TODAYS THOUGHTS ALL REVOLVE AROUND FORGIVENESS AND TRYING TO HEAL FROM MY HURTS!!

In most ways, I have not been this happy in I don't know when. And It is not just "happiness", its "JOY" that I am filled with. Happiness can come and go. But the Joy you get from the Lord is yours forever!!!!!!

Its been a pretty good couple of days at work! God has been really working through me to help others and making a difference in a few lives. That is the Joy that I have been filled with. That God would use me to do his work! It is humbling and awesome! I have really enjoyed my job the past week and I pray that it will continue! There are so many people out there that need to be "touched" by God! He needs all of us to help him do that!!

Though I have been on this spiritual high, I have also been slapped in the face with nagging thoughts of a conversation that I feel God has laid on my heart to have with someone. I have prayed about it, tried to think rationally about it, and yet my soul aches because I feel that there is unsaid business. In Fact, today's "Upper Room Devotional" even spoke of this.

Colossians 3:12-17 (NRSV)

As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns,and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

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Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. - Colossians 3:13 (NIV)
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The main point of the Man's story with his wife (IN THE UPPER ROOM DEVOTIONAL) was this......
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"However, scripture's admonitions to forgive are clear and non-negotiable. To
withhold forgiveness would mean that I wanted to hurt her as she had hurt me. As long as I focused on my hurt feelings, whatever had precipitated her anger would remain unresolved. How many times has God forgiven me? I thought. I should do no less for my wife. Only when I was ready to forgive could we identify and resolve the real issue."
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Well that is how I feel with this person. I want to be able to speak face to face and offer my forgiveness and ask for his. Without doing that and without him understanding the Real Issue at hand, Nothing will ever be resolved. Mentally it feels like its killing me in ways.

I OFFER THE FOLLOWING, WHICH I PULLED OUT OF MY OLD NOTES FROM CHURCH. YES, I KEEP NOTES EVERY SUNDAY!! THANK GOD I DO! I REALLY NEED TO REFER BACK TO THEM AT TIMES. ANYWAY, THE NOTES ARE ON .....

"HOW GOD HEALS YOUR HIDDEN WOUNDS"!

STEPS IN GOD'S HEALING PROCESS

1. REVEAL MY HURT

"I kept very quiet... but I became even more upset. I became very angry inside, and as I thought about it, my anger burned." Ps. 39:2-3 (NCV)

"When I kept things to myself, I felt weak deep inside me. I moaned all day long.." Ps 32:3 (NCV)

"You are only hurting yourself with your anger!" Job 18:4 (GN)

2. RELEASE THOSE THAT HURT ME!

"Never pay back evil for evil... never avenge yourselves. Leave that to
God, for He has said that He will repay those who deserve it".
Rom. 12:17 & 19 (LB)

"When Jesus suffered, He did not threaten to get even; He left His case in the hands of God..." 1 Peter 2:23 (LB)

"....A bitter spirit is not only bad in itself but can also poison the lives of many others." Hebrews 12:15 (Ph)

3. REPLACE OLD TAPES WITH GOD'S TRUTHS

"...Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." Rom 12:2b (NLT)

"...Through what Christ would do for us, God decided to make us holy in His
eyes, without a single fault - we stand before Him covered with His love".
Eph 1:4 (LB)

4. REFOCUS ON THE FUTURE

"Put your heart right, reach out to God....then face the world again firm and
courageous. Then all your trouble will fade from your memory, like floods that are past and remembered no more." Job 11:13-16 (GN)

"Look straight ahead with honest confidence; don't hang your head in
shame." Pr 4:25 (GN)

5. REACH OUT TO HELP OTHERS

"God comforts us every time we have trouble, so when others have trouble,
we can comfort them with the same comfort God gives us" 2 Cor 1:4 (NCV)

"When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!" 2 Cor 5:17 (LB)