Forgive You

Forgive You by Kirk Hunt

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

Mark 11:25-26 NKJV

Forgiveness is not for them. Forgiveness is for you. You should forgive, daughter or son of God.

Real forgiveness is the act of acknowledging the offense happened, but no longer holding it against the offender, or considering the offense again. Imagine you open the prison cell door of the offender. Then you leave the prison, never to return. Who is the one set free?

In the moment you forgive, you put it behind you. Circumstances may remind you on occasion. You acknowledge it happened but then you resume what God is doing with you now.

Forgiveness cannot create reconciliation or restoration, but makes it possible. Forgiveness does not restore what was lost, but sets the stage for what will come. Forgiveness keeps your heart and spirit available to what God has for you now.

When God considers you and your errors, what does He see? A soul stuck in resentment and grievance? Or a soul seeking Him in peace, free from what has gone before?

Think: Forgive them to your own benefit.

Pray: “Father-God, help me to forgive as I want to be forgiven.

Copyright © August 2022, Kirk Hunt

This devotional is brought to you courtesy of CadreMen Press. You can purchase a copy of Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals For Gospel Champions from your favorite bookseller or directly from CadreMen Press.

Seek The Peace

Seek The Peace by Kirk Hunt

And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.

Jeremiah 29:7-8 NKJV

God’s people have been called to seek the peace of the city where they live. Not to suddenly establish a theocracy through force. God draws men and women to himself through our loving witness of Him. Christianity has never expanded through the use of bayonets or inquisitors.

In fact, the opposite is true. Christians dying in the Colosseum or suffering in prison won over pagan Rome. The persecution of Christians has always expanded the Church.

Consider the example of Boarding Schools, too often run by religious organizations. They are being revealed as destroyers of life, complicit tools of cultural genocide. That is because they were not seeking peace, but something else.

If God’s people pray in sincerity and truth, He will hear us and heal our land. If God’s people pray for peace where we are, God will faithfully bless us with peace. And that will open the door to our loving witness of Him.

Think: God’s people should see the peace, wherever we find ourselves.

Pray: “Father-God, make me an instrument of Your peace.

Copyright © August 2022, Kirk Hunt

This devotional is brought to you courtesy of CadreMen Press. You can purchase a copy of Blessed and Blessing: Devotionals For Gospel Champions from your favorite bookseller or directly from CadreMen Press.