The Silk Scarf and the Leather Jacket

When I was in junior high school in the early sixties, one of the coolest things a guy could have was a white silk scarf to wear with his leather jacket. Well, I was “lookin’ cool” in my new white silk scarf. It was a gift, and I was proud of it. I was in

One More Time

Recently, I was talking with a man about forgiveness. He said that he had forgiven everyone in his life except one person. When I asked him who it was, he related a story about a family incident involving his brother that had taken place years ago. When I asked why he couldn’t forgive his brother,

The Benefits of Forgiving

After teaching about forgiveness, I had a man ask this question. He said, “I understand that as a Christian I am to forgive. I understand that Jesus commanded us to forgive. But what difference will it make in my daily life? Who knows or cares if I forgive or not?” The answer to that is

Cancel the Debt and be Free

When someone deeply hurts you, quite often it leaves you with a feeling that they owe you something. Most of the time, the people who hurt you don’t realize what they have done. Let me ask you something. Do you really think other people are planning their life around hurting you? The truth is, very

I’ll Forgive You This Time, But You Owe Me

How many times have you heard someone say, “I’ll forgive you this time, but you owe me?” The reason they feel the person owes them is that in reality, they haven’t forgiven him or her. If they would have truly forgiven them, then they would have “canceled the debt” and nothing would have been owed.

The Healed Heart

Unforgiveness is like a cancer that grows deep within the heart. It can remain undetected to the outside world, but it brings destruction. It is impossible to walk in the joy and freshness that hope brings when the poison of unforgiveness is sheltered beneath the surface. There is only one solution to eliminating this hindrance

Offense Comes with a Purpose

Like many carnal people, those who hold offense tend to defend themselves by saying, “I have a perfectly good reason for acting the way I do about this situation.” But what they have failed to realize is that offense comes with a number of objectives. The devil will bring offense in order to destroy you,

Don’t Subject Yourself to Abuse

I want to dispel a very common misconception about abuse and offense. Contrary to what most people think, removing yourself from an abusive situation doesn’t necessarily mean you are offended or unforgiving. For example, if your husband beats you, God does not expect you or your children to remain in such an environment. And leaving