FORGIVE OR HELL by Mike Peralta (fantasy books to read .txt) 📕

pride and humility. You will find that many of your thoughts are infested with pride. Ask God to show you any trace of pride in you. He will, and as He does, get rid of that pride. Ask God to help you get rid of that pride. Your vision will be clearer and you will be much more sensitive to the needs of others. You will have more compassion for them instead of being judgmental.

 

Relevant Scriptures

Luke 18:9-14. 9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Obadiah 1:3. The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks and make your home on the heights, you who say to yourself, 'Who can bring me down to the ground?'

 

1 Cor. 13:5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

 

Love Is Not Rude

Love is not insulting to others. It does not ridicule others. It does not treat others with contempt. Love is sensitive to the needs and desires of others. It will not cuss at that driver on the road that just pulled in front of you and slowed you down. It will allow that other driver to get into your lane. It will not get angry at that one that is holding things down in the check out lane at the grocery store. It will treat the spouse as well or better than you treat the stranger. It will be as patient with the children, as God is with you. Even for repeated mistakes.

 

Love Is Not Self-Seeking

Love is always considerate of others. Love is not selfish or does good for others just to get something back. It does good to others just to do good for them. It does not seek for something in return. It will love and give – even if no one else knows about it. In fact it will not tell anyone else about how you helped that person in need.

 

Love Is Not Easily Angered

Anger tends to stir up all sorts of evil behavior in you and others. Among the evils is: strife, bitterness, rage, brawling, violence, slander, malice, filthy language, disputing.

If you are trying to correct human behavior through anger listen to James 1:20 which says, “Human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” (James 1:20)

 

Relevant Scriptures

Proverbs 30:33. For as churning cream produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.”

Ephesians 4:31. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

Colossians 3:8. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

1 Timothy 2:8. Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.

James 1:20. because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

 

Love Keeps NO RECORD Of Wrongs

Forgiveness keeps no record of wrongs. If you lash back at your spouse, or brother, or sister reminding them of their past transgressions against you then you have not forgiven. Perhaps you say it. But you dredge up the past again and again. Pulling up the database of wrongs that your spouse or brother has done against you. This is not forgiveness.

Forgiveness forgets the past offenses against you. But this is impossible you say.

With man it is impossible but with God it is POSSIBLE. Ask God to help you forget the past wrongs against you. After all God Himself forgives and FORGETS the past wrongs that you have committed against Him. If you ask Him, God will help you forget the past wrongs that were committed against you.

Just give all past offenses to God and pray for wisdom and growth for the person who in the past did the wrongs. Pray for God to give him or her wisdom to avoid making future mistakes. So that the person gets closer to God and takes on more the nature of Christ.

If sincere, this prayer is eagerly heard by God and HE will move mightedly to help and bless the person.  

 

1 Cor. 13:6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

 

Love Does Not Delight In Evil

Do you get secretly glad to hear of a calamity that has happened to someone (even if the calamity is by the person’s own actions such as falling into gross sin). Especially someone who has treated you badly in your past or someone who you have disagreed with in the past?

STOP IT !

Repent to God for thinking this way. For delighting in someone else’s calamity. Remember you reap what you sow. And this applies in this area as well as all other areas.

Pray honestly to God to deliver the person(s) out of the calamity. To restore the person. To heal the person. And pray with genuine desire for the person’s restoration and blessing.

 

Love Rejoices With The Truth

After a person falls into sin, earnestly pray for his restoration to the truth. For God’s mercy and restoring power to come to that person so he walks forever in God’s truth in all areas. Really and truly desire the best for that person.

Do not do as many others do by continuing to slander and gossip about him. If the person has repented then God has forgiven and forgotten his sin. But now, by continuing to slander him, you are being the accuser of the brethren – the same thing that satan does.

And you do not want to be caught in satan’s company and behavior by slandering another.

Rather sincerely rejoice when you hear of someone’s restoration. Be burdened and ache to hear about someone’s restoration. This is truly rejoicing in the truth. For truth to win out to help that person.

 

1 Cor. 13:7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 

Love Always Protects

Love always acts so as to protect others.

Psalm 12:5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord. “I will protect them from those who malign them.”

Psalm 91:14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

Proverbs 4:6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.

Proverbs 14:3 A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride, but the lips of the wise protect them.

 

Love Always Trusts

Love is not cynical nor critical. It always seeks to believe people and to trust them. Sometimes people will mislead or make promises they don't keep but that is when forgiveness enters in and you keep seeking to trust and believe in people.

 

Love Always Hopes

Love always hopes the best for another. It is always rooting (desiring) for the other person to succeed. True hope for another always puts you in a frame of mind and attitude so as to encourage that person when you see him or her. And encouragement is a great help for another. It is part of loving them.

 

Love Always Perseveres

Love never gives up on another. No matter how many times the other person fails. Give him or her another chance. Keep praying for them. Keep loving them. Regardless of how many times they fail you. Or no matter how many times the person falls. Be ever there to help him back up. This you do by sincerely praying for the other person. Also to keep helping the person in other ways as God leads. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit to see and hear how to help the person.

 

1 Cor. 13:8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

 

Love Never Fails

In spite of great odds; true, genuine, heartfelt love causes others to succeed. With genuine love, your prayers are eagerly and powerfully heard by God on behalf of the other person you are praying for. Love is extremely powerful and will never fail to bring a successful outcome on behalf of the person you are loving and praying for.

 

1 Cor. 13:9-10 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

 

Love Is Perfection

How can anybody attain perfection? This is a very astounding statement. That by love we can attain perfection? How can this be? Isn’t only God perfect. This is the astounding power of genuine Godly love.

To get insight into this, let us read Eph 3:17-19 where it states,” 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

This is saying that by being rooted and established in love you can be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God – including God’s love for another.

By always moving in love, you attain that Godlike perfection – to the extent that you really, truly, genuinely, sincerely operate in God’s love towards others. Is this possible? Yes it is. In your own strength - no. But what is impossible with men is POSSIBLE with God. This is where faith combined with love leads to attaining perfection – in terms of moving in Godly love for another.

 

1 Cor. 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

 

Love Is Maturity

As you have seen previously, maturity means to be complete in Christ. This is done by close relationship with Jesus. Sincere devotion, worship, and willing obedience to Jesus. Also constant communion with the Holy Spirit – as He will lead you into all truth and love. In this way you learn and grow into maturity in Christ. Complete with deep love for God and genuine love for others. Remember: Deep Worship, Willing Obedience, Deep Love. These will make you mature in Christ.

 

1 Cor. 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 

Love Will Lead To Fully Knowing God

The more you come to know Jesus, including loving Him and loving all the people He lovingly created, then that knowledge will lead you to fully knowing God. This is not just a ”head” knowledge but a “heart” knowledge. Where you love Jesus with all your heart and mind, and learn to love others because of God’s deep love for them. Loving others also leads to loving and fully knowing God.

 

1 Cor. 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these