
Is it so hard to forgive? by Fred Schaeffer, SFO Forgiving our sisters and brothers, is all that stands between God and us. The most common interference between us and God is the unwillingness to accept inner healing of forgiveness. We may have been prayed over hundreds of times, and still the healing isn't accepted. This is a ficticious example, but it happens every day in all parts of the world. A family member insults us, tells us we are no good. Let's assume that the insulter is your mother-in-law, and that the person being told he's no good, is your husband. Common enough scenario. For a mother-in-law to tell a wife that her husband is no good is tantamount to an unforgivable offence, right? So we have words, we scream at each other a little bit, we say some very insulting things that make it even more difficult to reconcile, we walk out of the house and slam the door with so much force that it shatters the peace of the whole neighborhood. The mother-in-law becomes persona non grata, for years and years. And, after twenty-thirty years, the same hate is still there, and we still aren't able to say "I am sorry!" We go to be prayed over and even after thousands of prayers, nothing happens. That's because we are not open to healing ... our heart is closed. Is it so hard to forgive? It seems so ... But that isn't true. If we love our Lord Jesus Christ, we will extend the olive branch. Even if we did not initiate the original argument, we still need to say "I'm sorry" because we have hated for 20 years, we have hated another human being and we have displeased God. God told us to love our sisters and brothers. But we haven't! What holds us back, what is so powerful that we cannot cross this bridge of hate and begin to normalise this breakdown in the family? There are outside forces at play. Satan hates us thoroughly and what he hates even more is to give praise and honor to God. He is the master of dirty tricks, he will do anything to misguide us, and to guide us away from experiencing God's love. So this hate seethes in you and years go by by and the old impasse is still there. And all it takes is one telephone call to get any relationship going again. Jesus is willing to help you, but you need to allow that. You need to say, "Yes, Lord, you are right, I need to accept healing to allow that one telephone call to be made. Repent! So do it! Do it now! You made that phone call and an unbelievable feeling of peace relieves all that pent-up anger, you become an "open" person again, able to laugh and to cry, to smile and to pray. Yes, when you are all locked up in yourself with boiling hate, you really can't pray, because the channel between you and God is dead or dying. The family is whole again. So are we, part of the family of God! May He bless you and keep you! Fred Schaeffer, SFO, September 7, 2009

Is it so hard to forgive?
by Fred Schaeffer, SFO

Forgiving our sisters and brothers, is all that stands between God and us. The most common interference between us and God is the unwillingness to accept inner healing of forgiveness. We may have been prayed over hundreds of times, and still the healing isn't accepted.

This is a ficticious example, but it happens every day in all parts of the world. A family member insults us, tells us we are no good. Let's assume that the insulter is your mother-in-law, and that the person being told he's no good, is your husband. Common enough scenario. For a mother-in-law to tell a wife that her husband is no good is tantamount to an unforgivable offence, right? So we have words, we scream at each other a little bit, we say some very insulting things that make it even more difficult to reconcile, we walk out of the house and slam the door with so much force that it shatters the peace of the whole neighborhood.

The mother-in-law becomes persona non grata, for years and years. And, after twenty-thirty years, the same hate is still there, and we still aren't able to say "I am sorry!" We go to be prayed over and even after thousands of prayers, nothing happens. That's because we are not open to healing ... our heart is closed. Is it so hard to forgive? It seems so ...

But that isn't true. If we love our Lord Jesus Christ, we will extend the olive branch. Even if we did not initiate the original argument, we still need to say "I'm sorry" because we have hated for 20 years, we have hated another human being and we have displeased God. God told us to love our sisters and brothers. But we haven't!

What holds us back, what is so powerful that we cannot cross this bridge of hate and begin to normalise this breakdown in the family? There are outside forces at play. Satan hates us thoroughly and what he hates even more is to give praise and honor to God. He is the master of dirty tricks, he will do anything to misguide us, and to guide us away from experiencing God's love. So this hate seethes in you and years go by by and the old impasse is still there.

And all it takes is one telephone call to get any relationship going again. Jesus is willing to help you, but you need to allow that. You need to say, "Yes, Lord, you are right, I need to accept healing to allow that one telephone call to be made. Repent! So do it! Do it now!

You made that phone call and an unbelievable feeling of peace relieves all that pent-up anger, you become an "open" person again, able to laugh and to cry, to smile and to pray. Yes, when you are all locked up in yourself with boiling hate, you really can't pray, because the channel between you and God is dead or dying.

The family is whole again. So are we, part of the family of God! May He bless you and keep you!

Fred Schaeffer, SFO, September 7, 2009

Is it so hard to forgive? by Fred Schaeffer, SFO

Forgiving our sisters and brothers, is all that stands between God and us. The most common interference between us and God is the unwillingness to accept inner healing of forgiveness. We may have been prayed over hundreds of times, and still the healing isn't accepted.

Is it so hard to forgive?
by Fred Schaeffer, SFO