Forgiving Oneself

If you have not already done so, I highly recommend that you read my post about forgiving others and possessing a forgiving spirit before you read this one.

There are some who have no trouble forgiving themselves but struggle greatly with forgiving others. Then there are other persons, like I, who struggle more with forgiving oneself than anyone else. Perhaps you hold very high standards for yourself, trying greatly to be perfect, so then when you fall short of your standards, you figuratively beat yourself, and beat yourself, and beat yourself some more, and all that mental beating can truly harm your physical health, in addition to your spiritual health.  

If we do not forgive ourselves of a transgression, then we will either simply hate ourselves for it for the remainder of our lives, or we may even continue in the sinful practice in order to pretend like it's not bad in order that we don't hurt terribly from the guilt the transgression invoked.  In either case, without confessing the sin, repenting of it, and forgiving ourselves in the belief that God has forgiven us, we will not be able to move on to bring forth good fruit.  We not only hinder ourselves when we do this, but we also will go on hindering others when we choose to walk in unforgiveness toward ourselves.

Sometimes we may think our sin is so great and awful that we don't deserve forgiveness from God, and so then we don't forgive ourselves.  But is there any sin too great for God's forgiveness, except the one from which is not repented?

Let's examine some men and women from the scriptures and ask ouselves whether we think they forgave themselves of their sinful actions:

*Adam and Eve: Whose burden is more difficult to bear than theirs?  They passed on a sinful inheritance to us all.  Would they forgive themselves, though?  I know I forgive them, if they truly felt/would feel bad.  Would any of us have done any better in their positions?

*Abraham and Sarah: What about their agreement for Abraham to take Hagar to bed to have a child with her?  Wow, they must have really regretted that!  From what evidence we have, they greatly did, although I know Abraham loved his son Ishmael, of course.

*Samson: What foolish decisions he made!  As physically strong as he was, he certainly was weak with lust as to give his secret away to a woman who had already shown two or three times that she could not be trusted. Did he forgive himself?

*King David: We know he greatly regretted his murder and adultery (and therefore also blasphemy, as he was the king of the greatest nation and represented the nation of God).  Since he believed God forgave him, surely he forgave himself.  I know he also loved his son Solomon who came from the wife (Bathsheba) with whom he'd committed adultery beforehand.

*King Solomon:  There is great evidence that he must have repented from his great idolatries, fornications, revelings, etc. at the end of his life.  If he believed God is forgiving and forgave him, surely he could forgive himself.  

*Manasseh: It's imperative that you read of Manasseh the king of Judah in order to fully understand or refresh your memory of the extent of evil this man lived out and with which he led the nation of Judah.  He was guilty of much extreme evil, including causing his own son to pass through the fire in child sacrifice.  But then read about how he was punished, humbled, and how he turned himself around and ordered the nation to serve God.  Surely he would have had to forgive himself if he was able to move on and bring forth any good fruit (See 2 Kings 21 and 2 Chron. 33:1-20 and also the extra-biblical Prayer of Manasseh).

*Saul/Paul of Tarsus:  This man dragged early Christians to their brutal deaths, and he purported to do it all in the name of God.  He thought he was acting for God and that the Christians were blasphemers. He murdered true practicing believers, the very begotten children of God the Father and brethren of the Lord Salvation (Jesus Christ).  Later, after his repentance and living out life as a faithful Christian himself, he referred to himself as the "chief of sinners" (see 1 Tim. 1:15). His story can be read in the book of Acts.

We've all done wicked acts with which we struggle to live, at which we look back and think, "How could I have done that," or "How could I have allowed that to happen?"  Yes, it's true that some carry out worse things than others, but as I explained in my last post, some have inherited worse sin tendencies with which to begin.  This doesn't in any way excuse any sin, but a person thinking back on things might realize that he or she very likely would not have engaged in that sin if he or she would have been able to be steered down a better path in early life.

Even if given a good early life path, some will go the wrong way for a time for whatever reason, and there is still forgiveness available.  Think again of Manasseh, king of Judah.  His father Hezekiah was a righteous man and one of the best kings to ever reign over Judah (though, like us all, he did stumble and make some mistakes).  His faithful-to-God father died when Manasseh was only twelve, as God had promised fifteen years earlier that he would extend Hezekiah's life when he was gravely ill.  This may have been a starting point for Manasseh to go in the wrong direction.  He may have greatly questioned God for taking his righteous father who was so devoted to God, when he was only in his fifties, leaving a twelve-year-old son behind.

Many have fallen away after losing a loved one.  If this is you, it's not too late to turn back to God. He wants to use the bad things in our lives to refine us and to help others.  After I lost my infant son before he turned a month old, I was later able to help comfort another woman who lost her infant daughter.  She struggled greatly with her faith and was very distraught, because she had sons, but that was her only daughter, which she'd wanted badly.  God used me to greatly help her through her grief.  It also led me to research genetics, epigenetics, and environmental toxins and write and publish a book to help others.  My faith was made greater in the long run.  It wasn't so for my husband.  He cursed God after our son's death and has struggled ever since.

One of my favorite chapters in the scriptures is Ezekiel 18.  God pleads and pleads for people to repent.  He loves his creation of man.  He wants each to become his child.  We are each unique in our own way, and He's got forgiveness available for each of us. He said He doesn't take any pleasure in the death of the wicked.  If you are a parent, think of the way you plead with your child when he is being contrary.  Above all you just wish your child would obey, because you do not want to punish him.  You do not take pleasure in doing so.  Also think of the most wretched thing(s) your child(ren) has done.  It may be something that is very literally abominable to you, and yet you still find that you love your child dearly.  You still see the good in your child and just want your child to turn away from his wickedness so that you can lavish upon him all the good things you have in store for him.

Whenever you are are wallowing in your torment, hating yourself and wishing death upon yourself, think of how you view your children (if you're a parent).  Then realize that is how your Father in heaven views you.  He wants to forgive you.  Just believe that He will forgive you, and then move on.  Repent, turn from the sin.  Try your very best to do what is right.  Use whatever you can from the evil you did for good.  That may be going on to prevent others from going on that path or counseling others who have gone down that path.  Whatever it is, you will be shown what to do, if you allow Father God to show you.  Whatever we experience in life, whether it is sin or anything else, we are expected to use it to be fruitful in some way.

You must forgive yourself by seeing yourself the way your Holy Father sees you.  He sees you as His child that he dearly loves, no matter what wretched thing you've done or have been doing.  It doesn't matter how vile or violent or vicious it was.  He blessed David, He freed Manasseh, and he called Paul.  If He is willing to forgive those wretches, He is willing to forgive you, and so you should forgive yourself.  You must if you are to go on to bear good fruit in life.  This is God's will for you.

What happens if you do not forgive yourself?  You will either commit suicide, like King Saul of Israel or Judas Iscariot, both recorded in the scriptures; or you will poison your health with your torment. Your self-hatred, rebellious justification, guilt, and/or other emotional actions will affect your physical health, in addition to your spiritual health.  When the scriptures talk about "rottenness in the bones" and "a sick heart" and other such things, it's referring to the physical maladies that can result from spiritual emotions, whether it is heartbreak due to a loss or another's sin or whether it is self-inflicted because of one's own evil deeds.  Bitterness, guilt, self-hatred, no grace toward ourselves...these are no way to live our lives.

I recently read the sad story of Genie, a badly-abused child who was born in the 1950s, as part of my sociology course work for college.  Her abusive father ended up committing suicide.  It was his escape.  This is not good!  That is the end. There is no time to confess, repent, and then bring forth good fruit.  You just end your life on bad terms.  Does this make anything better?  It's easy to hate Genie's father, because most of us cannot imagine a human being doing all that he did to his child, regardless of his background.  He was still a responsible adult who should have admitted he had a problem and sought help.  Quite likely he would not have easily found forgiveness from fellow human beings, and perhaps someone reading this feels the same way.  Perhaps you've done something that indeed most people would not be willing to forgive.  But God is not that way.  I can assure you that God wants to forgive you and help you overcome and walk the rest of your life in holiness with His help. 

I've learned that seldom anything turns out the perfect way we have envisioned.  We want to be perfect.  We want our spouses and our children and our friends to be perfect.  We want our house to be perfect, our yard to be perfect.  We want our vacation to be perfect.  We want our visit with friends to be perfect.  We want our grocery store trips to be perfect. We want things to be perfect, but they won't ever be what we want them to be, perfectly.  We can properly work for perfection in all things, but when we fail, the only way we're going to be able to go on in contentment is if we seek the Only One who is perfect.  The more we want things to be perfect, the more it can hurt when we see that it doesn't end up that way.  It can so easily lead to self-hatred and unforgiveness toward ourselves when we want to be perfect and are not.  If we hate ourselves, then we're not going to be doing the best we can to serve others in this world.  If, on the other hand, we attempt to make ourselves feel better by continuing on in the wicked ways and justifying it, we are still not going to be doing the best to serve others, and we're only killing ourselves, albeit in a different way.

If you want that perfection, then be perfect in Him.  Forgive yourself, as He wants to forgive you, and then walk as best as you can as Christ, the Beloved Firstborn, walked.  You won't do it while dead, and you won't do it while hating yourself or justifying yourself.  You'll only do it if you forgive yourself.

Prayer of Manasseh:

O Lord, Almighty God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and of their righteous seed; who hast made heaven and earth, with all the ornament thereof; who hast bound the sea by the word of thy commandment; who hast shut up the deep, and sealed it by thy terrible and glorious name; whom all men fear, and tremble before thy power; for the majesty of thy glory cannot be borne, and thine angry threatening toward sinners is importable: but thy merciful promise is unmeasurable and unsearchable; for thou art the most high Lord, of great compassion, longsuffering, very merciful, and repentest of the evils of men. Thou, O Lord, according to thy great goodness hast promised repentance and forgiveness to them that have sinned against thee: and of thine infinite mercies hast appointed repentance unto sinners, that they may be saved. Thou therefore, O Lord, that art the God of the just, hast not appointed repentance to the just, as to Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, which have not sinned against thee; but thou hast appointed repentance unto me that am a sinner: for I have sinned above the number of the sands of the sea. My transgressions, O Lord, are multiplied: my transgressions are multiplied, and I am not worthy to behold and see the height of heaven for the multitude of mine iniquities. I am bowed down with many iron bands, that I cannot life up mine head, neither have any release: for I have provoked thy wrath, and done evil before thee: I did not thy will, neither kept I thy commandments: I have set up abominations, and have multiplied offences. Now therefore I bow the knee of mine heart, beseeching thee of grace. I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, and I acknowledge mine iniquities: wherefore, I humbly beseech thee, forgive me, O Lord, forgive me, and destroy me not with mine iniquites. Be not angry with me for ever, by reserving evil for me; neither condemn me to the lower parts of the earth. For thou art the God, even the God of them that repent; and in me thou wilt shew all thy goodness: for thou wilt save me, that am unworthy, according to thy great mercy. Therefore I will praise thee for ever all the days of my life: for all the powers of the heavens do praise thee, and thine is the glory for ever and ever. Amen.  (King James version)


Prayer of David:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving kindness: according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done this evil in your sight: that you might be justified when you speak, and be clear when you judge. Behold, I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which you have broken may rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation; and uphold me with your free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors your ways; and sinners shall be converted to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, you God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open you my lips; and my mouth shall show forth your praise. For you desire not sacrifice; else would I give it: you delight not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good in your good pleasure to Zion: build you the walls of Jerusalem. Then shall you be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks on your altar  (Psalm 51, American KJV).

Two Types/Stages of Forgiveness

It recently came to my attention that the opposite topic of judgment and condemnation—forgiveness and pardon—is perhaps as confused and misunderstood as the former.

I've explained elsewhere before (not sure whether on this blog), as have others the right understanding on judgment.  If you already understand this, feel free to skip down to the bolded "Forgiveness" after the first line of asterisks. I'm not about to go into depth on it now, deeply quoting scripture, but summarily:

Many twist the meaning of the scriptures and ignore much scripture on the topic of judgment and/or simply do not understand.  People say you should not judge anyone for their sinful behavior, "...because Jesus said not to."  The fact of the matter is that our Lord and Christ said to take heed and be careful with our judgment, because with the same measure of judgment we apply to others, our Father God will apply to us (Matt. 7:2).  Basically, it was a message of not being a hypocrite and a lesson on God's righteous judgment toward us being what we apply to others.

When you read other scriptures, it becomes clear that Christians are expected to be able to judge righteously.  Christ told us to "judge righteous judgement," and "not according to appearance" (John 7:24). Paul rebuked the Corinthians for taking brethren to the judges of men, saying, "Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?" (I Cor. 6:3).

If we lacked good judgment, how would it be that we could choose not to engage in sin like those around us?  If we did not judge that dishonoring God, idolatry, blasphemy, sabbath-breaking, dishonoring parents, murdering, adultery, stealing, lying, coveting, and such are sin, we are sinning!  

So you say, "Oh, but you should judge the sin, not the sinner."  But the scriptures say a different thing than what you say.  Oh, sure, the scriptures do say that we should not judge those without, meaning not DECIDING (one meaning of judging) whether the person is doing what is right or wrong, but meaning that we can't go PENALIZING those without.  Paul said to the Corinthians, "But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler-- not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove that wicked man from among yourselves" (I Cor. 5:11-13).

But then on the other hand, the scriptures teach us to rebuke the wicked: "Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself" (Ezek. 3:19)

Basically we are to JUDGE what is right and wrong and walk in that, as Christ walked, not going against our conscience.  We are to not be hypocritical with our JUDGMENTS, making sure if we JUDGE our neighbor or brother in something, we are not guilty of the same.  We can penalize a sinning brother or sister by casting them from a church group or from not associating with them, if they choose not to repent, but we cannot penalize those without.  We are going to be around sinners in this world, and we are to be lights (but not choose those people as our closest buddies).  We can judge them by DECIDING what they are doing is wrong and by REBUKING them, just NOT PENALIZING.

If a person is an unrepentant and practicing liar, whore or whoremonger, or thief, is it wrong to judge by saying the person is a liar, whore or whoremonger, or thief?  Of course not!  What nonsense!  It's called the truth, and some people just hate the truth, and so they misquote scripture.

************************************************

Okay, now on to FORGIVENESS.

First we know that we must be willing to forgive others if we want God to forgive us:

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses (Mark 11:25).

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors…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 (Matt. 6:12, 14-15).

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses (Matt. 18:35).  This is the conclusion of the story of the wicked servant, which I'll write more about shortly.

We have all sinned and done horrible things.  It's easy for us to look at others and judge what they've done as worse than what we've done, but have you considered that in many cases you may be wrong?  Have you considered that you're judging by appearance, rather than righteous judgment?  Remember, God judges the heart.  Have you considered that most of the persons you are judging as being worse than you started with a genetically worse sin inheritance to struggle against and grew up in a worse sin-saturated environment to also struggle against?  Have you ever stopped to consider that those persons hate their sins, too, and struggle badly against them?  Have you ever meditated on whether you might actually be worse in God's eyes than some of those persons, because He is looking at the heart, and even though those other persons stumble and fall with worse outward sins that appear to man to be more horrible, that person is more repentant at heart and is trying harder not to commit those sins of heart and outwardly than you are with your lesser outside sins?

We have all sinned and fall short of God's glory child, the Perfect and Righteous Firstborn, Salvation the Lord (Rom. 3:23).  We are all filthy compared to my Beloved Salvation.  Since it's hard to read the hearts of some, and we know also that some judge us wrongly, because they don't know our hearts and how we may struggle greatly with certain things, we need to focus on our Lord and be so grateful He chose us and died for us so that Father will forgive us, if we repent of our sins.

Since we're so grateful for Father and Salvation (Jesus/Yeshua), we need to be just as forgiving as they are.

A Maskil of David. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered (Psalm 32:1).  This was repeated by Paul in Romans 4:7.

And rend your heart and not your garments." Now return to the ETERNAL your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil (Joel 2:13).

Now, indeed there are those who have repented and have been forgiven by God, but the scriptures also make clear that there are those who God has not and will not forgive, because they have not repented. God plans punishment for those who are sinning, but IF they repent, He forgives.

"Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the calamity which I plan to bring on them, in order that every man will turn from his evil way; then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin" (Jer. 36:3).

Repentance is required for forgiveness of God.  A few more references:  Acts 8:22; Hosea 14:2; Ezekiel chapter 18 (highly recommended read).   Quoted from my book God's Law of Love, the Perfect Law of Liberty: Jehovah's Law Still Applies Today, pg. 30:

    Those who do not keep God’s law will not inherit eternal
    life (Romans 2:6-13; 6:16, 23; 8:9; I Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians
    5:19-21; Ephesians 5:3-6; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Hebrews 5:9; 6:4-6;
    10:26-31, 38-39; James 5:19-20, II Peter 2:20-22; 3:9-18; Revelation
    3:5; 21:7-8; 22:12-15; Exodus 32:33; Psalm 1:6; 5:5-6; 15:1-2; 34:16;
    37:9, 20, 22, 27-31, 38; 119:155; Proverbs 2:21-22; 10:30; Isaiah 24:5-
    6; 66:24; Ezekiel 18:4, 20-21, 23, 26-28, 3.—32; Hosea 4:6; Malachi
    4:1-6; Matthew 4:17; 5:7-20; 7:21-23; 19:17; 24:12-13; Mark 1:15; Luke
    10:25-28; 13:3; Acts 2:38; Acts 5:32; Acts 17:30
    and more).

In other words, those who don't repent will not be forgiven, as you must be forgiven in order to inherit eternal life. 

If God does not forgive those who do not repent, does that mean we should not forgive?  This is where a lot of people are very confused.  That is the reason for my strange title.  The answer is both yes and no.  I will explain in depth.  The answer is in the scriptures.

Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and IF he repent, forgive him (Luke 17:3).

 Does it say, "And whether or not your brother repents or not, forgive him?"  No, it doesn't.  BUT, it also does not say you should seek revenge or harbor bitterness in your heart.  In other words, you should possess a FORGIVING SPIRIT.  You do not know whether that person will later repent.  You are to REBUKE the person (in kindness of spirit, of course) and possess a forgiving spirit.  IF the person repents, forgive him (or her).

Again, except this time it is not for a brother in the Royal Family, but for the "wicked":

"Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself" (Ezek. 3:19).

The following details the same conversation quoted above from Luke, recorded from Matthew, and explains what to do if your brother (or sister) does NOT repent:

Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican (Matt. 18:15-17).

So, rebuke the transgressing brother, and if he doesn't listen, then take one or two more with you to confront him again, and then if he still doesn't listen, take it to the whole local church community, and THEN if he or she still doesn't listen, it says you should regard your brother or sister as a HEATHEN.  You should regard the person as one of the wicked, one of the ones "without" the church.  In other words, the person is NOT FORGIVEN, until the person REPENTS.  Does that mean you harbor hate and bitterness toward the person?  NO!  You should maintain a FORGIVING SPIRIT and LEAVE IT TO GOD.  In the end, if that person returns to the world and is overcome with wickedness and never turns from his or her ways, God will avenge you for his or her transgression(s) against you.

Before the story of the wicked servant:
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven (Matt. 18:21-22).

The above scripture is after the one I posted right before it, but it's before the one I posted that concluded the story of the "wicked servant."  So, it's in the context of a REPENTANT person, who after rebuked, repents.  Soooo...you should forgive your brother or sister who has sinned against you, but how many times?  What if the person transgresses multiple times?  Should you forgive each count?  When Salvation said not seven times but seventy times seven, he meant that you should be willing to keep forgiving, as long as you can detect the person is truly repentant at heart and is sorrowful about what he or she is doing against you.

A good example of this is the spouse who struggles with substance abuse.  Say one partner has an alcohol addiction or tobacco addiction.  That person is not just affecting him- or herself.  This kind of sin affects the spouse and other family members.  An addiction like this can be very hard to overcome.  For those who struggle with such an addiction or are married to a spouse who struggles with it, you know over the course of many years that the person can quit for periods of time and relapse over and over again.  It's difficult!  But you know he or she is trying, else the person wouldn't bother trying so hard to quit and wouldn't be so sorrowful over it and the problems it causes.  So forgive, forgive, forgive.  There are other examples, too, like the person who stands you up over and over, forgetting your meeting, or a spouse or friend who keeps slipping up with an Internet pornography addiction.  

So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow (2 Cor. 2:7).

Again, this refers to a repentant person, someone in sorrow.  It's bad enough for the repentant, sorrowful individual to cope with his or her own sin.  It's just too much for that person to also bear the sorrow of friends and family (and especially members of the Royal Family) rejecting and not forgiving him or her.

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots (Luke 23:34).  

Christ said the people who were dividing up his clothing and mocking and saying ugly things about him when he was on the cross knew not what they were doing.  They didn't realize who he was and that he was innocent.  They must have thought he was receiving just punishment, that he was a blasphemous troublemaker.  Notice Christ did NOT say, "Father, whether or not they know what they're doing, forgive them."  Of course not!  What was the point of Christ's coming to earth and dying for the transgressions of mankind if God is willing to forgive everyone, regardless of what they do?


Now, sometimes it can be difficult to get to a place of forgiveness toward someone, while in other cases it's relatively easy.  If you've done the same sin and understand it, you might find it very easy to POSSESS A FORGIVING SPIRIT toward the transgressor, unless you are hypocritical, like Salvation said of those who judge without removing their own sin first.

In the last two or three years I've had to change my debit card number twice, due to fraudulent use.  I do a lot of my purchasing online, so I memorize my card number.  It's irritating to me, more than anything, whenever I have to get a new card and to file a report for unauthorized charges on my account.  NEVER have I cursed the persons who have done this to me, NEVER have I possessed an unforgiving spirit toward the transgressors, and it's quite easy for me, because my husband and I were guilty of the same many years ago (before conversion).  We transgressed against around 70 different people for an amount of $30k to $35k, fraudulent use of a credit card across interstate lines, when I was seventeen years of age.  I understand why people are driven to do such things.

Do I know whether the people who have transgressed against me have repented of their deeds?  I do not know.  Have I forgiven them?  I hold a FORGIVING SPIRIT toward them.  This means that I do not know whether they've repented, as I DO NOT KNOW THEM.  It's between them and our Creator.  It's up to God to forgive, IF they repent.  I've done MY part.  God knows I possess a forgiving spirit toward them.  If they don't repent, then God will eventually punish them for their sin.

Now what about sins that we can't relate to and struggle with forgiving?  What about forgiving adultery when you can't imagine doing something so atrocious, or how about the murder of your spouse, child, parent, sibling, other relative or one of your best friends?  

Remember how we've all sinned and done horrible things?  We've not all done the same things.  We've not all committed adultery or murder.  But remember the way God sees things differently than we do?  Remember how some struggle with worse things?  (And remember that the HEART is what God judges, and some people desire such horrible sins in the heart, but they fear consequences from man if they transgress outwardly.)

I used to be guilty of murder in my heart in my teens.  I carefully premeditated different persons' murders. I know, it's awful.  It's absolutely appalling to me now.  I've since repented of my sin of murder.  Did I actually physically kill someone?  No.  But I still was guilty of the sin of murder before God.  I've repented and feel terrible about it.  What if I'd have actually physically carried out a murder?  And then, as I have in my real life, I later had terrible remorse and repented?  Would I not seek for forgiveness from those whom against I trespassed?  Would I not hope for forgiveness from the victim's family and friends?

Murder is a difficult thing to forgive, even for those who understand it, whether it's premeditated or whether it's a result of rage, and even more difficult if it's a child kidnapping-rape-murder.  But we are basically all guilty of our Lord Brother's death, because of our sin.  He was murdered for us.  God expects for us to forgive even murder....IF the transgressor repents.

Of course there are unsolved murders and unknown adultery partners and unknown thieves.  There are a lot of persons out there who have transgressed against us whom we don't even know!  We can't rebuke them!  Do we just forgive them?  What if we struggle with forgiveness?  

I think it helps to imagine the unknown person realizing before you that they've transgressed against you and apologizing in great sorrow to you.  You can SEE in your MIND'S EYE that they are deeply sorrowful (even though they may never meet you).  They feel absolutely awful for what they've done against you and are totally repentant.  Is that not how you have felt before our Righteous and Good Father and our Beloved Lord Salvation?  THAT is how you can then find that FORGIVING SPIRIT.  That's ALL YOU NEED.  If you do not know your transgressor, try this out!  It HAS WORKED FOR ME before.  I have unknown transgressors out there who committed horrible acts against me, and I hold NO BITTERNESS OR HATRED OR REVENGEFUL THOUGHTS against them.  God knows my heart is filled with a FORGIVING SPIRIT toward those unknown persons.  If they repent, God will FORGIVE them, and that pleases me.  I will also say, on the other hand, if they do not repent, I know God will PUNISH them.  He will AVENGE me for their transgressions against me, and that also pleases me.

This is perfectly holy, righteous, and good, no matter what anyone tells you.  We do NOT have to sit around feeling that we must forgive unrepentant people who love wickedness and hate us.  That is NOT what God expects of us.  He expects for us to possess a FORGIVING SPIRIT, not a spirit that allows people to just run all over us.  We are NOT to possess a REVENGEFUL, HATEFUL, BITTER SPIRIT.  

This is what I meant in the title by "two types/stages of forgiveness."  There's the FORGIVING SPIRIT and there's actual forgiveness.  And then there's manly forgiveness and Godly forgiveness.  For example, a person may forgive someone for becoming an unrepentant practicing homosexual, but will God forgive it?  No, He won't.  God doesn't go by man's rules.

And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.” And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” And he got up and went home. But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men (Matt. 9:2-7).

We can't forgive men the way God can.  As you see above, the scribes realized that God is the only One Who can truly forgive as far as our spiritual standing is concerned. We may forgive things that we do not think are sin, but God is the ultimate Forgiver/Pardoner.

Moses had asked God to forgive Israel and to blot him out of God's book in their place, and the ETERNAL said:

"...Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book" (Exo. 32:33b).


Notice what these perfectly righteous Children of God of the scriptures said about UNREPENTANT SINNERS, when it comes to FORGIVENESS:

Jeremiah and Jeremiah Quoting the ETERNAL God:

Yet, ETERNAL ONE, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger (Jer. 18:23).

Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them," says the ETERNAL (Jer. 6:15).

"Why should I pardon you? Your sons have forsaken Me And sworn by those who are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, They committed adultery And trooped to the harlot's house. They were well-fed lusty horses, each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife. Shall I not punish these people," declares the ETERNAL,“And on a nation such as this shall I not avenge Myself?"  (Jer. 5:7-9)

This speaks of punishment rather than forgiveness, BECAUSE they would not repent after continual rebuke.

"We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven" (Lam. 3:42).

Nehemiah:
 
Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders (Nehemiah 4:5).

David:
 
You, ETERNAL God Almighty, you who are the God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all the nations; show no mercy to wicked traitors (Psalm 59:5).

May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the ETERNAL; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out (Psa. 109:14).

It is time for you to act, ETERNAL; your law is being broken (Psalm 119:126).

Paul:

Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works (I Tim. 4:14).
 
I've said this a few times, and I know many righteous Christians pray this way.  This is a very wise way to put it, because the Lord knows whether the person will repent.  If Alexander the coppersmith repented (even if he never saw Paul again, he could have cried out to God and felt horribly sorrowful about what he'd done and wished he could take it back), then the reward for the work of repentance was forgiveness, but if he didn't repent in due time, he would have "gotten his," if you know what I'm saying. 

Isaiah:
 
So people will be brought low and everyone humbled-- do not forgive them (Isa. 2:9)

This last one is talking about the time of great wrath of God in the future, when he will have rejected his people Jacob.  The context speaks of the land being full of materialism, idols (think of the Washington Monument phallic/penis obelisk and the sun god/goddess "Statue of Liberty"), tons of horses and chariots (think of all the fancy motor vehicles), and many fortune-tellers.

And finally, in Revelation, God's True Children symbolically cry out:

AND THEY CRIED WITH A LOUD VOICE, SAYING, "HOW LONG, O LORD, HOLY AND TRUE, DO YOU NOT JUDGE AND AVENGE OUR BLOOD ON THEM THAT DWELL ON THE EARTH?" (Rev. 6:10).

I have done as Jeremiah and the others have done toward certain ones on this earth.  For example, one of my most-hated targets is the evil ones at the top of Monsanto and the evil ones in our governments and the evil ones at the top of other corporations who knowingly unleash evil upon the peoples of this earth and DO NOT CARE!  Yes, I cry out to God, "WHEN will it be that you send my Beloved to PUNISH these evil ones?!"

It is PERFECTLY RIGHTEOUS to want vengeance on evil persons or people who sin against us who do not repent.  BUT WE LEAVE THIS UP TO GOD TO DECIDE, because we simply DO NOT KNOW whether a person will repent, especially if our transgressors are unknown.

******************************

So again—and as summary and conclusion—we are to possess, as Children of the Most High God and brethren of the Lord Salvation the Perfect Firstborn, a FORGIVING SPIRIT without thoughts of hate, revenge, or bitterness against our transgressors but a RELAXED AND TRUSTING knowledge that IF the transgressors do not repent, we will be avenged by our Loving Father and Lord Salvation.

And if we truly TRUST God, and we are patient for that day of Christ's return, then it's not too difficult to possess that FORGIVING SPIRIT toward ANY transgressor, meaning we're willing to forgive anyone who repents. And for those who don't, we keep our pure spirit as not to defile ourselves and suffer with bitterness that will poison us, and we trust that God will avenge us.

Pentecost: A Lesson on New Life

On the weekly Sabbath day (May 18, 2013) my firstborn son Jaden William (nearly 10 years of age) found a newly-hatched chick when he went out in the morning to let the chickens out.  Three weeks before he had marked two eggs of his favorite, chicken Grace, one day apart, with a black marker, so that he would not remove them from the nesting box.  He had tried twice (once last summer and once this spring) to use an old incubator to hatch chicks.  He finally concluded the incubator needed to be broken apart and the parts recycled.

Leaving the eggs with the mother brought about success.  The other egg has not hatched (and may not have been fertilized). If it does, William will leave the chick with Grace, its mother.  William chose to take the first chick for himself, though.  He has lovingly cared for the baby bird by providing water, cutting up worms and letting it peck at insects and spiders, as well as letting it snuggle up to him practically all day.  If he leaves it for a minute, its peeping becomes loud and urgent.  Anytime William leaves its sight, it becomes frantic-sounding, just as any human baby attached to its mother.  Oh, how he loves that chick!

We enjoyed Pentecost (May 19, 2013), the holy day of our God that teaches us about new life in Christ, receiving the begettal/conception of the Spirit of God so that we can be born at the first resurrection as a spirit-bodied Child of God. That Spirit is a Helper to us when we repent of our sins and are baptized and have hands laid on us.  It's too difficult to overcome sin with the spirit of man alone.  We live in bodies of flesh, no different than the animals do.  The God Spirit is perfect, though, and so it helps us walk in righteousness and comforts us in our weakness.

Just as the little chick, the chicken child of Jaden's Grace (the hen), is a new life and is helped by William, children of God our Father and His Grace (the Firstborn of our Father, our Lord Salvation the Anointed One who is our Elder Brother) are helped by the Spirit our Holy Father gives to us.  The Spirit nurtures and nourishes us spiritually so that if we remain faithful and abide in Father's will, we will be successfully born into the Family of God at Christ's return to this earth, and we will assist as kings and priests to the King of Kings and High Priest our Lord Salvation, in teaching mankind the Way of God. 

I yearn for the day I am born into the Family of God.  I strive to keep myself spiritually fed with the help and guidance of my Father's Spirit (Seed/Sperm) so that I do not prematurely abort. The wonderful Pentecost feast annually reminds me of my begettal/conception as a child of God and my future spiritual birthday and marriage into the Royal Family and the death of this horrid body of flesh. 

Godspeed that day.  Father, YOUR Kingdom come, YOUR will be done on this earth as it is in heaven (and right now, as a whole, God's will is NOT carried out on this earth).

Review of the Movie "Stone"

Recently, I watched a newly-released-to-video movie called Stone.  I want to first say, as I do in any movie review I do, if you do not want the details of the movie spoiled, if you plan to watch it, then do not read this until after you've watched the movie.  Furthermore, I want to state that this movie is an adults-only movie.  Not only is there a violent stabbing scene, numerous calling down of curses from God and many profane words, but there is sexual content and partial nudity that is better off not seen by anyone.  

Wikipedia calls the movie a "box office bomb," stating that it brought in only a third of its production budget.  I do feel that this is a disappointment, because it has a message that most in our nation really need to grasp.  I have observed, though, that though I and a minute few others actually get something out of movies, most only seek to be entertained by the violence, sexual content, the looks of the actors and actresses themselves, etc. and do not really pay attention to the underlying MESSAGES that so many movies reveal.

The movie's four main characters are about-to-retire Jack Mabry, Jack's wife Madylyn, 20-or-30-something Gerald "Stone" Creeson, and his wife Lucetta.  The movie starts out with a non-introduced young Jack and Madylyn Mabry and their young daughter.  The woman carries her daughter to her bed upstairs and kisses her so that she can continue her nap.  She sits on the bed for a minute staring at a fly buzzing around the screen of the open window.  She then goes downstairs and tells her husband something to the effect of, "You're keeping my soul in a prison.  I'm leaving," to which the non-introduced Jack responds by jumping out of his chair and storming upstairs.

Obviously worried, Jack's wife runs up the stairs after he's gone up, shouting after him.  She finds him in their daughter's room, hanging his daughter out the window and threatening his wife that if she leaves him, he'll drop their daughter.  She says she won't leave and pleads for him to bring their sleeping daughter back inside.  After he lays the girl back on the bed, the wife hurries to the window and slams it shut on the fly, which kills the latter.  I think the fly's death is something most won't even think much about, but I find it interesting that it was included.  A creature with a nasty job, viewed as a nuisance was killed by the woman who saved her daughter from being killed.  It was if it was a just substitute.  The man had removed the screen, so the fly then had the opportunity it wanted to leave, but it must have swarmed around the room.  Before it could finally be free, it was killed.

Then the movie moves to the present, showing scenes of an Episcopalian (Protestant Christian) Jack Mabry and his wife attending church services; scenes of Jack, a corrections officer, in his office talking to Gerald Creeson; scenes of Jack and Madylyn in their home, often with prayer and devotionals at meal times, it being clearly evident that Madylyn is serious about her faith, whereas Jack is not so much; scenes of Jack driving in his car, usually listening to radio with Christian broadcasting; scenes of Lucetta calling Jack or meeting Jack; and scenes of Lucetta visiting Gerald in prison.

Toward the beginning of the movie, Jack meets with Gerald in Jack's office.  Gerald has served eight years of eleven sentenced for arson.  He's available for possible parole, so Jack is reviewing his case.  Gerald demands to be called "Stone," because that is what everyone who knows him calls him.  He talks with an attitude, and his language is heavily laced with profanity.  His hair is in rows of tight braids.  He tells Jack that he's ready to get out, and Jack asks him whether it's because he's reformed, to which Gerald says that he's paid time, and he's ready to get out.  He has not really gone through any change for the better, though he does say something interesting to Jack.  He inquired why he had to be in the prison and why Jack could be free, and Jack said that he hadn't "broken the law."  Stone (Gerald) basically said, "You mean to tell me you haven't done anything wrong in your life?"

Stone calls his wife from prison and urges her to talk to Jack and do anything she could to get Jack to give Gerald a good report so that he could be released.  Lucetta more or less stalks Jack, calling him at home and stopping him outside his workplace.   He finally agrees to meet privately with her.  She plays the sweet and seductive role very well.  Long story short, she persuades him to go to her house, and she gets him drunk and has sex with him.

Meanwhile, Stone is having a difficult time being in prison.  He desperately wants out.  He goes to the prison library and starts sorting through religious literature.  Poor guy.  There are so many things from which to pick, he's not sure where to start.  He finally chooses a pamphlet on a religion Zangkugor or something.  I can't remember the name of it, nor do I know whether it's a real religion or made for the movie.  It teaches a doctrine of karma and reincarnation and that humming a certain way will help you get in a certain zone where then you can hear a  natural sound, like a bee buzzing and find harmony or God in it.

It is not within the scope of this review to deeply discuss such religions as Zangkugor or whatever it was called, and the true God does not call everyone to understand truth during this phase of his seven-step plan of salvation for mankind.  But, the main point is that Gerald did go through a spiritual change.  He finally felt guilty for burning his grandparents' house down.  He started asking questions like, "What is forever?"  He cleaned up his speech tremendously.  It was no longer filled with profanity, and he spoke more intelligently.  He got his hair out of braids (certainly not to say that braids are sinful).

At the same time, Jack feels convicted of his adultery with another man's wife and clearly feels very uncomfortable around both his own wife and around Gerald.  The tables have turned, and Jack is the one whose language is filled with profanity and yelling, where Gerald sits calmly and asks Jack questions out of concern, which only enrages Jack more.  Jack is obviously a tormented soul, and Gerald is at peace.  He said it didn't matter now whether he was in prison or out.  Gerald's spirit was free within him, where Jack's spirit was in tormenting bondage to his sin, because he really did believe there was a God but wanted to deny it in order to justify his sin to himself and so to avoid confessing his sin and apologizing to those he wronged and repent--change, get on the right track.

Jack's wife is visibly hurt but also disgusted with Jack's behavior.  She has her womanly instincts and wise discernment and asks Jack whether there is anything he needed to tell her.  He's very short and profane with everyone with whom he has contact now.

Jack decides he wants to change the good report on Gerald, even though now it should be clear to a wisely discerning judge that Gerald has true grounds to be released.  He's truly gone through a spiritual change, serving in liberty under some law in which he believed.

Madylyn leaves Jack, after burning their home down and getting away with it (the same crime Gerald had done for other reasons), and goes to their daughter's home.  The daughter says to her mother that she is so surprised that she waited so long and didn't leave a long time ago.  She said, "I tried once..." as she stares into another time, not answering her daughter's inquiry, "What happened?"  We're left to wonder whether Madylyn tells her daughter the story about her father hanging her out the window.

It also appears that Gerald left his whorish wife Lucetta.  I find it interesting that the name Lucetta was chosen for her character.  Her name means "light," but she's very deceptive and seductive, only appearing as a person of light.  In one scene she showed to be at work at a daycare or school, out on the playground with young children, and she was very patient and gentle-spoken.  She was sugary sweet when seducing Jack.  In truth, she was full of darkness.  She verbally expressed to Jack, upon being asked, that she did not believe in God.  She made her own good and bad, delighting in what she saw right in her own eyes.

Jack is driving down a street one night and happens to see Gerald walking.  He stops, takes a gun from his car, gets out of the car, and chases Gerald down.  He has him in a place of darkness and starts cursing him and pushes him up against the wall of a building.  He presses the barrel of the gun to Gerald's forehead and falsely accuses Gerald of ruining his life.  Gerald is calm throughout the whole scenario, which pisses off Jack even more.  He threatens, "You don't think I'll kill you?!"  Gerald calmly replies, "No, I don't."  He's right, as Jack eventually takes the gun away and leaves.  Jack (meaning "man") has an exceedingly sinful heart, but he does not want to break the PHYSICAL law of the land and so be imprisoned physically.  Nevertheless, he's in SPIRITUAL bonds, spiritually imprisoned, in bondage to his sin. 

A person can be free in God's eyes while in physical bondage (in prison), and a person who is physically free can be in spiritual bondage.  There are many who care about what man thinks and so will put on outward show of being righteous, but they are not fooling God who judges the heart and mind.  Many do not want to humble themselves and repent of their sins.  They have hearts of stone.  Gerald started out as "Stone," and he was indeed hardened.  But, he underwent a spiritual transformation, and his heart softened.  In the end, it was Jack who had the stony heart and chose to remain in tormenting spiritual bondage, rather than humbly confess his sins and repent.  There are many who sit in buildings made by man, imprisoned who are spiritually free, and there are many, many more who, although physically free, are imprisoned by their sin and their refusal to free themselves by humbly repenting.

At the age of 18 I was charged with credit card fraud across interstate lines.  When I was 20, I was served papers by the Secret Service and a U.S. marshal and summoned to court a U.S. district court to enter a plea.  I entered a plea of guilty.  I had shown a complete turnaround.  In the end, I was not convicted of the crime, though I was guilty and had pled guilty.  I received GRACE upon my repentance.  Many looked down on me with great judgment for one of the lesser sins of the Ten Commandments, one of the only sins that did not require the physical death penalty if physically transgressed.  Those same people were guilty of greater sins and great sins of the heart, sins of which they do not repent.  But, those physical sins and those greater sins of the heart are not punished by the law in place by man of this land.  Though those same people claim to be Christians, they care more about the law of man and what man thinks than what God thinks.

Which are YOU?  Were you a Stone that is now changed, or are you a Jack who is physically free and looked upon through the eyes of man as "a good person" but are in spiritual bondage to your sin and "wicked" through the eyes of God?

By Grace We Are Saved, Not by Works: A Lesson to My Son

This week when the children and I went to the market, my seven-year-old firstborn son exhibited behavior with which I was displeased.  He is usually my superstar helper when we go to the market.  I had to repeatedly remind him to do his responsibilities as he should and to not fool around. 

I told him after we left that I was going to give a bad report on him to his daddy.  It's close to an hour's drive back home, and when we were about twenty minutes away from home, Will said, "Momma, if a person does bad works, and then if he does more good works, does that [cancel out] the bad works?"

I knew why he asked.  He had been sitting back there formulating a plan to get out of the probability of being punished by his father.  He wondered whether he could get home and do all sorts of good works to get me on his good side, and then I would just cancel out his bad works with the good works of which he would have more, and so then he'd be saved from punishment.

I responded to his question, "No, sweetie, it doesn't work that way.  That would be salvation by works.  A person cannot be saved from punishment for bad works by doing more good works than he did bad.  Salvation from punishment can only come from grace."

I continued, "However, a person who does not stop his bad works and start doing good works won't receive that grace, but the fact remains that he did bad works.  Think of it this way.  Say I go out and murder someone.  I say to the judges that I am sorry, and I'll now do only good works.  I'll do the good works of not killing anyone else and will do all manner of other good works.  But, not killing other people doesn't and cannot make up for the person I did kill.  Only if the people who were hurt by that person's death gave me pardon, gave me grace can I be saved from punishment.  But people don't give grace to a murderer who feels no remorse and clearly has the mindset of murdering again."

Will said, "I need grace!  Momma, will you please give me grace and not tell Daddy?"

I told him that I knew he was usually well-behaved and that he needed to make sure it didn't happen again; next week when we go to the market, he'd better act the right way.  I added that he also needed to make sure he walked the path of righteousness for the remainder of the day, to the time his daddy would get home.  I ended by telling him that I forgave him and that I wouldn't bring charges against him to his daddy.

Well, much to my disappointment, Will let his own will get out of control for the rest of the day.  He can be so wonderful, but that day was not one of those days.  I told him he'd be getting a bad report.  I did give his daddy a bad report, and it included the market details.  The promised grace was no longer valid, because he had fallen from grace.

Our relationship with our Holy Father and with our Lord Brother, Salvation, is no different.  We are saved by grace, because we have all sinned, and the Perfect Firstborn, Salvation, sacrificed for us.  Big Brother took the blame for our wrongdoings.  He took the punishment from Father.  The punishment did not belong to him.  Salvation did no wrong in Father's eyes.  He was Father's Perfect Firstborn, playing a life out in human flesh without sin.  Salvation is Number 1 in Father's eyes, his most beloved Son.  None of us will ever come close to comparing, and certainly no number of good works is going to cancel out any bad works.  ONE bad work, ONE sin, and we come SHORT of God's glory, and Salvation, the Firstborn, is Father's glory.  We should all bow the knee to Salvation, because he's EARNED his right to be Father's Top Son.  None of us have EARNED anything...but death.  We all have at least ONE sin.  Salvation had NO sin.  We had better all bow to Salvation and do our best to be like him, and he'll give a good word to Father.  Father will see that we are trying to be like Salvation, though knowing we'll never be as good as Salvation, and honor Salvation before Father. 

That is how we get GRACE.  We have to have the heart of wanting to do everything right and trying to walk on the path of righteousness the way our Elder Brother Salvation did.  If we are not even trying to obey Father's household law the way Salvation did and do not care or only care about some commandments but not others, then we shall not get grace from Father.

It's interesting to me that most of those who call themselves "Christian" shout to those who keep Father's commandments and do not play the whore in Father's household but keep themselves as a virgin in his Royal Household, "We're not saved by works!  We're saved by grace."  Well, those of us who keep Father's commandments are not seeking to be saved by works.  We are seeking to be saved by grace.  We truly were remorseful that we had broken Father's commandments--all ten of them--and we turned to good works.  No matter how many times we don't steal, it won't make up for the time(s) we have stolen.  No matter how much we do not murder, it won't make up for the times we did (even in heart).  We're not saved by works.  But, we know we're not going to get covered by that promised grace through Salvation before Father's throne if we do not change our ways. 

If Will acts up at the market next week, he'll really be in trouble, because it is known that he can conduct himself properly and make me very proud, and so if he does not even try to do what is right and instead acts out of line--off the right path--he won't receive grace.  It'll be even worse.  It's pretty bad when someone gives a transgressor grace, and then he goes back to the evil deeds he had claimed to be remorseful for and turn away from.

So, those saved by grace won't be those who shout loudly to Father's righteous sons that they're "saved by grace, not by works," but those saved by grace will be the ones who sought grace and then stopped breaking the commandments.  Most of those "saved by grace" shouters agree that one should not murder, steal, commit adultery, lie, etc.  It's mostly the fourth commandment with which they hate.  They prefer to fornicate--to play the harlot in Father's Royal House--by keeping pagan-originated holidays, like the weekly "Sunday" first day of the week and the annual holiday feasts of Easter and Christmas, etc.  They do not want to walk as Salvation did, keeping the commanded holy days of Father that outline our plan of salvation.  Father and Salvation are not pleased that those who claim to be in their Household do not keep Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and 8th Day.  This reveals the true Salvation, the true Christ. 

Oh, how I LOVE the TRUTH...how I love and meditate daily in Father's royal law.  I aim to please him daily. I cry when I fail miserably to compare to my Brother Salvation.  Oh, but I then THANK Father for his grace and Salvation for his name, because he is my Salvation.  I have FAITH that I am under the loving GRACE of my Holy Father, because I invite him to search my heart so that he knows I love him and aim to please him and follow Salvation's footsteps and because I honor Salvation as the rightful TOP HEIR and am just thankful that I even am called worthy enough through grace to co-inherit my Father's possessions. 

PRAISE you, Father, Most High, and my Beloved Lord Salvation.  Blessed are you both by those in your Royal Household who LOVE and SERVE you in SPIRIT and in TRUTH!

Amen!

There's Always Been Both Grace and Punishment

I just finished reading an article in which a Utah man whom murdered someone 25 years ago is now out of appeals and is set to receive the death penalty.  He chose the firing squad.  For those who want those details, read the article.  There are just a few things on which I want to comment.

The followings is a quote from the article, quoting a representative who wanted the law to ban the death penalty by the firing squad and only allow lethal injection:
 
"I was just hoping to end that focus," said Allen, adding that she's displeased with the prospect of another firing squad execution. "I fear that the proper attention will not be paid to the victims of the crime and the atrocity of the crime."

It seems to me as if anyone was really concerned that proper attention was paid to the victims of the crime, he would have been put to death 25 years ago.  That's a quarter of a century ago that the crime took place!  Is the victim's family even still living?  Unbelievable!  As for the "atrocity of the crime," I think a rain of bullets serves him right for unrepentant murder.  The family members and friends of the victim ought to be the ones who get to shoot, though, although it should have happened a quarter of a century ago.


Another quote from the article:

But despite Utah's strong religious roots — it's the home of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — most here support the use of the death penalty.

But despite strong religious roots, most support the death penalty?  What do you mean "but despite?"  It seems to me that a strongly religious person would support the death penalty the most.  Are not "strong[ly] religious [people]" the most just?  They ought to be, and justice for an unrepentant murder is DEATH. 

Continuing on, the article stated:

"I think in Utah, when it suits their purposes, they go back to the Old Testament and the 'eye for an eye' kind of thing," Kalish said. "These people may be the worst of the worst, but if the best we can do is repeat the same thing, it's so obviously wrong."

Obviously wrong?  Back to the old testament?  What is wrong with this Lydia Kalish?  She is the one who is wrong.  So, what are you supposed to do with an unrepentant murderer, Lydia?  Lock him up in a cage for the rest of his life and charge the law-abiding citizens, including the victims of his offense, for his upkeep?  If that was my husband or son or father or friend whose life was unfairly taken, and the offender had absolutely no remorse, I'd want the man dead.  A responsible person would not want such an evildoer alive, nor would not to send the message to the rest of the population that they can get away with evil and still live!  
 
It appalls me that we have such foolish people in our high offices and running the nation and states.  It's no wonder we have such an ever-worsening society.  I see the main problem here.  People have the erroneous idea that under the old covenant, people got punishment--the death penalty for most things--no matter what and that under the new covenant, people should get grace, no matter what.  Absolutely not!  That is not right.  There has always been grace by God for those who deserve grace and punishment for those who deserve punishment.  There were those who found grace who lived under the old covenant, because of their deep repentance.  And under the new covenant, there are still those who deserve punishment, because they do not repent. 

The old vs. new covenants has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with punishment vs. grace.  If one thinks that, he is terribly illiterate of the scriptures.  The old covenant focused on the carnal heart and the letter of the law.  The new covenant focuses on the spiritual heart and the spirit of the law.  The law was never "done away," and grace is not a new thing. 

To learn more about God's truth, visit my website: www.endtimecog.net.