1/20– Start Your Day Off Right
Series
Quote:
1/20–Be True To Yourself
Story:
Illustration: We might liken it to letting go of a bell rope. If you have ever seen an old school house with a bell on top, or an old church with a bell in the steeple, you will remember that to get the bell ringing you have to tug awhile.
Once it has begun to ring, you merely maintain the momentum. As long as you keep pulling, the bell keeps ringing.
Forgiveness is letting go of the rope. It is just that simple. But when you do so, the bell keeps ringing. Momentum is still at work. However, if you keep your hands off the rope, the bell will begin to slow and eventually stop. The unforgiving spirit will begin to slow, and will eventually be still. Forgiveness is not something you feel, it is something you do. It is letting go of the rope.
Scripture:
Matthew 6:14-15
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.
Humor:
Two buddies were hiking when they came upon an old, abandoned mineshaft. Curious about its depth, they threw in a pebble and waited for the sound of it striking the bottom, but they heard nothing. They went and found a bigger rock, threw it in and waited. Still nothing.
They searched the area for something larger and came upon a railroad tie. With great difficulty, the two men carried it to the opening and threw it in. While waiting for it to hit bottom, a goat suddenly darted between them and leapt into the hole!
The guys were still standing there with astonished looks upon their faces when a man walked up to them. He asked them if they had seen a goat anywhere in the area and they said that one had just jumped into the mineshaft in front of them! The man replied, “Oh no. That couldn’t be my goat; mine was tied to a railroad tie.”
Ooops. We do make mistakes, don’t we? Thank God for the forgiveness available through Jesus Christ.
– author unknown, submitted by John Brack, OH
J D Canter E Books 