“Forgive our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors…” (Matthew 6:12).

Most of us have prayed the Lord’s Prayer hundreds if not thousands of times. Did you notice that our being forgiven by God is conditional upon our forgiving those who have hurt us?

Yeah. Read it for yourself in Matthew 6:9-13

This, then, is how you should pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.

As if this conditional clause in the Lord’s Prayer is not clear enough, Jesus reaffirms this truth a few verses later when he says, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15).

Yikes! This forgiveness is serious business!!!

What’s the deal with forgiveness? Why is this such an essential part of being a follower of Jesus Christ?

Forgiveness is essential because it’s the only pathway to God’s future. You see, forgiving someone cannot change the past. All the hurts, all the pain, all the residual damage and scarring all remain. But, forgiving someone is not about the past. Forgiving someone cannot change the past but it will change your future. Releasing the hurt, anger, disappointment, and loss is the pathway to freedom and peace. You can’t hang on to the past – which cannot change – while wanting to experience God’s grace and freedom. You have to let it go.

That’s what forgiving means. It means letting go so God can heal you, so God can fill you with his peace.

So make room for God’s grace. Make room for God’s peace. Let it go and let God heal you.

“One who has unreliable friend soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).

Birds of a feather flock together.

“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20).

“Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

It matters who we spend our time with. It matters who our friends are.

You see, when God wants to bless us, the primary way in which God blesses is through the presence of another person.

The problem is that when satan wants to destroy us, the primary way satan destroys is by sending someone into our lives who leads us astray from God and his truths.

So how can you tell who sent whom?

That’s a great question.

The primary answer is to look at the scriptures. Anyone who leads you closer to God and closer to the scriptures is God-sent. Anyone who leads you further from God and his truths revealed in the scriptures needs to be avoided. They are not sent by God.

Be wise, my friends. Let God’s truths revealed in the scriptures to guide you.

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Truth.

The thing about what is true and what is right is that, if it is true and right, it doesn’t matter what others think about it or how others feel about it. If it is true and right it doesn’t matter whether people like it or hate it. None of these things change the fact that it is true and right.

Organizations and relationships get into trouble and on thin ice when the main question becomes who is right instead of asking what is right.

If it is true and right, it doesn’t matter who.

In a world that absolutely hates absolutes, in a world that will tolerate anything and everything except for intolerance it is absolutely critical that Christians remember the source of truth. Truth has a name – Jesus!

We discover this truth regarding Jesus through the scriptures and scriptures alone.

• Not what you think about Jesus.
• Not how you feel about Jesus.
• Not what you imagine Jesus to be.
• Not what you wish about Jesus.

Truth regarding Jesus is revealed to us in the scriptures.

Truth has nothing to do with how you feel about Jesus, think about Jesus, or whether you like Jesus or not.

Truth has everything to do with what the scriptures reveal regarding the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus declares, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

There is only one way to discover the truth. There is only one pathway to eternal life in the Father. The pathway to the Father has a name – Jesus.

And that is the God honest truth!