Forgiveness

Have you ever found it difficult to forgive? Do you know you should forgive but you just can't? Have you ever wondered to yourself, 'why is it important to forgive?' or 'what is unforgiveness doing to me?' or "is it really possible for me to forgive and get past this offense?' Have you ever convinced yourself that you are somehow punishing your offender by retaining the offense? Do you think that somehow forgiving someone is just letting them off the hook? You may not realize it but forgiveness is more important for what it does for you than what it does for your offender. Do you realize that your offender still has power over parts of your life until you forgive? The act of forgiveness can be and should be a simple act of the will. Once you know you should forgive, it could be just an immediate decision of the will. However for many it just isn’t that simple. Some people need to wrestle through this process in order to solidify it in their lives. That is what this book helps you to do. It helps you understand what forgiveness really is, its benefits, the consequences when we don't, how to work through it, and how to build a heart that sustains it.

Have you ever found it difficult to forgive? Do you know you should forgive but you just can't? Have you ever wondered to yourself, 'why is it important to forgive?' or 'what is unforgiveness doing to me?' or "is it really possible for me to forgive and get past this offense?' Have you ever convinced yourself that you are somehow punishing your offender by retaining the offense? Do you think that somehow forgiving someone is just letting them off the hook? You may not realize it but forgiveness is more important for what it does for you than what it does for your offender. Do you realize that your offender still has power over parts of your life until you forgive? The act of forgiveness can be and should be a simple act of the will. Once you know you should forgive, it could be just an immediate decision of the will. However for many it just isn’t that simple. Some people need to wrestle through this process in order to solidify it in their lives. It isn’t uncommon to find people who, after making a choice of their will to forgive, still find themselves wondering if they really did forgive since feelings of unforgiveness still linger. Others haven’t done the necessary follow-up work to rebuild their heart so that bitterness has no place to return. Based on a Christian frame work, the author leads the readers to the place of being willing to take the risk of releasing their offenders and learn to live in freedom. In the book the reader will see the necessity of forgiveness to release every offender in their life. To accomplish that objective the reader will first understand what forgiveness really means. There are too many misconceptions of what forgiveness really is and it requires clarification. When one really understands what they are doing when they forgive another, they might not be reluctant to forgive, or even struggle with the idea of it. The author then examines how one opens the door to bitterness and gives it a home in their heart. This subject is covered because it helps unravel the areas where we have entangled ourselves that have kept this door open. The book In conclusion, seeks to help create a heart where bitterness has a difficult time penetrating into it. Wouldn’t it be great to walk through life with a Teflon© nonstick spiritual armor, where offenses slide off rather than stick as they are thrown at you daily? Building a heart that quickly resolves offenses is actually the most important aspect of this book. It is imperative that our hearts be ruled by a stronghold of compassion so we will react and see everyone – even our offenders – through the eyes of Jesus.

Rodney Hogue has been in the pastoral ministry for over 30 years. He has been the pastor of Community of Grace in Hayward, California since 1990. He also travels domestically and internationally teaching and equipping in churches and conferences on freedom, destiny, and maturity. Through having a strong Southern Baptist heritage, giving him a passion for the Word of God and evangelism, he ministers across denominational lines. His passion is to see lives transformed and constraints removed so that one’s destiny can be restored.