Deliverance comes through many avenues and I remember the time when I just needed to be delivered from myself. I just couldn’t take it any longer. What I didn’t know was that all the time I spent seeking all the other ideas it’s what God revealed to me that forever changed my life. I needed deliverance and now understand that there is deliverance through forgiveness. That deliverance will too change your life.
You see Jesus came to set the captives free. So then ask yourself: “Am I free? Am I really free?” If you look deep within are you where you want to be? Have you achieved what you want to achieve? Are you living in the full abundance of what God has in store for you? If not why not? It’s all there; waiting just for you.
I knew there was a whole life for me. I knew it but knowing it didn’t change anything. I can know the sky is blue but so what? I felt for many years that I was retarded but couldn’t fix it. If you have been there you know how frustrating that it is and that it’s the most helpless feeling in the world. The best news is that as you forgive your deliverance and healing will be evident. How do I know? Experience.
The level of unforgiveness I allowed in my life was killing me. It was a slow death for decades and while I felt justified in harboring it; there could be no times of refreshing until I made the choice to be refreshed. Acts 3:19 is clear to ‘Repent, and seek forgiveness so that times of refreshing may come.’ NIV) So when we look at this first it starts with a repentance and then forgiveness. What comes after the seeking of forgiveness is the refreshing. This makes it clear that there is 1) a process to follow, 2) something that occurs during that process, 3) there is an end result.
For me it was the end result I was after. I wanted peace. I wanted to grow closer to Christ. I wanted an expanded territory. I wanted so much internally and prior to the point of forgiveness; I had no means of getting it. I couldn’t. What the process of forgiveness reveals is that there it is in and of itself deliverance. As you forgive you are being delivered of that which is not of God. As you forgive in accordance with His Word you are being forever changed into the person He created you to be. As you forgive the past will remain where it needs to be; behind you.
You will no longer do or be; or desire what you once did because you will be delivered as you forgive. You don’t need more therapy to talk about how you feel about the past. You don’t need to dwell on what others have or haven’t done for you that they don’t even know they should or need to do. You don’t need to focus on what you are or are not. You don’t need any of that. You only need forgiveness to move through you swiftly so that you are delivered. Remember that you don’t need to pray to be delivered for your trials for your trials are your deliverance; and through forgiveness you are delivered.
There is always talk about forgiveness and many scientists and doctors now affirm the Bible in stating that there is healing through forgiveness. Duh- as if the Bible needs mans approval! But yet again man seems to need to take the long journey around the mountain instead of just opening the Bible and following it. The one thing though that remains though; is that you can take all the science in the world and all the doctors opinions but if there is no repentance; true forgiveness is not in full. Forgiveness without repentance is not full forgiveness How do I know? God’s Word says so and guess what? God’s Word is the authority- whether anyone likes it or not. It does not change because someone who doesn’t understand or like it doesn’t agree. And so forgiveness comes through repentance.
You see; forgiveness kills. No doubt about that. Forgiveness is sin and therefore it would make sense that it would kill. Now it’s called a disease which is ironic because I’m sure there will be a day when people will get disability for having the disease when in reality it is just disobedience that can be cured with repentance; no need for any increase in Obamacare premiums on this one. The message remains. Forgiveness comes through repentance.
Acts 3:19 is very clear: ‘Repent and seek forgiveness, so that times of refreshing may come.’ (NIV) It’s not more clear than that. There is no refreshing until repentance. Therefore; the first step toward forgiveness is repentance. How then can you get to step two if step one is not even identified or taken. It is not possible to pick and choose which step to follow when and how. That is not of God. God is not a god of disorder but rather God is God of order. Therefore; it requires anyone who claims to be a Believer to follow everything in order. I pray you are starting to get the picture.
You may question why you have to repent if someone hurt you. Sounds like a super question but here is the thing: you harboring unforgiveness is just as much a sin as what the person did to you. Your repentance is not on the other person; it’s on you and you are responsible for it. Plain and simple. You are not repenting of what someone did to you; you are repenting for harboring the unforgiveness! See the difference.
As a result; you can forgive the person for hurting you which is what most do. They think that ends it. They forgive and it’s time to move on. Sure- except one thing: Your unforgiveness is not about the other person. It is between you and Christ. It is about your personal relationship with Him and your obedience to His Word. Let it be known that so long as you choose to be disobedient by being unforgiving and repenting of it; it is highly likely that your prayers are not being answered. Why? Because unforgiveness is disobedience and it serves as a blessing blocker. It is so much beyond what the doctors and scientists say! Unforgiveness is a spiritual manifestation that breeds in the physical. Not dealing with it at the root will not bring complete deliverance. It can’t!
What must be understood is the importance of repentance. It is through repentance that people’s lives are changed. It is your repentance for harboring unforgiveness that will change your life; and those of every person you come into contact with. For me personally; I was a victim. Period. I was abandoned at age 3. I was put into a foster home; not by my choice but by some CSI looking people. I was abused physically, verbally and emotionally in my adoptive home and they put me in a homeless shelter at age 15. I was a victim but here is the thing: my unforgiveness was my fault! What occurred to me was horrible and I pray that no one ever experiences what I did and that goes for harboring that much unforgiveness.
My unforgiveness was my disobedience and it is for you too. What other people do is on them and what we choose to do is upon us. You have the choice to choose life or death- forgiveness or unforgiveness. You then have the choice to be obedient to God’s Word and repent of it- or not. I pray that you do. I know the outcome of a life of forigveness through repentance. I have peace. I have a solid relationship with Jesus that can only come through obedience. Not only this; I am at the place where I am living out the full assignment on my life. How about you? Repentance an forgiveness paves the way for you. What we must understand is that nowhere in God’s Word does He approve of sin and disobedience. He just doesn’t. Why would He?
When there is repentance the refreshing times come so it reads in Acts. John 15:10 also spells it out in case you need more: “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” Notice the condition of ‘if’. It’s up to you what you want.
You can choose to play pretend forgiveness and reap the so called benefits. There aren’t many benefits by the way as I did that for decades. Or you can stand up, get over yourself and claim the victory that was already done for you at the cross. You can stand up, repent; and be refreshed. God’s Word never returns void and He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will avenge all that was done to you- should you choose to rest in Him.
“I pray that today in the name of Jesus you would recognize that unforgiveness is as deadly as any other sin, that the enemy preys on you keeping it- and that Jesus is bigger than anything that has occurred to you in your life. I pray you get the revelation that He is for ‘you’ and He has a plan for your life. I pray that your heart is turned toward Him in repentance and that you lay down the burden of unforgiveness, resentment and bitterness down at the feet of Jesus. I pray that as you seek Him your life is forever changed. I pray that this isn’t something for some time when you feel like it but that it is for today that your life will be changed through repentance and forgiveness in Jesus Name. Amen.”
For more about forgiveness watch “Living in Forgiveness” Monday-Friday at 9:30CST on the UANetwork starting September 1. Until then Tuesdays at 9:30. Watch previous episodes on demand at http://uanetwork.tv/uanon-demand/living-forgiveness-julie-blair/
We all know that anyone alive has had some experience of pain at least once. It doesn’t matter if you were the one who caused someone pain or if someone else caused you pain. The fact remains that there was pain and for most people that pain leads to unforgiveness. As a result; unforgiveness serves the purpose of being a distraction if you are not careful or aware. Unforgiveness is so sly in its innerworkings to where die from it without even knowing that it exists or that they suffer from it.
So how does unforgiveness serve as a distraction? It’s incredible really once you are able to see it; and that requires getting to a place of truly being an overcomer. To give you something to look forward I share with you exactly how it is a distraction so that you too can live the full life that God created you for.
1. Unforgiveness distracts you from your real purpose and assignment. God has a purpose for your life. Period. Whether or not you like God, agree with Him or believe in Him is irrelevant. He created you for a purpose. He created you before the foundation of the earth and the time you spend living in unforgiveness keeps you from not only getting closer to God; but also to getting your assignment. Let’s also recognize that unforgiveness plain and simple is disobedience and that disobedience is sin and sin separates. It distracts. It keeps you from knowing what your purpose and assignment is which means those who’s live you are to impact for His Kingdom too lose out.
2. Unforgiveness keeps you from progressing toward your future. Unforgiveness and its symptoms will wreck your life in ways you can’t imagine. I know the impact that it had on my life and while I was moving toward the future because by default if you are life you are aging; but it certainly doesn’t mean you are moving toward the future God created for you. You can’t. How can you go anywhere that God would want when you allow sin to separate you? Not only this; unforgiveness keeps you focused on the past therefore your present is the past which becomes the future. There is no future looking backward. If you want to progress toward your future it’s time to lose weight; the weight of unforgiveness will forever change you spiritually and physically.
3. Unforgiveness keeps you living a false identity based upon false presentenses. When you live in unforgiveness what happens is that your decisions are based upon the level of unforgiveness that is hidden deep in those dark places that people don’t want to talk about. Every decision made is based upon the driving force of unforgiveness. The bitterness, revenge, anger; resentment and more are all surrounding you like sharks ready to devour. As a result; the you that you create day in and day out is based upon the pain and hurt that caused the unforigveness in the first place. Every single thought, action and plan based upon something not of God does not 1) bring you closer to God, 2) reveal the real you. It can’t. You cannot live out God’s plan for your life while separated from Him at the same time. Unforgiveness serves as the distraction to keep you on the side of the enemy and not that of God. And a result; the life you just may be living is really not the one truly intended for you at all.
Unforgiveness is not a game. It is not something to talk about in passive nor is it just flippantly stating a few words and that’s it. No. It is about dealing with the issue at the root level. It is about surrendering to God and overcoming with Him what occurred in the past to allow Him to be the one who avenges those wrongs to turn them right. It is about seeing that the enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy and that if you are unforgiving you have just given your life into the hands of the enemy. Do not allow the enemy such power. Do not be distracted by the ploy of allowing him to win. Do not give others the power to control your future. You are worth much more than this. It’s time to stop being distracted, pick up your sword of forgiveness and win the battle!
Have you ever thought about what something means to you? What does your spouse mean to you? How about your children? Your education? Your career? Your i-life perhaps? In the midst of all of these things we may see much; but what does it mean to forgive? In reflection of forgiveness when I looked at my life I started pondering what it has meant to forgive. As such; there is much.
Now I have a full teaching on what is forgiveness (https://julieblair.com/product/what-is-forgiveness-julie-blair/) but what it means to forgive is different. Forgiveness in Hebrew is two words: Nasa and Salah which together mean a pardon of iniquity.
What it means to forgive is that first you are ready for change. Nothing will change toward the direction you want if you are not ready for it. No Olympic athlete gets to the Olympics without first being prepared. When you are ready to forgive you and your life will drastically changed. I can attest to this as I have an entire ministry based upon forgiveness; and it wasn’t my plan before I forgave I can tell you that!
To forgive means that you are ready to let go of the pain and hurt. This can be quite challenging although beyond therapeutic I may add. To be honest I had no idea the depths of my soul that had been overtaken by unforgiveness. I didn’t know the amount of bitterness, sadness; and pure helplessness that owned me. I wasn’t until I purged the pain that I was able to see and be released in the name of Jesus.
To forgive means that you are ready to repent and be obedient to God’s Word. This too I had no clue about! Sad really since I sat in church every Sunday but yet was a miserable mess. I’ve since learned that where I go in my relationship with God is up to me. There is no such thing as forgiveness without repentance as Acts 3:19 is very clear: ‘Repent and seek forgiveness, so that times of refreshing may come.’ (NIV) Forgiveness too is a command so therefore by default; not being forgiving is not being obedient. To forgive means that you are mentally and spiritually; and emotionally prepared to do what God’s Word commands. Remember that it is obedience that is better than sacrifice. Yeah; I didn’t know that one either.
To forgive means that you are ready to grow in Christ. See; there was so much about unforgiveness and forgiveness I didn’t know. I didn’t get the fact that forgiveness wasn’t about anyone but me and the Lord. I thought it was just go tell someone ‘I forgive you’ and that was it. Well; I did that for decades and then learned how much of a lie that was! It also didn’t work because I still harbored unforgiveness which kept me disobedient. Go figure. I get now that when I forgive; it is my surrendering of myself to the Lord in obedience and guess what? He works on my behalf! He healed me! He restored me! It was Him who justified and righted all the wrongs done to me. He avenged me. I didn’t have to go and fight my battles. As a result; my relationship with Christ changed. It grew and I grew. I didn’t know going into it though that it would be so much. I had no idea.
And finally; to forgive means that you are no longer a victim. There may be many terrible things that have occurred in your life; but you aren’t the victim once you forgive. I’ve been through it all: abandoned at age 3, foster home for 2 years, abusive adoptive parents, homeless shelter- all by age 15! I know divorce, infidelity, molestation and more. And I know that through forgiveness I am healed and not a victim. You aren’t either. When you forgive all of it is removed. You are not who you were to allow what once was to be what is.
Forgiveness in Christ is the pathway to your future. Apart from Him you can do nothing so it reads in John 15:5. When you too recognize that forgiveness will heal your hurt, right your wrongs; and bring beauty for ashes you will never be the same. Forgiveness may mean something more or different to you; but let it mean that you are progressing. Let it mean that you are being changed in magnificent ways. Let it mean that your light is shining like never before!
Share with me how it’s changed you. I would like to know. Why? Because I care. Because He cares.
For more about forgiveness watch Living in Forgiveness on Tuesdays at 9:30 on the UANetwork. Starting in September it will be Monday-Friday at 9:30pm. To watch previous episodes follow here: http://uanetwork.tv/uanon-demand/living-forgiveness-julie-blair/
The past is time gone by. You can’t get it back and you can’t change it. If you want to build the future that is there waiting for you; you can do just that by forgiving your past. If you are a top salesman but wanted to always be a gym teacher; forgive yourself and go for it. There is no reason to dwell on what you did or did not do then; what matters is what you do now. It doesn’t matter what has happened in the time of yesterday or yesterday; but what does matter is what you are doing now to build that better future. Forgiveness is the method of travel to your future.
1. Make the choice to forgive. If you want to live a wonderful present and see the bright future the past cannot be what you live. There is a reason why the front windshield of a vehicle is larger than the rear. Make forgiveness the choice and know that until you do; you will live in the past. What you choose to do starts in your mind and today is the day for your mind renewal according to Romans 12:2.
2. Take back your power. When you choose to live in unforgiveness you are choosing to let others have all the power. Forgiveness and unforgiveness alike are not about anyone else but you. When you forgive and start living a life of forgiveness you are not allowing the sins and behaviors of others to put you in bondage. Recognize that people are allowed to treat you the way you allow them to. When they have all the power; they can do what they want. When you remove that power through forgiveness; you and your life will be on the path toward what you are destined for. It’s time for you get back what you have given away through unforgiveness. It took me years; decades to be honest to get the reality that I was living a life with no power because I gave it all away. Unforgiveness strips you of all of it!
3. Start living your real life. You can’t live your real life until you forgive. It is not possible. I can tell you from personal experience that it is not possible. Unforgiveness distorts your thoughts, behaviors; and identity. With all of that distortion how do you think you honestly could build the right life or one even following Christ to the full when God’s Word commands forgiveness? There is a plan for your life and unforgiveness keeps you from it. Once you make the choice to forgive and get your power back; your future belongs to you. And there is much power in that!
Forgiveness is the path to your future. Unforgiveness is the path of the past. It is up to you to decide what you want and the steps to take to getting it. Unfortunately many take the easy way out yet die much too soon. It is the strong that forgive. It is the strong that at all cost; do not give others the control to influence them through such nastiness as unforgiveness. If you want your future; the real future that God has for you it’s time for you to step up and get it. The rewards for obedience are there. The freedom that comes with it is there waiting for you. Everything you could ever dream of is right there- in your future. All you have to do is take this present to get that future and walk away from the past. It’s that simple. Build your future on forgiveness today. Then live in it!
In today’s economy businesses need an advantage; no doubt about that. There is much competition and too many choices for consumers to simply go elsewhere. Some companies focus on being faster while others pride themselves on customer service. All of this is great; except if the employees are living with a hidden secret it is to the downfall of the company. The pitfalls of unforgiveness in business are drastic and not to be hidden any longer.
See; unforgiveness kills. It’s a heart condition that spreads like cancer yet most people recognize it not. If you want your business to flourish deal with the root that is causing the problem. Most problems people have it not external but internal.
1. Unforgiveness decreases cohesiveness among employees. Unforgiving people are not pleasant to be around. Period. If your desire is for your employees to get along and to work as a team; each person is accountable and responsible for what he or she is bringing to the table. If any person in the team allows unforgiveness to enter; then count on the rest of the cousins to come to: bitterness, resentment and perhaps a little bit of anger. It’s hard to expand and grow together when internal strife is what is sitting at the meeting. It’s hard to move toward a healthy positive goal for a company with internal baggage not dealt with. Sure you may think you can put it aside but if that were the case there wouldn’t be so many angry people living in nursing homes! Time doesn’t heal wounds- forgiveness does. Forgive and deal with it for the sake of everyone around you.
2. Unforgivenesses negatively impacts the level of customer service. Customer service is a vital part of any business an if your front line employees are suffering from unforgiveness; chances are the customers feel it. It comes out in the form of impatience, irritability; and again the cousin of bitterness. The other carry along symptoms are some jealousy and envy. Those living in unforgiveness are known to typically have a difficult time serving others because of the baggage and burden of what they carry. Sure one may try to be nice; although most don’t need a degree to spot a phony! I remember working in retail paying my way through college and the holidays were especially tough. I hated seeing all the happy people in the mall shopping and being together. I didn’t have what they had and I was jealous and envious. It carried into my level of service. I couldn’t see it at the time; although of course hindsight is 20/20. I share this with you so that you and your team can deliver the best service with the best right people in the front lines. As forgiveness changes the hearts; it changes the service and the level of it.
3. Unforgiveness inhibits promotion. Because unforgiveness keeps people hindered in relationships; it’s hard to climb the ladder. Not playing well with others is a sign of unforgivness because those living in it are good at being victims of the past. What must be recognized is that everyone has a past and until it’s overcome through forgiveness; the level of promotion will probably not be likely. Promotion includes the ability to lead and if you can’t properly get along with yourself then who else would want to be along for that journey? Those following or attempt to would merely suffer the consequences at the hand of someone your unforgiveness.
As a result; unforgiveness is something to be taken serious in a personal and professional life. Most think it’s just something to be talked about perhaps once a year during the holidays at a church here and there. The thing is that it is vital to the success in life. It is vital to the success in marriage an the health of it. And if you want to be climbing the ladder, to be a leader; to be the next best CEO forgiveness and unforgiveness alike will have that impact on you and your business. Make the choice today to make forgiveness the priority for you and the health of your employees and their better health will impact yours.
There is much talk lately about identity theft and for good reason.What’s sad is that as much as it’s talked about; unless it happens to you there doesn’t appear to be much concern. What’s worse is that when it comes to identity in Christ; it appears even less are concerned. It’s a shame because without forgiveness in Christ there is no pure identity. And without that; people perish. Isn’t it time you got your true identity back?
When we go to the beginning we can see that it was all laid out accordingly; but because of free will people have the choice to grow closer to God; or depart from Him. Before Adam made the choice to be misled by his wife Eve; he had a clear identity and plan. It’s clear in Genesis 2:15-18. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (NIV)
God gave Adam his identity and purpose; He created Him with one and the same is for you too. Obviously God and Adam had a relationship as well which is truly no different than people today; except many choose to forsake God through rebellion. They take what little identity they think they have created to go live a life they think is unto God yet know Him not. God knew Adam and Adam knew God. The plan was for Adam to take care of the garden and expand God’s Kingdom with his lovely wife Eve. What is your purpose? What are you doing to protect your identity in Christ?
While we know that Adam’s sin was putting his wife before obedience to God, that Adam was told to protect all that was in the garden; and that Eve was deceived. What we must recognize is that through the choice to sin; identity was lost. Period. When you make the choice to turn away from God to live your life your way; you lose out and in more ways than you can possibly imagine. Nothing was the same for Adam or Eve. It couldn’t be. Nothing will be the same for you either unless you choose the path of forgiveness in Christ to get your real identity.
Your identity in Christ is really all you have. Period. Outside of that you have and are nothing. Period. Sure you may have a nice title at work; but so what? Who cares? At the end of the day does it define you? And if it does what happens when you lose the job and title? Then do you allow the title of ‘unemployed’ define you? If your identity is found in the beautiful car you flaunt yourself in for everyone to see; why are you thinking so lowly of yourself that that is all you are worth is a car that depreciates every mile you drive? If your identity is created by sleeping with men with hoping they will love you knowing otherwise I want you to know that beyond it all there is something so much bigger in your identity!
You are worth so much more than you have settled for. I know this to be true because I have lived through the pain of not knowing. It wasn’t until I truly understood forgiveness, how to forgive, and what it even is that I started to have an identity. You see; unforgiveness separates you from God. It brings distance between you and Jesus. But once you make the choice to overcome you will have life and to the full. Acts 3:19 is clear: “Repent and seek forgiveness, so that times of refreshing may come.” (NIV) Your identity is part of the refreshing package!
As you forgive and truly seek the Lord for your identity in Him; your life will change. It has to! You will never be the same- in Jesus Name. The things of the past will no longer have the impact they once did. The people who used you, abused you; and reused you will have no power to harm you. They can’t. Those who stole from you will never be able to do because you know who you are in Christ.
The things that you gave away to get what you never could will be a thing of the past. You and your identity will be treasured in ways that could only come from Him. God’s Word is clear that He will never leave you or forsake you; and isn’t it time that you stop forsaking Him? It’s beyond time! It is time now for forgiveness to reign, for your identity to be restored and the real you to stand up for the assignment that He has waiting for you. That is what it is time for!