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Markethive

How to Follow God’s Commands

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Jonah’s story shows us what happens when we disobey God’s commands

Written by GodLife on 20/03/2018
Series: Weekly Devotional
Tags: Grace, Mercy, Obedience, Commands, God
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Jonah 1:1-3
When I started college, I felt God commanding me to fully commit to a church family so that He could work through fellow believers to shape me more like Jesus.

How did I respond? I disobeyed and my life hit a sorrowful low as I continued to ignore the commands of Jesus. It was only by God’s grace and mercy that He received me back and I began to take his commands seriously again.

Have you ever tried to avoid a direct command from the Lord?

A story in the Bible of a prophet named Jonah shows us more clearly what can happen when a believer of God directly disobeys His commands – and it also reveals a lot about God’s true character.

Listening to God’s commands
We should first answer a question that many people have: “Why should we listen to God’s commands? How can we be sure God has our best interests at heart?” The Apostle Paul gives us an answer that provides a lot of hope.

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32)

The Bible also makes it clear that following God’s commands proves our love for Jesus and appreciation for the sacrifice He made for us on the cross.

“And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.” (2 John 1:6)

So how do we know what to follow? Well, God made it pretty easy by laying out many specific commands for us in the Scriptures, including well-known ones like ‘do not kill,’ ‘do not covet’ and others in the Ten Commandments. But he also speaks to us on a personal level – as He did in my story above – and guides us which way we should go throughout our daily lives.The Lord wants us to grow into a deeper communion with Him. We can't do that if we disregard His commands, like Jonah did. Embracing His will for us is the best way to get to know Him better.

What happens when we disobey
As seen in Jonah’s story, things go completely sideways when Jonah ignores God’s commands.

The Lord called Jonah to go to Nineveh and call it out of its sin (Jonah 1:1-3). Jonah didn’t want to do this because he felt the Ninevites, an enemy of the Jewish people, didn’t deserve the grace of God, so he ran from God.

Following his disobedience, Jonah was caught in a heavy storm while on a ship and was thrown overboard where he is then swallowed by a large fish (Jonah 1:11-15).

God was making it clear to Jonah that he saw his disobedience and was not happy with it. As a result of Jonah’s disobedience, his life was thrown into chaos and he was not experiencing what God intended him to. But God also orchestrated these events in Jonah’s life so that he had no choice but to obey Him. God may not always act so obviously in our lives when we disobey Him, but this story shows how serious God is about his followers truly following Him. 

After some grumbling, Jonah ended up in Nineveh and reluctantly followed God’s command to call Nineveh out of its sin (Jonah 3:1-5). And a funny thing happened: they repented immediately (Jonah 3:6-9)! 

God’s character revealed
This is what God wanted all along, in order to show that His great grace and mercy is available to everyone, even to people that were once enemies of Him and His people. In fact, we were all once like the Ninevites – enemies of God because of our sin – but the grace and love of God is greater than any sin we can imagine.

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8).

This opportunity for repentance was only available because Jonah eventually obeyed God’s commands. What could God do through us if we are serious about obeying His commands?

Pray this week:
“God, help me trust Your will for my life and teach me to listen to your commands. I trust that your plan for my life is the best for me. Thank you for your grace and mercy. Amen.”

How have you disobeyed God this week and how can you make steps to obey Him in the week ahead?

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Bitcoin BTC Price Watch – More Buyers Waiting to Join

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Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch - More Buyers Waiting to Join

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Watch – More Buyers Waiting to Join

 

Bitcoin Price Key Highlights

  • Bitcoin price is still on a tear, making its way up to the top of an ascending channel on the 1-hour chart.

  • Price could be due for a pullback to the channel bottom from here in order to gain more bullish momentum.

  • The Fib levels on the latest swing low and high show the areas where buyers might be waiting.

Bitcoin price could be due for a quick pullback from its ongoing climb as buyers wait to hop in at better prices.

 

Technical Indicators Signals

The 100 SMA is safely above the longer-term 200 SMA to confirm that the path of least resistance is to the upside. In other words, the uptrend is more likely to resume than to reverse.

The gap between the moving averages is also widening to signal strengthening buying momentum. The 100 SMA lines up with the 38.2% Fib at $6,800 while the 200 SMA is closer to the bottom of the channel, which might be the line in the sand for a bullish pullback.

In addition, this is near the area of interest or former resistance around $6,700 which might hold as support moving forward. If so, bitcoin price could resume the move to the swing high or the top of the channel closer to $7,200.

RSI is on the move down, though, so there may be some bearish pressure left. This oscillator has a bit of room to head south before indicating oversold conditions, so the correction could go on for a bit longer.

Similarly stochastic is pointing down to confirm that sellers are in control for now. Once both oscillators hit oversold levels and start turning back up, buying pressure could return and allow the climb to resume.

Speculations for a rebound until the end of the year are being revived as traders are now turning their attention to potential approval from the SEC when it comes to bitcoin ETF applications.

 

SARAH JENN | AUGUST 29, 2018 | 4:03 AM

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Seven Truths About Christianity

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Religion or relationship?

Written by Janet Perez Eckles on 28/08/2018
Series: Weekly Devotional
Tags: Fear, Relationship, Truth, Religion
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

John 15:15
The best part of speaking before any group is what happens afterwards. Often times, folks stop and chat with me. This past week, that very thing happened.

A man shook my hand. “I was touched by your message,” he said, “and I just want to know how you deal with the fact that the disease with your eyes is hereditary?”

“What do you mean?” I said.

“Well, I have a disease. It’s hereditary, and I can’t let go the worry and total fear my child will inherit it. I’m afraid of the future.”

He paused. “And I don’t have any religion…don’t believe in much of anything.”

I wanted to give him a huge hug and whisper in his ear, “You don’t need a religion, you need a relationship with Jesus to set you free from that worry and fear.”

Forgive me for being presumptuous. But if you are one of those who believe that religion is the answer, here are seven truths to ponder upon:

Religion offers rituals, Jesus offers a personal relationship.
Religions can change; Jesus is the same today, tomorrow and forever.
Religion works to win grace, Jesus becomes the grace we can work under.
Religion doesn’t offer forgiveness; Jesus became the forgiveness for our sin.
Religion offers no miracles; Jesus delights in performing them.
Religion doesn’t take you to heaven; Jesus took the blame so we could enter it.
Religions bind us; Jesus sets us free.
When we spend sleepless nights, we wring our hands about the uncertainty of tomorrow, and mistakenly, we go by the way of religion, that’s why Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

Pray this week:
Lord, forgive me for trying to reduce you to a religion. I want to know you and live this life as your friend. You are the Way the Truth and the Life. Guide me to help others know and follow you too. Amen.

What rules your life these days: nothing in particular, a religion or a relationship with Christ, the Savior?

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

CHARLIE SHREM TALKS BITCOIN HODLING AND THE FUTURE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY

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CHARLIE SHREM TALKS BITCOIN, HODLING, AND THE FUTURE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY

CHARLIE SHREM TALKS BITCOIN, HODLING, AND THE FUTURE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY

Charlie Shrem sat down with Yahoo Finance recently to discuss his thoughts on the present and future states of cryptocurrency.

THE STARTING LINE

Charlie Shrem, early Bitcoin $6901.27 +0.1% adopter and founder of BitInstant and Crypto.IQ was interviewed by JP Mangalindan of Yahoo Finance on Sunday. The sit-down took place at the MoneyShow conference in San Francisco last Thursday.

Shrem gave the audience some nuggets of wisdom and advice, while also discussing his thoughts on the current cryptocurrency market and its future trajectory.

The pair began by discussing Shrem’s early days in the dawn of Bitcoin — running the largest bitcoin exchanges at the time in the early 2000’s, followed by a stint in prison after selling Bitcoins to resell on the now-defunct ‘black market’ website, The Silk Road.

After serving two years, Shrem teamed up with Randall Oser to create Crypto.IQ, which offers a membership service that includes access to portfolios, cryptocurrency analysis, reports, and education.

 

A PHOENIX FROM THE ASHES

When asked about his take on the current state of Bitcoin, Shrem took the chance to remind new investors that historically, it hasn’t been all sunny days for the cryptocurrency markets. He stated:

A lot of crypto people aren’t traders, traders know there are bull and bear markets. A lot of crypto people think it’s always bull.

Shrem does not seem discouraged by the current bear market. “It’s during these bear markets,” he said invoking ideas of creative destruction, “it’s when things die, things are born and rebuilt.”

GETTING IN — GETTING INTRIGUED

With the number of existing cryptocurrencies exploding to over 1,800, many are bound to die out in time. Shrem noted that the cryptocurrency space has become much more competitive due to the large number of different projects. Bear market cycles are necessary to shake out projects that have no real-world value.

The huge proliferation of cryptocurrency projects also allows people more avenues to become a part of the cryptocurrency economy.

Shrem praised projects that are legitimate and genuinely attention-grabbing of new people saying, “It’s getting people in. It’s getting people intrigued.”

He advised those who are just beginning to invest, “Choose an amount that you’d be okay with losing.” he continued, “Invest [that amount] in a basket of crypto and just have fun with it. Just enjoy it and learn.”

Shrem recommended locking up the investment to allow it to mature for five years.

 

‘PUTTING MY MONEY ON 2019’

Mangalindan asked Shrem how to respond to those concerned about the volatility and price of Bitcoin. Shrem responded optimistically, “It was a crazy move. We went from $1,000 to $20,000. The market has to digest that.”

Shrem and other long-time investors realize that the current bear market is simply following the pattern of experiencing periods with large-percentage gains, and subsequent corrections.

Shrem is still bullish on Bitcoin $6901.27 +0.1% claiming, “Honestly, I’m a buyer between $5,000 and $6,000. “Shrem was also asked about his thoughts on the recent rejection of Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) by the SEC, a topic that has garnered a great deal of media coverage lately. Some investors are claiming that ETFs will make the price skyrocket, others think ETFs will have only a small effect on the market.

“We’re not ready for an ETF.” said Shrem, “The market is too liquid, it’s too manipulatable.” He cited the recent pump of Bitcoin price during maintenance on the BitMEX exchange as an example.

“We only have a first shot at it.” Shrem stated, “We have an ETF, something happens, we get screwed, they shut it down. Do you know how hard it’s going to be to have an ETF again?”

Shrem remains certain that the ETF will happen, stating, “I’m putting my money on 2019.”

 

 

 

KYLE BAIRD · @CRYPTOBIZZLE | AUG 28, 2018 | 00:00

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Forgive Those Who Hurt You Long Ago

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No matter how difficult a situation, you can remember that God wants us to forgive one another “just as God through Christ has forgiven you”

Written by Hope on 07/07/2013
Series: Weekly Devotional
Tags: Forgiveness, Hurt
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32)

When someone hurts you or you experience an injustice, God knows about it. In fact, of course, He knows every wrong that has ever occurred on earth, as well as the good things. "His understanding has no limit" (Psalm 147:5), and He knows that, as with all human action, "it has all been done before" (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

Earthly Injustice
King Solomon wrote, “I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless” (Ecclesiastes 4:1). He noticed that people should not “be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land” (Ecclesiastes 5:8). He said this because, "not a single person on earth is always good and never sins (Ecclesiastes 7:20), so we need to recognize that we, too, are sinners in need of forgiveness.

God's Justice
No matter how difficult a situation, you can remember that God wants us to forgive one another “just as God through Christ has forgiven you” (Ecclesiastes 4:32). And because “The Lord loves righteousness and justice”(Psalm 33:5) , you can rely on God to help you overcome injustice by being a loving and forgiving person. It will probably be difficult, but “those who are wise will find a time and a way to do what is right, for there is a time and a way for everything, even when a person is in trouble” (Ecclesiastes 8:5-6).

Prayer, Care, and Share Jesus
Have bad things ever happened to you or the people close to you? Whether these things have happened recently or long ago, we know God is very serious about us forgiving others, just as in Christ, God forgave us.

Maybe you’ve experienced something like this or similar:

Somebody caused an accident and someone close to you died or was injured for life;
A parent, school teacher or another authority figure abused you or someone close to you;
A criminal killed or injured someone close to you in a robbery or attack;
Someone close to you betrayed you. Whether or not you know the person that hurt you, your friend or family member, it is very tempting to harbor anger, hate or bitterness towards them – even if you’re close to God.
There’s nothing wrong with feeling angry in your loss. Jesus understands your pain and anger because He suffered on your behalf. Because of the sacrifice He made for you, and the forgiveness He has already granted you, Jesus asks you to forgive people who bring hurt and pain into your life.

You may not even know where to start when you realize you need to forgive someone. You might ask, “How can I forgive?” Well, here are some suggestions:

Realize and accept you have the anger or bitterness in your heart about the incident (however deeply buried in your memory;
Accept from the Scripture that you have to forgive as you are forgiven;
Surrender the hurt and anger to Jesus in prayer – If possible, pray this out loud with a friend
Forgive the person(s) in the Name of Jesus;
Start praying the Lord's blessing on the person that you need to forgive.
A Helpful Tip: Don't worry if you don't know the name of the person that wronged you or if they may not even be alive now. Forgive them anyway – the Lord knows them. If the process is very difficult, – get help from trusted friend or a counselor.

Pray this week:
You will forgive people who hurt you and start to pray for the Lord to bless them.

Roots of bitterness grow deep and spread to cover all areas of a person's life. Have you chosen to 'forgive' those who have done evil to you in your past? You should ask God to forgive them for you and through you. Forgiveness is for your healing. Do you have a situation you're having a hard time with? Talk to a caring Christian about it.

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Bitcoin Gains – Analyst Says Correlation Exists Between Crypto Emerging Markets

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Bitcoin Gains - Analyst Says Correlation Exists Between Crypto, Emerging Markets

Investing.com – Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrency prices gained on Monday. Fundstrat Global Advisors’ Thomas Lee’s comments received some focus as he said there is a strong correlation between emerging markets and virtual coins.

Bitcoin was up 0.8% to $6,668.9 at 11:55AM ET (03:55 GMT) on the Bitifinex exchange.          

Ethereum edged up 0.1% to $272.4 on the Bitifinex exchange.              

XRP traded up 0.3% to $0.32328 in the last 24 hours on the Poloniex exchange, while Litecoin was also up 0.6% to $56.654.   

Lee said hedge funds are not buying risk when emerging markets sell-off, while the recent slump in digital assets suggested the funds are not buying crypto either.

"Both really essentially peaked early this year, and they both have been in a downward trend," Lee said in an interview with CNBC. "Until emerging markets begin to turn, I think in some ways that correlation is going to hold and tell us that sort of the risk on mentality is those buyers aren't buying bitcoin."

Lee added that he believed the bear market could come to an end soon, especially if the dollar weakens and the Federal Reserve slows its interest rate hike policy, and that he thinks bitcoin could surge to $25,000 by the end of the year. "I still think it's possible," said Lee. "Bitcoin could end the year explosively higher."

Cryptocurrency prices received some support on Friday after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it would review a decision to reject the applications of Bitcoin exchange traded funds, after its staffs rejected the applications from nine companies to list their Bitcoin ETF funds on Wednesday, citing concerns about fraud and manipulation of bitcoin markets.

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Why Should We Forgive Others?

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Forgive Others as God Has Forgiven You

 

 

“A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” Luke 7:41-42 (NLT)

 

Once Jesus shared a meal with a very judgmental person. He used this story to show that a person who understands their debt and receives forgiveness will have great love for the one who forgives. Being judgmental and unforgiving shows that you have little regard for God’s forgiveness.

Do to Others as You Would Have Them Do to You (Luke 6:31)

Jesus tells a story about a man who loaned money to two people and then cancels both debts. (Luke 7:41-42) One person owed more money than the other, so Jesus asked “Who do you suppose loved him more after that?” Simon answers, “the one who had the bigger debt forgiven,” and Jesus agrees (Luke 7:43).

Jesus said, “a person who is forgiven little shows only little love” (Luke 7:47). That shouldn’t sound like you or me. We should think of ourselves as the first person in the story rather than the second. Our debt is sin instead of money. God is perfect, holy and righteous. Any sin against Him deserves punishment, but He canceled our debt. When it’s time to forgive others, remember the huge debt of sin God canceled for you and forgive.

We All Need Forgiveness

Many people don’t think they need forgiveness. They might think, “My sins are small compared to THAT person. I’ve never committed murder or adultery.” But God has a higher standard. Jesus tells us that even being angry with another makes us guilty of murder, and looking lustfully at someone is equivalent to adultery (Matthew 5:21-22; Matthew 5:28).

This shows we all need forgiveness. The Bible goes on to say, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23). And, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Forgive Others Because Christ Forgave You (Ephesians 4:32)

Jesus died on the cross and forgave us from a debt we could not repay. Are you grateful for His sacrifice? I know I am. When others hurt you and sin, remember that you and I have hurt a perfect God. Instead of God being angry with us, He forgave us. We should treat others the exact same way.

When we forgive others, it is a small picture of God’s forgiveness. We can even make it an opportunity to share the gospel by saying: “Because God has forgiven my sins through Jesus Christ, I am able to forgive you.

Pray this week:

Lord, please help me to remember the gift of forgiveness you’ve give me when I need to forgive others. Help me to joyfully forgive others just as you have forgiven me.

Is there someone in your life, whether in the past or present that you should forgive?

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Wall Street Bull Tom Lee: Bitcoin Price Is Beating New Round of FUD

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Wall Street Bull Tom Lee: Bitcoin Price Is Beating New Round of FUD

Wall Street Bull Tom Lee: Bitcoin Price Is Beating New Round of FUD

The co-founder and head of research at Fundstrat Global says he’s sticking to his prediction that Bitcoin will hit $20,000 by the end of the year.

In a new interview on CNBC, Tom Lee points out that Bitcoin’s price actually climbed after two new rounds of fear, uncertainty and doubt hit the market.

“We’ve had some bad news this week. Two big setbacks, right? The SEC almost universally cancelled nine [ETF] applications, and then China did essentially a re-ban because it sounds like they had to clamp down again on crypto – and Bitcoin’s actually rallied.”

Lee also talks about a potential leading indicator for BTC, outlining the impact that the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and hedge funds have on the market.

Last but not least, Lee breaks out the latest numbers on his company’s proprietary Bitcoin Misery Index, which is designed to gauge just how miserable Bitcoin hodlers are based on price and volatility.

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

SEC WILL REVIEW WEDNESDAY DECISION TO REJECT BTC-ETF PROPOSALS

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SEC WILL REVIEW WEDNESDAY DECISION TO REJECT BTC-ETF PROPOSALS

SEC WILL REVIEW WEDNESDAY DECISION TO REJECT BTC-ETF PROPOSALS

The SEC has decided to review yesterday’s orders denying approval of numerous Bitcoin exchange traded funds.

IS THERE A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL?

In what is sure to be surprising news for all, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided to place a stay on three orders that rejected Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) seeking to be listed on the NYSE Arca and other regulated exchanges. Initially, the SEC denied each of the derivative backed Bitcoin ETFs over genuine concerns of manipulation, as well as Bitcoins availability on numerous unregulated exchanges. In fact, some have gone as far as suggesting that Bitcoin’s recent 1 minute $300 dollar leap that coincided with BitMEX going offline for ‘maintenance’ is a validation of the SEC’s apprehension to approve a Bitcoin-based ETF.

Surprisingly, after making yesterday’s denial announcement ahead of schedule, the SEC has now decided to review these orders, which were originally drafted by staff members on behalf of agency leadership.

In fact, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce tweeted, “Yesterday’s staff orders disapproving SRO rules related to a number of bitcoin ETFs are stayed pending Commission review.” and She then followed with an additional tweet explaining the previous one in plain English.

Commissioner Peirce went on to explain that the SEC frequently delegates similar rulings to staff members, and reserves the right to review and amend decisions even after official statements have been made.

In the past, Commissioner Peirce has voiced her dissenting opinion regarding SEC’s denial of the Winklevoss twins’ Bitcoin-ETF by arguing:

If we were to approve the ETF at issue here, investors could choose whether to buy it or avoid it. The Commission’s action today deprives investors of this choice. I reject the role of gatekeeper of innovation –a role very different from (and, indeed, inconsistent with) our mission of protecting investors, fostering capital formation and facilitating fair, orderly and efficient markets.

Commissioner Peirce also provided a copy of a letter addressed to the NYSE, which explains that SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and associated commissioners will carefully review each application to identify whether or not SEC staff ruled fairly. While the letter does not provide a date for sharing this review decision, it is nonetheless exciting for those who follow cryptocurrencies.

 

EUSTACE CRYPTUS | AUG 24, 2018 | 00:00

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Forgiving Others in the Church

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How can I forgive someone who keeps hurting me?

Written by Ruth on 21/08/2018
Series: Weekly Devotional
Tags: Church, Church And Community, Forgiveness, Reconciliation
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32
Is this true for you? – someone at the church you attend bothers you so much that sometimes you would just rather stay home from church! 

Does an “enemy” keep you away from church?
The day before He died, Jesus told His disciples that the most important command He was giving them was to love each other (John 15:12-17). During the whole final evening with them, He was preparing them for life after His death, resurrection, and ascension to Heaven (John 13-17). He had kept them together as His disciples for the past three years, and now they needed to know how they could remain together even though they would be spread to different parts of the world. Jesus’ answer was love for one another, which would unite them.

We also need help in loving each other, even when there are disagreements among us in the church. The disciples had missed Jesus’ point so often, argued with one another and hoped to gain advantage over one another. (Luke 22:24-30). Without Him walking with them, would selfishness and bitterness divide them? Not if they listened to what He said. He told His disciples they must always forgive each other, and this is what we, too, must do. We must not allow anger and bitterness to grow. When that happens, we become ineffective witnesses for Him.

How am I to forgive another Christian who hurts me?
Jesus was committing His disciples to one another as an eternal family. This means a few things:

First, it's pretty much impossible to avoid offending others in this life, so we should not pretend we're never offensive. Siblings don't always get along. But they never stop being family. What does it take to maintain peace? You have to go to someone who feels wronged—even if you don't know what you did wrong. Jesus even gave this priority over our worship in Matthew 5:23-24.

Second, because we know we've done things that give others reason to be offended, forgive others. They may not even know what they did wrong. Go to them. Be persistent and patient. (Matthew 18:15-22) Jesus never runs out of forgiveness for us; we have to be the same way.

Why should I forgive, even when they are not sorry?
One of my dear friends was the victim of a conspiracy in her family. Divorced and raising two children on her own had made life a struggle, but then her father and younger sister agreed to bypass her in the inheritance of some family property. It caused her to curse and forsake her family for years. She even emigrated to another country in order to make an irreversible break in her family relationships. 

But then, something happened to change her mind. She found Jesus. It was a few years before she reconciled with her family. They didn't recompense her for the lost property or years of hard work. But when God changed her life, He gave her first the desire, then later, the actual power, to forgive. Looking back, she now sees clearly how unforgiveness is really what hurt her and cost her the most. It really wasn't until she released her hold on it that she herself was free.

When Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15 that we cannot be forgiven if we do not forgive others, He was telling us two things: 1) not forgiving someone is disobedience to Him, and 2) we cannot see our own need for forgiveness if we keep anger and bitterness in our hearts. In essence, forgiving someone is more about our relationship with Jesus than with that person. 

How do we forgive when we do not feel like doing so? Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling. We must choose to obey. It may be that we must say to Jesus, “I do not want to forgive because that makes what they did right, and it was not right! But I want to be near You more than I want to keep this anger, so I choose to forgive. Help me, Lord Jesus!” Then, the next time you remember what they did or you see them at church or anywhere else, you can simply say to Jesus, “I have given this to You, I will not take it back.” It will not be long before you realize you are free from the slavery of what this person did. You are free from anger and bitterness. You are free to do or say whatever Jesus asks you to say to them with peace in your heart (Philippians 4:7, and Luke 12:11-12).

Pray this week:
Lord Jesus, I have trouble forgiving ___ in my church. I choose to obey You because I need Your peace more than I need proof of being right or even worldly justice. I give this situation into Your hands; help me to leave it with You. Help me also to speak Your words to them so we may be reconciled to each other for the work of Your kingdom.
 

Who do you need to forgive and reconcile with?

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member