Thank you Mark ... yes I am blessed! Blessed to be a blessing.
As mentioned in my initial submission, I have deep concern that there are so many sick & suffering people who attend churches. I believe a lot of it is to do with, to my personal experience, wrong, non Word of God teaching plus so many relying on "man" to provide the teaching/guidance instead of quiet times with Father & asking for guidance/direction through His Word ... the Bible.
Over the last 3 years, mainly because of the above, I have attended a church (a building) about 6 times. Every time (likely because I read the Word a lot), I made notes of incorrect teaching. One extreme case was I noted 13 instances of error ... & it appeared that none of the 90-100 in attendance detected these errors. After prayer later that day & evening, I e mailed the Pastor detailing each point (supported with Bible verses) ... I did not get any acknowledgement or reply ... sadly, this has been the same scenario in the other 5 churches ... even when I spoke personally to the Pastor after the service ... yes, in each church there were a considerable number of sick & troubled people.
The Lord directed me to "How to get & stay well" about 18 months after I committed my life to Him ... almost 26 years without even a headache, cold or ache .... I am believing this will also help so many people ... I have shared it hundreds of times in many places.
Forgiveness .. the power that heals – my story!
Since 1992 I have been free of illness, back pain, have no need of prescription glasses, have no need for pain killers or medication - no headaches, aches or pains, etc.
Attached is a brochure that I was given in 1992 - "Forgiveness, the power that heals” (see below)
(Please read this brochure before reading any further)
Over the few years prior to 1992, I had suffered crippling back/body pain, the "usual" colds, flu, etc., etc. even though (through a "string" of events) I was drawn to seek God and I made a life commitment to Him on 7 October 1990.)
A few days later I read the brochure. I sat alone on my back verandah, with a pad and pen (to show God I was serious), and I appealed to God to remind me of anyone that I had
not forgiven (I thought I had forgiven everyone).
The very first names I was given were my Grandfather and Grandmother. I promptly questioned God, "Why do I have to forgive them? They died before I was born!" His prompt reply was, "Because you resented them dying because you didn't have grandparents like other children did!" I replied, "Yes, that's true." I wrote down their names.
Over the next hour I wrote out about a page and a half of names (people who had wronged me) at school, a teacher, work associates, etc. etc. and of course myself for various things I had "buried".
I then imagined Jesus beside me and one by one, I pictured each of the people coming to me. I forgave them and related why I needed to forgive them. Then I asked Jesus to forgive them and then they disappeared from view. That took about an hour and 1/2.
WOW, what a difference in my life. The "ailments disappeared and my understanding of God's forgiveness and love was powerfully strengthened. I have not taken a headache tablet since. I used to wear prescription glasses. I am not on any medication. I have no aches or pains and I can't remember the last time I had a cold.
Luke 1:37 For with God nothing is ever impossible {and} no word from God shall be without power {or} impossible of fulfilment. (all He wants is for us to seek His help).
Unfortunately, most people hold onto their resentments, hurts, etc. Quite often they think, "I will never forgive ..... for what he/she did to me!" Sadly, this binds them to the hurt (and creates a spiritual "tie" to the person who hurt them). Forgiveness (with God's help) is the only way to cut that "tie". (Sometimes they even blame God (or those they think represents God on earth) for their troubles. Once the "blockage" of un-forgiveness is gone, this opens the way for numerous "blessings" to come into people's lives.
Over my life, so many times I have heard people cry out, "O God help me!" - usually after years of suffering and attempting to "solve" the problem by numerous other "worldly" ways (or when they are in a desperate situation that they think they can't escape from).
I know what I have shared will help anyone who "Gives this a go!".
Please share this with anyone else who thinks there is no escape from the suffering they are experiencing. They deserve a chance to choose! As a bonus, they can then seek to be free of any other physical, emotional, spiritual burdens.
God wants all people to be free (see Luke 4:18-19)... all He asks is for them to believe and put their trust in Him. (Even if it takes them years of suffering, pain, etc to get to that point.). Read prayerfully Matt 6:15
But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses. (this verse is immediately after "The Lord's Prayer" ... I wonder how many follow it?)
Brian McMichan
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Forgiveness: The Power That Heals
By Dick Innes
Some years ago during a visit to Yellowstone Park, one writer observed that the only animal that the grizzly bear would share his food with was a skunk.
It wasn't that the grizzly wanted to share his food but rather that he chose to. With one swing of his powerful paw he could have crushed the skunk.
Because he knew the high cost to getting even.
Clever bear! Undoubtedly he learned the hard way. Strange that we humans often aren't as smart. Sometimes we carry grudges for years, often repressing them from conscious memory, and end up hurting ourselves more than the ones we would like to get even with. We fail to see how damaging an unforgiving spirit is.
Physicians and counselors alike attest to the damage done by failing to forgive. Some medical doctors estimate that the majority of illnesses they treat are related to emotional problems such as resentment which is a lack of forgiveness. And counselors see the roots of bitterness reflected in depression, anxiety, and destroyed relationships.
I read one report of an astonished patient who was told by his doctor: "If you don't cut out your resentments, I may have to cut out a part of your intestinal tract."
Fortunately, the man took the doctor's advice. He had been nursing a bitter grudge against a former business partner. He went to see this man, resolved their differences, and forgave him. When he returned to the doctor, his physical condition had cleared up.
Not to forgive is to be
imprisoned by the past.
That advice isn't new of course. The greatest physician who ever lived, Jesus Christ, pointed out 2,000 years ago the importance of forgiveness. When he encouraged us to "forgive seventy-seven times," he was thinking of our emotional and physical well-being as much as our spiritual. In his book,
None of These Diseases, Dr. S. I. McMillen reported that a forgiving spirit could save us from "ulcerative colitis, toxic goiters, high blood pressure, and scores of other diseases" including ulcers, asthma, arthritis, neuro-dermatitis, and heart ailments—all possible effects of resentment.
Some time ago in an article in
Time1 inspired by Pope John Paul's forgiveness of his would-be assassin, Mehmet Ali Agca, journalist Lance Morrow wrote, "The psychological case for forgiveness is overwhelmingly persuasive. Not to forgive is to be imprisoned by the past, by old grievances that do not permit life to proceed with new business.
"Not to forgive is to yield oneself to another's control. If one does not forgive, then one is controlled by the other's initiatives and is locked into a sequence of act and response, of outrage and revenge, tit for tat, escalating always. The present is endlessly overwhelmed and devoured by the past."
But to forgive is to be free from the past.
Jesus Christ pointed out another disturbing truth about an unforgiving spirit when he said "If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”2
I believe what Christ meant was that an unforgiving spirit on my part is a sure sign that I haven't truly shown remorse to God for all my failures nor experienced fully his forgiveness.
Furthermore, an unforgiving attitude is destructive to personal relationships. It goes without saying that many close relationships, especially marriage relationships, are destroyed not so much by what has been done but by what hasn't been done—forgiving one another.
Wherever I fail to forgive another, a wall of resentment builds up between us and eventually we become estranged. But once I forgive, feelings of love can be restored if that is appropriate. I say "if that is appropriate" because there are times, such as in cases of abuse or a lack of repentance, when forgiveness should not lead to restoration of the relationship.
However, forgiveness needs to be genuine and not just a religious or sentimental act because it is "the right thing to do." If our forgiveness isn't genuine, resentment will poke its ugly head out at the most unexpected times—like when a couple get into an argument, they start dragging up events from the past that they still feel resentful about. Obviously those things haven't been forgiven. Forgiveness may not forget the past but it can bury it.
Forgiveness can be very difficult if we have been hurt deeply but how do we forgive someone when he doesn't even feel he has wronged us?
According to one author, Susan Jacoby, we can't. She feels that "real forgiveness cannot take place without an acknowledgment of wrongdoing on the part of the person who is chiefly responsible for causing pain."3
If this is so, some of us are going to carry grudges for a long, long time. True, when a person acknowledges his wrongdoing, that certainly makes forgiveness easier. But when he doesn't, which is often the case, forgiveness becomes a choice. We can choose to forgive or not to forgive.
How do we forgive someone when he doesn't even feel he has wronged us?
We need to realize, however, that forgiveness is essential perhaps not so much for the wrong that has happened to us, but because of our resentment towards the one who has wronged us. Lack of forgiveness is caused by this resentment—a mixture of hurt and anger. Therefore, to forgive genuinely, one needs to face and deal with his hurt and anger.
To resolve our hurt and anger, we need to be totally honest and admit exactly how we feel. Then we need to get these feelings off our chest-not by lashing out and hurting the other person, but by "speaking the truth in love,"4 or by writing out our feelings until they are completely dissipated.
To forgive another, however, is not to ignore justice. Pope John Paul forgave his would-be-assassin, but the man stayed in prison, and rightly so. And where we want others to forgive us, if we are genuine, we will want to do all in our power to make a just restitution.
When God forgives us, he does so on the basis of both his justice and his love. His justice required a just sentence and confirmed death as the penalty or price of man's sin. But his love paid that price when he gave his Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross in our place as the just retribution for our sins and wrongs. Therefore, God can freely forgive us and not in any way violate his divine justice.
The important thing is that we respond to God's love and forgiveness by acknowledging our sin and wrongdoing and accepting his free pardon. And then, in appreciation to God for his forgiveness of us, let us freely forgive other as we ourselves have been so freely forgiven.5
Forgiveness frees and heals the forgiver. Have you been freed?
For further help be sure to read, "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian" at:
http://tinyurl.com/real-christian
1.
Time, Jan. 9, 1984. 2. Matthew 6:14-15, (
NIV). 3.
McCall's, 1983. 4. Ephesians 4:15.
5. Colossians 3:12-13.
All articles on this website are written by
Richard (Dick) Innes unless otherwise stated.
BVM note: Soon after his baptism (being immersed in the River Jordan , leaving His old “self” behind & coming up as Jesus the Christ) and returning from 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus announced His purpose for coming to earth as a man …to free mankind of (spiritual) captivity and blindness.
Baptism is a step of faith with Jesus ... whether in a river, a lake, a pond, the ocean ... or even under your shower ... take that step and He will do the rest.
…..
He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], (read Luke 4:18-19)
As advised in the first part of this leaflet, un-forgiveness imprisons you … forgiveness is Jesus’ advice to bring you along the path to freedom. Ask Him to help you forgive
everyone that has wronged you throughout your life. Forgiveness cuts the spiritual tie with the person(s) that wronged you and Father’s Holy Spirit does the cutting.
