by Nan Jones @NanJonesAuthor
Guest blogger: Olabode Oluwatosin @DoubleST_Sst
Several days ago I heard from a young Nigerian man who asked about being a guest blogger on Morning Glory. First of all, I was stunned that someone so far away would notice my request for guest bloggers and then I felt overwhelmed that the Lord would honor me with such a gift. As Tosin (his nickname) and I began to communicate through emails, I saw a sweet and gentle spirit with a longing to honor God and a desire to help others know Christ. One of the messages Tosin submitted to me is about the lessons in forgiveness he learned firsthand. Tosin didn’t know about my personal struggles and my battle to forgive someone who has hurt me deeply. I have since shared this with him. My heart was moved by his words and wisdom. I trust you will experience the same. He is an amazing young man.
Welcome Tosin!
establishing laws or stating facts that are of little or no significance. Anyone that studies scripture deeply and
closely will realize that God spoke in certain patterns, pending the context,
and all the time he spoke to “hit a certain nail”.
Consider this:
Matthew 18:21-22, 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.”
what Jesus meant when he said to Peter in the context of FORGIVENESS, “Until seventy
times seven (490 times).” Could this have
been a message of humility? Is it possible for someone to offend you that
many times? What is the voice of the Spirit saying?
times (seven must have seemed like a really big deal to Peter; I mean, it takes
the grace of God to forgive once, let alone seven times).
when a person sins against us (offends us), it might require us to forgive that
person at most 490 times. This is to say, for our hearts to totally heal
sometimes, WE NEED TO FORGIVE UPON EVERY REMEMBRANCE until our heart affirms it
completely.
has been hurt in whatsoever way). It is vital to bringing ourselves back to
life. This implies that in order to move ahead to the next level in life, we
need to forgive that person or else we remain wondering in this thought, “Why
me? Why did s/he hurt me??”
(the healing process, I mean), Christ teaches us to forgive “until seventy
times seven”. It often takes this long before true forgiveness occurs. We must
remember God forgives us daily in Christ a whole lot more than 490 times!
could have genuinely forgiven the person the first time, it takes a WHILE to
absolutely forget, thus GOD’S CONCEPT OF HEALING.
means we should allow ourselves to heal through the process. Our memory is a
funny thing – we keep remembering. God is saying for each remembrance:
Forgive…FOrgive… FORgive… FORGive… FORGIve… FORGIVe… FORGIVE… Until our hearts
have completely HEALED. This is important because if we don’t forgive, Matthew 18:35 says,
“So likewise shall my heavenly Father do
also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their
trespasses.”
Or are you reading this and need to be forgiven?
My advice as a friend and brother would be for you to DO WHAT IS RIGHT, for
only then would you have PEACE OF MIND…. Do what is right.
blessings upon you and may you continually find His absolute Peace.
A Tweetable to Encourage Others
What does forgiveness have to do with my healing? Guest, Olabode Oluwatosin:(Click to Tweet)
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Christian redeemed and saved by grace. He is the founder of an online blogging
concept called YES JESUS, with the absolute aim of bringing people to Christ.
He is known for his simplicity as regards everything he is involved in, thus the
birth of his pen name, SST (Strictly Simple from Tosin). He coauthored his first book titled ‘THE BIG
ONE’ and is currently working on his second book ‘THE IDEAL BEING’.
Dear Olabode, I really needed to hear this. I've struggled with much forgiving to do this past year and I really appreciate your words of affirmation and encouragement. This is such a "tricky" passage in the Bible but I know God is honored by the way you have proclaimed His Word to us and explained this to us. What an absolute blessing to read your words. Thank you for guest blogging for Nan. I am so excited we've gotten to meet you and look forward to hearing from you more. Blessings, Marcie Bridges
This change my mindset towards forgiveness and the grace from God. Thanks bro
I’m so thankful Tosin’s words have helped you. Isn’t it amazing that God’s Word is living and it is timeless. Tosin wrote this post for me 3 years ago, and yet the Lord used it today to penetrate your wounded heart. What a mighty God we serve!!