Saturday Song: 5 Man Electrical Band, "Absolutely Right"

It sure is hard to apologize, especially when the other person is right. That's what this song is about. The man in the song acted stupidly and came to realize he was in the wrong.

Listen to this Canadian rock band's song here:

Jesus had much to say about forgiveness. After teaching about church discipline Peter asked a question about personal forgiveness. Matthew 18:21 and 22 (BBE) records, "Then Peter came and said to him, 'Lord, what number of times may my brother do wrong against me, and I give him forgiveness? till seven times?' Jesus says to him, 'I say not to you, Till seven times; but, Till seventy times seven.'"

Some occasions require that we make peace with our adversaries in order to prevent harm to ourselves. Jesus warned his hearers, and us as well, in Matthew 5:25 (BBE), "Come to an agreement quickly with him who has a cause against you at law, while you are with him on the way, for fear that he may give you up to the judge and the judge may give you to the police and you may be put into prison."

Jesus also connected forgiveness toward one another with forgiveness from God. We read of this in Mark 11:25 (BBE) where he said, "And whenever you make a prayer, let there be forgiveness in your hearts, if you have anything against anyone; so that you may have forgiveness for your sins from your Father who is in heaven."

We also note from Galatians 6:1 (BBE) that forgiveness and love are inseparable. "Brothers, if a man is taken in any wrongdoing, you who are of the Spirit will put such a one right in a spirit of love; keeping watch on yourself, for fear that you yourself may be tested."

Jesus also warned us about the danger of not forgiving others. Matthew 6:14 and 15 (BBE) says, "For if you let men have forgiveness for their sins, you will have forgiveness from your Father in heaven. But if you do not let men have forgiveness for their sins, you will not have forgiveness from your Father for your sins."

So we know that forgiveness is an act of love and God is pleased when we write off wrongs done to us. That's what forgiveness is.

On Monday, I hope to post on the subject of why we must love those who hate us.

Need We Be "Prayed Up"?

Have you heard evangelical Christians use the phrase "prayed up" to mean that they're fully protected by God? We must repent of any sins we might have committed or any omission of Christ's commands but will he still protect us if we forget to ask? I see nothing in the Bible which even hints that we should be "prayed up."

some people misapply Psalm 66:18 (KJV) which reads, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:" Regarding iniquity means to cherish a sin instead of repenting of it.

The Lord is always willing to forgive us when we ask for his forgiveness and mean it. Psalm 34:18 (KJV) promises, "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."

Likewise, Psalm 51:17 (KJV)states, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."

And look at what Isaiah 66:2 (KJV) declares. "'For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been,' saith the LORD: 'but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.'"

"But that's just the Old Testament," some might be saying. Oh? Look at what  Christ's favourite disciple wrote in 1 John 1:9 (KJV), "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

In my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven, I plan on writing about the superstitions which keep people out of heaven. Relying on anybody or anything other than God is idolatry, even upon being "prayed up."

Is it Too Late to Repent?

If you're still alive, it isn't too late to repent of your wicked ways and follow Christ. Many people think they can't be forgiven because they've done such horrible things. The good news is that Christ will NEVER turn away ANYBODY who begs his forgiveness.

Believe it or not, some of the worst people in history have been forgiven. Even the Bible shows a long list of rogues who put their trust in the Lord.

Moses was a murderer. He killed an Egyptian task master for violently beating a Hebrew slave. He went from being an adopted prince to a fugitive, then he became the deliverer of the Israelites.

King David raped Bathsheba and arranged for her husband to be killed in battle. David abused his power as king but because he tearfully repented, the Lord forgave him. The son born to Bathsheba died but the king realized that he would go to be with him someday in heaven.

I could list others, such as a murderous religious fanatic named Saul who later became Paul the apostle, but this post would become far too long. Suffice it to say that God is exceptionally patient and desires that nobody go to hell. Instead, he has magnanimously allowed us to choose our eternal destination.

Though I repented and gave my life over to Christ in 1969, Nobody mentored me. After fifteen years in a cult and nine years of rejecting God, he providentially led me to the truth. Contact me about the memoir I wrote called How I Was Razed.

NINE DOLLARS WAS MORE THAN I WAS WORTH

Forgiveness is an idea which people interpret in different ways. Some assume forgiving a person means condoning their actions. I used to be one who believed that. Now I know that forgiveness means writing off a debt. It doesn't mean that whoever created that debt didn't sin against somebody in doing what they did.

If I still held to my former position on forgiveness, I would still be burdened with what my Mom did on a blisteringly-hot August day in 1970. After visiting Edmonton's Storyland Valley Zoo, as it was called then, Mom made Diane, Linda, and me walk through a wealthy neighbourhood called Rio Terrace. "Look at all these rich people's houses," Mom enthused. "Wouldn't it be wonderful to live in one of those."

I didn't care at all about those homes. All I wanted to do was get out of the heat. "Why can't we take a bus downtown instead of walking?" I complained as the sun beat down on us. "I'm so hot and tired."

"I want you to see these houses," she explained. "Your friend Randy lives in one of those. His dad's a lawyer, you know."

I felt better once we were in the bus depot, out of the ninety-degree heat. For our supper, Mom bought us each a hot dog and a bottle of pop from the cafe. After she purchased our tickets, we waited next to the Greyhound bus for the driver to collect our tickets.

As I stood with the rest of the family, the Diesel fumes made me feel queasy. Dizziness suddenly came over me and I saw what looked like ashes floating around in front of my face. I staggered around, knocking over somebody's suitcase as I fell to my knees. I heard cries of alarm from nearby passengers as Mom demanded to know what I thought I was doing.

Somebody from the security office helped me into a room and let me throw up in a waste bin. By the time I felt well enough to stand, our bus had left. Mom reluctantly hired a taxi to take the four of us to Fort Saskatchewan, about 20 miles away.

I went straight to our basement bedroom and lay down once we arrived home. As I rested, Mom stormed down the stairs and into our room. "You damn little shit," she yelled. "Why the hell did you have to get sick for? You cost me nine dollars you know. Damn that makes me mad. You had to be so stupid and embarrass me in front of all those people too." Then she stormed back upstairs.

Though I forgave my mother for being so hard on me when I was ill, the memory of her anger over the loss of nine dollars still hurts me but not so much as it used to. The same is true of others who unfairly condemned me. Read about how I was able to let go of past hurts in How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity. It's available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Virtual Bookworm Publishers.