Cedar of Lebanon
Matthew 6:7-15
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed [holy] be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Footnotes: Some manuscripts add,
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen
I pray this Lord's Prayer a lot. I was very, very surprised after taking the class to become a Catholic, in 1994, after my first confession - we were assigned to sit in Church, be reflectively meditative, on the cross, and say the Lord's Prayer as the realignment in forgiveness. Yet these are the words of Jesus. Holy Words. Words given to us as part of the gift of forgiveness.
I say these words even when I'm angry and unforgiving. Rick Warren and, his brother-in-law, Tom Holladay discussed forgiveness, "In 40 Days of Love." Forgiveness gives up the right to hurt someone. Forgiveness gives up the right to slander someone.
The Topics
Session One: Love Matters Most
Session Two: Love is Patient, Love is Kind
Session Three: Love Speaks the Truth
Session Four: Love is Forgiving
Session Five: Love is not Selfish
Session Six: The Habits of a Loving Heart
We can provoke one another to unforgiveness. This behavior can spiral down to sadism. Relationships can become toxic. We are not in God's grace to accept the unacceptable. There is a very sound reason Jesus spoke these words.
Matthew 18:21-23
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. (Or seventy times seven)
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times."
We could quibble over 77 or 490, missing the Spirit.
Rick Warren spoke in the DVD about forgiveness hurting the deepest in divorce. He said forgiveness doesn't require a reconciliation. Forgiveness requires giving up the right to be grief-stricken and reconstruct the hurt. Forgiveness is the releasing of judgmental anger. This does not require forgetting, just letting go of the desire to hurt and be hurt. Rick Warren refers to wisdom as learning - the actions of the person are like the fruit identifying the tree. We learn what type of person we deal with. Forgiveness does not require the loss of wisdom.
Proverbs 16:20-24
20 Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good,
and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
21 The wise of heart is called discerning,
and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.
22 Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it,
but the instruction of fools is folly.
23 The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious
and adds persuasiveness to his lips.
24 Gracious words are like a honeycomb,
sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
Rick Warren spoke in the DVD about forgiveness hurting the deepest in divorce. He said forgiveness doesn't require a reconciliation. Forgiveness requires giving up the right to be grief-stricken and reconstruct the hurt. Forgiveness is the releasing of judgmental anger. This does not require forgetting, just letting go of the desire to hurt and be hurt. Rick Warren refers to wisdom as learning - the actions of the person are like the fruit identifying the tree. We learn what type of person we deal with. Forgiveness does not require the loss of wisdom.
Proverbs 16:20-24
20 Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good,
and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
21 The wise of heart is called discerning,
and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.
22 Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it,
but the instruction of fools is folly.
23 The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious
and adds persuasiveness to his lips.
24 Gracious words are like a honeycomb,
sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
Add to the joys of forgiveness - this:
Picking up on discovering good, blessed by trusting the LORD. Being discerning.
Proverbs 13:12
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
We should give ourselves credit, like the Father running to his prodigal son - when we forgive with our mouths and brain, and allowing for the forgiveness fulling our hearts to be - the tree of life. Certainly we are given grace to give complete forgiveness all at once. Sometimes the completion of forgiveness is a process.
Proverbs 13:12
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
We should give ourselves credit, like the Father running to his prodigal son - when we forgive with our mouths and brain, and allowing for the forgiveness fulling our hearts to be - the tree of life. Certainly we are given grace to give complete forgiveness all at once. Sometimes the completion of forgiveness is a process.
The evil one would say - you just aren't forgiving, you don't have peace, you are a fake, they probably don't deserve forgiveness. Instead, lean on HIM and say, " Father, please. Help that forgiveness be the tree of life from You."
It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches
Tulla, Mexico - the tree is really that large.
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