The thing is...forgiveness largely costs us nothing except the cost of swallowing our pride, taking any losses, and moving forward.
Forgiveness is a miracle from God and so are the benefits of forgiveness.
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Choose Love and Forgiveness
Science has discovered that when my "relational circuits" are turned off, I will not succeed. I can't grow, love, give or receive life. When I am judging rather than loving, people feel uncomfortable being around me and withdraw from the unpleasantness. Alone, I am stymied. The Bible adds to this the fact that I can't experience the anointing of the Holy Spirit, have joy, health, or anything else God provides for me in His Kingdom. Jesus demonstrated that Kingdom power rides on the wave of Kingdom compassion (Matt. 14:14).
God's solution is that I forgive everyone from my heart and I honor and love with deep compassion. Then joy can return. Peace can return. Health can return. Anointing can return. Life can return. Abundance can return. Then I once again experience the blessings of the Kingdom lifestyle.
How God Restored Kingdom Emotions of Joy and Peace to My Broken Heart
I recall the greatest hurt of my adult life was when I was unceremoniously fired from the church I had worked in for several years. I was so full of anger that within six months I had arthritis in my fingers. This hurt was removed when I used inner healing prayer, where I invited Jesus to step into the painful scene in my mind and show His perspective on it. He told me He had set up this firing from my job to move me forward so I could fulfill my destiny. Without this termination, I would never have had the courage to step out on the water and believe that God's miracle-working power would provide for me and open up a way to fulfill my destiny of saturating the world with the message of communion with God.
After this inner-healing encounter, the Lord told me I could choose to live in anger and judgment toward those who fired me, and if I did, my spirit would shrivel up, my health would shrivel up and my ministry would shrivel up. Or I could see His hand in this trauma, working all things out for good, and I could be thankful that they threw me out of the nest when I was too afraid to leave because I didn't believe I could fly on my own. (Photo via Unsplash)
I chose to embrace what God said and become thankful that they fired me, and I chose to forgive them for the harsh way in which it was handled. Within one week, all arthritis had left my fingers. Now, 35 years later, we have 15,000 students in 129 nations who have taken our training on communion with God, and millions have learned the four keys to hearing God's voice. My destiny is being fulfilled.
Notice the Relationship Between Kingdom Emotions and Kingdom Power:
• It is when we dwell together in unity that the oil (i.e. anointing) flows (Ps. 133).
• When they were in one accord, they were baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues (Acts 2:1-4).
• Jesus, moved by compassion, healed (Matt. 14:14).
• The Kingdom is joy and peace (Rom. 14:17).
• Love must be at the center of the ninefold manifestation of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12-14).
In each of the above cases, love, unity and compassion precede the flow of the oil/anointing/miracle-working power of the Holy Spirit. So science agrees with the Bible. If I want life to work, I must be walking in loving, harmonious relationships. Hundreds of verses in the Bible confirm this.
Hearing God's Voice Will Cause Me to Walk in Harmonious Relationships
When I began hearing God's voice through two-way journaling, I encountered unconditional, incomprehensible love. He continually tells me to love and forgive others. He even taught me how to restore my ability to feel emotions, which I had cut off as being soulish. He told me to do three things to restore emotions to my life: 1) to understand that Jesus ministered as He was moved by compassion; 2) to see that King David had emotions and expressed them all openly to God and that was fine; and 3) to note how tenderly God loved me in my two-way journaling, and to love others the same way.
The New Testament is full of instruction on maintaining harmonious relationships.
The verses below will get you started on embracing God's emphasis on the priority of harmonious relationships. (Photo via Unsplash)
1. "...Pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another." (Rom. 14:19)
2. "...Be renewed in the spirit of your mind...we are members of one another...do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity... Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God... Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." (Eph. 4:23, 25-26, 29-32)
3. 36 "one-another" commandments in the Bible.
Journaling Application Questions – Record His Answers
• Lord, have I fallen out of a relational posture where I am no longer expressing Your love toward those I touch?
• Lord, am I in a fight-or-flight posture where I just want a problem, person or feeling to go away? Do I want to challenge, judge or fix a person?
• Lord, is my mind "locked onto" something upsetting and I don't want to listen to what others feel or say, nor do I want to be connected to __________?
• Lord, how I can restore a relational posture?
• Lord, what would You have me understand so I can be thankful concerning this person or situation?
• Lord, how do You want me to respond?
• Lord, what is the gift You desire to bring forth through this situation?
Principle: A hurt is healed when you can see the gift God has produced through it.
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Dr. Mark Virkler
President, Christian Leadership University (CLU)
Communion With God Ministries
Email: cwg@cwgministries.org
Website: cwgministries.org | cluonline.com
Mark and Patti Virkler are the founders of Communion With God Ministries. They have co-authored 50+ books. Their writings are unique in that they are designed to draw the learner into revelation-based learning. Mark has received a Master of Theology from Miami Christian University and a Ph.D. from Carolina Christian University. Patti has received a Master of Ministry and Doctorate of Ministry from Vision International University. Their focus has never been on degrees, but simply growing to maturity in the Lord. Degrees are viewed as incidental accomplishments and signposts along the road of life which can sometimes open up people's hearts and minds to hear, listen, and learn what they have to share. They have two children, Charity and Joshua.
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If "forgiveness" and its benefits could be bottled and sold in pill form, even requiring a prescription, many would spend their last dollar on Earth to gain even just the health benefits alone – for walking in forgiveness.
