One day Jesus and the disciples were walking along and saw a fig tree from which to have a snack. Seeing there were no figs, Jesus said “may no one eat the fruit from this tree again”. In Mark 11:20-26 we find Jesus and His disciples passing the tree again, seeing it withering to die. This may seem cruel on Jesus’ part, but He uses it as an illustration, in essence saying, PRAY – and do so without any doubt for what you’re praying for. “If you say to this mountain, go throw yourself into the sea”, and you do not doubt that it can be done, it will happen. Some might question why would anyone want a mountain to throw itself into a sea? The mountain to the sea example is not the point. The point is to believe in your prayer. Now, that’s all fine and dandy until Jesus throws in a kicker. But first; September 26, 1944: Ray Hamley, a 21 year old B-25 bombardier. Targets: RR Station and nazi factories in Kleve. Not a target: the church. He felt the sting of guilt, but “war is war…right?” Following the war, Ray went home to England, married his childhood sweetheart and became the head of an elementary school. In 1983 Ray was handed a newspaper article showing the townspeople of Kleve making plans to rebuild their church of St. Mary. Sparking an old memory, Ray goes home, digs out his log book to find they were rebuilding the church he bombed in 1944. That sting returned to his heart, but his old conscious told him to forget it, war is war. Ray couldn’t let it go and wrote to the mayor of Kleve asking forgiveness from the townspeople. Ray received a letter back, asking for he and his family to come see the new church. Ray didn’t reply. Another letter came, this time from the priest, with 500 signatures of people offering their forgiveness in Jesus’ name. Ray did go and said this healed wounds he had been carrying for 40 years. I tell this story because Prayer is a powerful tool God has given us to overcome anything life throws at us. And forgiveness is one of the most important responses to prayer. Sometimes, that forgiveness has to come from one’s self for whose offense? One’s own! Forgiveness is one of the most powerful blessings God commands. In fact, skeptics who counter Jesus’ healing miracles, tell us Jesus used nothing more than power-of-suggestion. Jesus healed by telling people they were forgiven of their sins and that “suggestion” is instigated the healing! What do you think? I think they have a point; however they are still missing the point of God’s Grace. The devil uses sin to kill us off and separate us from God, but forgiveness is powerful medicine and cures the ills of life; Thus Jesus dying for our sins. Now, here’s the kicker I referenced a while ago in our scripture reading; Forgiveness doesn’t have anything to do with “Loving your neighbor as yourself” or “doing unto others as you would have others do to you”; but has everything to do with; “When you pray IF you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, SO THAT your Father in heaven may FORGIVE YOU of your sins”! “But oh preacher, you don’t know what ol’ so-and-so has done / taken / lied / swindled from me”. And you’re right, I may not know, but I can tell you what I do know; There’s no grudge on this earth worth losing your own forgiveness over, unless of course, you want to hang on a cross beaten, to utter, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”, before you die. Those two-thousand year old words were spoken because of what we do today. So preacher, if forgiveness is so important, why didn’t Jesus forgive the fig tree? Because Jesus’ point was, if the branch doesn’t produce fruit, what good is it to the kingdom of God? None – and it gets pruned and thrown into the fire. Forgiveness is one of the fruits the vine produces. Maybe you have been carrying a grudge for too long, or maybe you need to ask forgiveness for something you’ve done. Find the strength, courage and support to do so in a church near you, and feel the release of that bondage the devil has used to hold you hostage.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 17:29:35 +0000
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