10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,[a] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas[b]”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
What is a shame is that most, think this is the church He is referring to "inside the walls" or "box". It isn't. How can we ever be effective as a witness for Christ if we are bickering. I also read a passage on forgiveness as that has been heavy on my heart, trying to show forgiveness, which in turn causes bitterness, anger, spite and a lot of unhealthy feelings. If we do not forgive our brothers and sisters in Christ, God is clear He will not forgive us.
Matthew 6:14-15: For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
I so don't want that. I want to be forgiven. Then if we don't forgive it sows other unhealthy seeds of anger, bitterness, and strife once again in the body of Christ. There is so much of this. God is judging America for the decisions we make and how we treat each other. It is sad to me to see so many that if we would work together and love one another (I am not referring to the new age modern teaching church) but agape such as Yahweh shows to us we could move those mountains we like to speak about. People block their blessings, their healing, their prosperity when they do this. I am not to say it has never happened to me, it has and I have recognized it, I beg forgiveness.
So, you want to know how to forgive- sometimes you have been hurt very badly or you have dealt with mistrust. It may be a close friend or not so close. It may be your child, a sibling, your spouse, a co worker. You should treat them all the same. FORGIVENESS. Here's how:
Make the decision to forgive, regardless of your feelings. They will eventually catch up with the whole forgiveness concept, but maybe not today.
Pray that God will give you His Grace to do it. God's grace is simply His power to do something with ease that you would struggle with if you try to do it on your own. Learning to forgive definitely requires God's grace.
Pray for the person who hurt you. Ouch. This is probably the hardest part of the whole concept. But when you pray for that person, God can reach into the situation and work.
LEAVE the situation and person alone. Don't try to avenge yourself. Ugh. Yeah right...it would be so much easier if you could just do some awful thing to make them look bad or feel bad or something! Don't do anything. Let God do what He's going to do and you focus on moving forward, doing whatever God tells you to do. Forgive and forget.
Dear heavenly Father, we know we are sinners we also know we are your children. God our prayer is that you lead us to walk uprightly and in Your Grace, Your presence and Your ways! In all ways God we acknowledge you we will seek you all of our days. Amen and God bless you...
