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Sounds
of Deliverance Newsletter A
publication of: One
Faith Publications San
Angelo, Texas Thursday,
March 07, 2002 Blessed
be the name of the Lord Yahshua! Another week has come and gone and it is time
for the newsletter to go out once more. I praise the name of
our Redeemer, Benefactor, Provider, Defender, Protector, and Healer who reigns
forever more! Thank you Father for allowing us another week of living
in your presence and for giving us the privilege of knowing your mercy and
experiencing your benevolence through the many ways in which you demonstrate
to us your perfect and righteous goodness. Matt
6:14, 15 For
if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you: But
if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your
trespasses. As
I meditated on the subject of this week’s newsletter, I came across this
passage in Scripture that left me thinking about the ramifications or
far-reaching effects of not forgiving. We have all heard “I forgive, but I
can’t forget” from someone at one time or another. I can tell you that I
have had to face my own inability to forgive in that regard. When we first
hear or understand that it is necessary to forgive, we often seek to
compromise by forgiving but not forgetting. We feel as though we can protect
ourselves from further injury from that person or persons if we just keep in
mind how they behave and keep a certain distance from him, her, or them. I am
not exaggerating in telling you that this is a very painful matter for people
who have been deeply hurt. It
is, however, the very root of what will later become a tree of bitterness on
which all manner of unclean birds (spirits) can then make their nest. These
unclean birds bring with them all manner of disease, guilt, and anger.
Scripture says, “Above all else, guard your heart; for it is the wellspring
of life.” (Prov. 4:23) This is the reason we are exhorted by the Master to
completely release all who have injured or wronged us from the prison of our
heart. Although we fear that forgetting may put us in harms way again, we must
do, as our Lord commands, in full trust that He knows what He is doing. An
excellent example of forgiveness would be Joseph in the Tanahk. (Old
Testament) I
sincerely cannot imagine going through what Joseph did in the treatment he
received from his brothers, yet, he perceived the matter with extremely wise
perception. He came to understand that God had engineered the whole matter so
as to save many lives, including those of the very ones who betrayed him. If
Joseph had been a vengeful man, he later was certainly in a position to carry
out whatever punishment he saw fit against his brothers. It was only his
obedience to God’s will and his love of God’s mercy that kept him in
proper balance. He did not take his eyes off of God’s purpose for his life
and was therefore able to consider even the betrayal by his brothers as an
integral part of the whole plan of God. There must have been times during his
prison years that Joseph asked our Father, “why?” I don’t think we ought
to make Joseph superhuman and pretend that he did not have questions. The
important part is that he trusted God in the face of such adversity, that he
became the instrument that God used to save not only Israel from starvation,
but also the very nation from which He would have to deliver them some 430
years later. Here
is the heart of Joseph as he deals with his brothers who have not forgiven
themselves for what they did to him. Gen
50:15-17 When
Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if
Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to
him?"
So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these
instructions before he died: 'this
is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins
and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive
the sins of the servants of the God of your father." When their message
came to him, Joseph wept. I
can hear Joseph saying to his brothers in his heart, “I am so grieved that
you have not known me. You were delivered into my hand and I could not do
anything but love you because you are my brothers, the very seed of my father.
My heart could not imagine evil against you, nor have I withheld my love and
acceptance from you. I am only hurt that you have not seen me as I truly
am.” The
very fear they had of reprisal kept them from seeing and enjoying the love of
their brother more for so long. Their own unforgiveness toward themselves
blinded their eyes to the love he had for them. How they must have dreaded and
worried about that day when their father would pass away and they would be
left to answer to Joseph for what they had done. I wonder to what extent this
caused them to distance themselves from Joseph while their father was yet
living? Oh
Heavenly Father, please teach us to forgive as you forgive. Help us to
understand the need for forgiveness in the Body of Messiah. Let us love one
another as you have loved us and let us accept one another even as you have
accepted us. Let your love cover us and thereby cover a multitude of sins,
which we have committed against one another by allowing ourselves to become
divided. Teach us to love your truth, your people, and your mercy with clean
hearts. Remove from us any root of bitterness that could contaminate the water
flowing from our innermost being. Set us free from all unforgiveness this very
day in the name of Yahshua our Savior. Amen Grow
in the knowledge of His Word and be blessed. Shalom
Aleikhem (Peace be unto you) Ydidyh Ben Yisrael If
you would like to read more concerning the topic of this newsletter and the
unity of the one true faith, please place an order for the book: Click on title to read excerpts and details on how to order.
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