the disciples as Luke wrote in his account of the Gospel in Luke 24:44.

I just want to take a second to really explain something so AMAZING. God the creator of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1), became a human being. The very same God that created our eyes and nose and hands, our entire bodies, the trees, birds and everything, became an actual human being and was walking right here on earth. Apostle John explains this in John chapter 1:1-14. This is why Jesus would say that the Father was in Him. God the Father was indeed in Jesus Christ, and it was God speaking through Christ, it was God the Father that was the power that was able to allow Jesus to do all that He did, the miracles, resurrecting from the dead, all done by the power of the Father in Jesus Christ. This is why Jesus said to the disciples that if you see Him, you have seen the Father also, as seen in John 14:9. This is why if you deny Christ you deny God the Father, because they are one, Jesus Himself said this very same thing, as seen in John 10:30, John 14:20. This is why the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing with the power unto salvation. This is why we (all) must believe in order to receive eternal life.

All of this is why Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to the Father, as He Himself explains, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me..." John 14:6. It is Christ Jesus that laid down His life for us , no other did, so no one who claims there is another way, is speaking the truth. Only the Son of God is the way to the Father and only through the Son of God can we receive eternal life and enter into the gates of Heaven. This is the testimony God our Father has given us of His Son, as Apostle John explained to us in 1 John 5:11. It is written that, "They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." Revelation 12:11. This testimony of eternal life only through Jesus Christ, is the testimony by which we hold that will help us to triumph over the enemy. And Jesus Christ is the Lamb Whose blood was shed for us and provides us with power to triumph over the enemy.

Jesus did all of this for us, because of His love for us. All of this was done by the power and love of God the Father through Jesus Christ His Son. This is what we believe and preach and will continue to believe while we await the return of our our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is promised that He will return. I will close with the words of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely." Revelation 22:12-17