Devotionals

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Bridging Forgiveness
By Hazel Moodley
But I tell you, that anyone who is angry with his brother, will be subject to judgement....
(Matthew 5:22, NIV)

If I had to stand on the one side of a canyon and looking beyond, the distance will seem immeasurable and a jump to the other side impossible. Yet, build a bridge across the vastness and how much easier it is to get across.

Applying this concept to forgiveness, we see the gulf and distance created by animosity and hurt. A world apart we stay because we can't seem to get across. Forgiveness is the bridge that joins two mountains that at one point could never meet.

Jesus said that he came so that we could have life and the abundance of it. We stop living when our heart beats with hate, bitterness and unforgiveness. There is no room in our hearts to breathe in life and breathe out Christ .You will shout out that you don't know what "those people have done to me". "It is because of so and so that my life is like this......" so forth. Every reason you may have in all its validity is all the same reasons Christ could have had but yet he still went to the cross by choice because he came to serve and not to be served. The greatest among us is he who is least. Least in ourselves but great in Christ.

In God's precious word, he so plainly shows us that if our brother has anything against us, then we should leave our offering, go and make it right and then come back to the altar. Why? Because at the altar we find mercy. Grace abounds for us to be forgiven but once we are forgiven, it is amazing how the concept changes, where the same amount of grace that flows for us does not abound in us, to those who have sinned against us.Do we actually want to face judgement for holding grudges?

In all our emotions of unforgivness, God grants us spiritual help to heal wounds and he is the greatest councilor who teaches us how to pray out of this bondage. This marvelous friend is the Holy Spirit. Our added prayers are limited by our carnal understanding and desires, but the prayer of the Holy Spirit is the prayer of the kingdom. The Holy Spirit knows no boundary or distance that is governed by emotions and environment. The Holy Spirit reaches beyond flesh into depths of the human heart. This alone sets you free from the entanglement of an unforgiving spirit.


Love is not love unless it is given away. Stored up in our hearts, it is potential love but given out, it is a weapon of victory destroying the principalities of darkness that hold our spirits captive to unforgiveness.

Realistically, no human being would want to forgive another but that is when you meet people on a human level. God wants us to meet them on his level .We are brought out from the natural for a supernatural purpose. Even as we cry out daily, "forgive me Lord", and "try me one more time" Our spirit man yearns for growth and unforgivness stumps spiritual growth. God's mercy is greater than our sin and flows for all mankind yet our mercy is limited to those who meet the requirements and flows for a few.

Everyday the sun rises on both the righteous and unrighteous and should one day, the Lord decides to only let the sun rise on the righteous, how many of us will stand under the sunshine.So , he that is without sin, cast the first stone.

Now, lets go a little deeper into forgiveness. Unforgiveness is a spirit that hardens our heart and keeps us stubborn. God can not work with a hard heart and he wants to establish his statutes in us by removing our hardened heart and replacing it with a heart of flesh.Unforgiveness is likened to a cancer that kills all living cells flowing with the blood of Jesus.

Forgiveness means forgetting and only when we forget, can we move forward. Does unforgiveness keep me behind? Let us look at the tabernacle that God instructed his people to build. Progression meant advancement from the outer court to the inner court to the Holy of Holies. The outer court represents the sacrifice your flesh makes by dying to unforgiveness .You sacrifice of burnt offering in crucifying your flesh moves you forward to the inner court where you are cleansed and washed as your heart is renewed to its true character of being a temple of the Holy Spirit. As you come to the Holy of Holies, this is where the presence of God saturates you .His presence makes you complete .It is where you belong.Unforgiveness keeps you out of all this joy and binds your feet from progressing in Christ.

No matter how deep your wound is, Christ can heal you. Take the first step and cast your heavy load to him. He is your burden bearer and His anointing is a yolk destroying, burden breaking power that loosens you into a kingdom mentality. Yes, you've been hurt but stop the hurt from continuing, through forgiveness.Whatever the pain, be it emotional, or physical, your battle has already been won in the heavenlies so restore that victory here on earth .

Everyday with the Lord is sweeter than the day before.The sweetness of liberty shed by the blood of Jesus can only flow through a clear channel. Don't let the devil rob you with his menial tactic of unforgiveness and prevent the anointing of blessings to flow in your life.

God is calling you to Zion, a higher place of praise.To stand upon his mountain and bring glory to his name.Bridge the gap of unforgiveness and see the fruit from your life multiply through the nations. Forgiveness opens a door that leads to a new dimension in Christ.

It is time to step through this opened door and don't lose any more moments than you already have.

God bless you.
Hazel Moodley lives in Durban, South Africa with her husband. They are both youth leaders in their local church

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