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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>I was on overload! My body was exhausted, my mind’s capacity felt as if it were completely full, and my emotions were run amuck. Having never experienced an anxiety attack, I was certain this must have been what it felt like. What was wrong with me?
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>The answer to that question seemed simple, yet it is a truth that is seemingly hard to grasp: holding on to “stuff” and not letting it go will destroy you! Translation: YOU MUST LEARN TO FORGIVE!
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>Can one really identify with Christ and be called “Christian” if they’re not willing to forgive? True love demands it. Appreciation for Christ forgiving us should prompt it – in fact, freedom from resentment and anger result from it. Therefore, if it’s true that “whom the Son sets free is free indeed”; your spiritual freedom can never be complete without a forgiving heart.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>God’s intention for mankind (men, women, and children) is that we be made whole, healthy and always in a state of growth, mind, body, and spirit. Christ did not come merely to be an example: His life, death, and resurrection prepared the way for us to be redeemed back to the Father. Yet His life demonstrated the true beauty of what we can be if we allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in us.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>I was recently asked why I would love someone who doesn’t love me. I remember Stevie Wonder singing, “True love asks for nothing; her acceptance is the way we pay.” Love is not given with conditions; it is initiated because of the need for it: we all need love.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>The same can be said about forgiveness: it shouldn’t be given in response to an apology; it should be initiated because there’s a need for it. Funny thing is … the person who benefits from it the most could be you!
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>God wants us to be free. A heart shackled by anger, resentment, and hate will have a stunted growth. Our capacity to love would gradually diminish if we were full of those things that are not healthy for us. Holding on to situations and “beefs” give you a false sense of responsibility to repay. “I refuse to let them off the hook because they don’t deserve it!”
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>Yet God tells us that vengeance belongs to Him (Romans 12:19).What God does tell us to do is love our neighbor as we would love ourselves, and not hold grudges (Leviticus 19:18). However, our greatest example lies in the fact that Christ forgave us when we did not deserve it. “Yet while we were sinners, He died for us” (Romans 5:8).
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>When I let go and forgave, I was set free. A burden was lifted, the capacity of my heart increased, and God filled it with love. I’ll take that over a grudge any day!
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>My friends: let go, let God, and be free.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>Rollyn Moore is the pastor of New Hope Church, 1211 S. Newstead St.
