The Bait of Satan Part 2

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Matthew 6:14

I was supposed to serve as a prayer minister for a church event years ago. Out of my expectations, one of my core team members came to me and asked, "I sense you have an offense against that person. On behalf of that person, would you choose to forgive him?" He added, "If you forgive him, our Father will also forgive you.” He literally quoted today's key verse.

In the presence of the Holy Spirit, my tears fell down and I said, "Yes, I forgive him." At that moment, I realized that I had unforgiveness towards someone and felt a great release within. 

Forgiveness releases the offense to God. Forgiveness doesn't mean we agree with the offender, but we no longer want to harbor the offense and avenge ourselves.  According to John Bevere, author of the bait of Satan, many people have said:  “You have no idea what he/she did to me.” to which John responded, “You have no idea what you did to Jesus.” He added, “A person who cannot forgive has forgotten what they have been forgiven.” 

Jesus teaches a lot about forgiveness, as He has forgiven all our debts so we will forgive others' debts, and if we do not forgive, our father in heaven will not forgive our trepasses. It is a solemn truth, but we can also see God's grace in it. 

Forgiveness is never easy. We don't like difficult relationships or trials in life, but they reveal what is in our hearts, especially offenses. Difficult relationships are part of the tests and God uses tests to make us stronger, not bitter, and it is an essential process to grow spiritually. 

How do we forgive difficult people? Jesus teaches us to pray for our enemies. Man can't do this by himself, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.  The more we pray, we will gradually find that the offense less and less, so we lay down our wall of protection, respond with God's love, and finally forgive that person and we are set free from the bait of Satan. 

Blessing prayer: God, thank you for your forgiveness, make us strong and give us love to forgive others who have hurt us and we trust that you will vindicate and heal us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.