Forgiving Others

I am continuing through the book, The Gospel of Yes by Mike Glenn.  Today's post ties in well with Pastor Brad's sermon on January 27th on forgiveness.  Here are some thoughts regarding forgiveness:
"Forgiveness is how we get unstuck.  Anger, left unattended, becomes bitterness. Grudges, carefully nursed over the years, produce a hard heart. Our pain blinds us to the needs of those around us and isolates us from others."
"First, making someone else hurt doesn't take away your pain."
"One of the things that makes following Jesus so difficult is that we are never given permission to disobey, regardless of the circumstances."
"Our God is so good and so powerful he can produce good out of even the worst things people do to us."
"You can hold on to your anger, or you can hold on to Jesus, but you can't hold on to both. Forgiveness is how we let go of anger and hurt to get a firm hold on the "yes" of God offered to us in Jesus Christ."

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