“To err is human, to forgive is divine.”
– Alexander Pope
When Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer, He included forgiveness. He had lived a blameless life and had nothing to be forgiven for, but one thing Jesus did do was to forgive others and ask the Father to forgive them, too.
We need to continually seek God’s forgiveness. We are not only to ask and receive forgiveness for our own sins, but we are to forgive others and ask God to forgive them.
“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:25 NIV).
How many times have we prayed with an “attitude”? You know, those times when we mean, “Oh God, help so-and-so. You know that she is a real liar and she lied on me again this week. Get her good, God.”
Or, “God, I just release You now to go and deal with my friend so-and-so. You know that he is a dirty rotten devil and has been messing up for a long time now. I can’t stand being around him. God, he’s hurt me too many times. You just have to deal with him.”
“He, who cannot forgive a trespass of malice to his enemy, has never tasted the most sublime enjoyment of love.”
– Johann Kasper Lavater
Instead of taking someone else’s sins to God, forgive them and then ask God to forgive them! Your forgiving attitude will release the person to God so He can deal with them.
It will also clear your relationship with God so that you can repent and receive forgiveness for yourself. The best part of all of this is, when your relationship with God is on track, you will know His will for your life and receive His strength to carry out your mission.
Let the Holy Ghost’s light “x-ray” your heart right now! Don’t waste a moment being unforgiven or unforgiving.
Excerpt permission granted by Albury Publishing
Carman Domenic Licciardello is an enigma in Christian music, often described as part evangelist, part Vegas Showman. His concerts were more like a rock and roll Billy Graham Crusade than a Christian music event. After all the singing, dancing, clapping, and preaching, crowds of people would stream down to the counseling area to accept Christ-many times as many as 5,000 in an evening.
Admission was usually free; a simple offering was taken, similar to 30,000 churches on Sunday mornings. And he filled the largest stadiums the world over. Carman held the record for the largest Christian concert ever in Dallas, Texas. But it even goes beyond that. Take the Mega Stadium acts that played the famed landmark such as Pink Floyd, U 2, Madonna, The Jackson Five, Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, and even Metallic. As the newspapers noted, you'll see that the one-act that drew the highest attendance in Texas Stadium was Carman, with 71,132.
Carman (1956-2021) was a popular contemporary Christian singer and songwriter.
Born Carman Licciardello, he began recording under his first name and released his debut album in 1980. Carman began charting contemporary Christian hits in 1984 with "Sunday's on the Way," reaching No. 1 with "The Champion" (1986) and "Radically Saved" (1988). His other hit songs include "Lord of All," "Jesus Is the Light," and "Satan, Bite the Dust!" Carman reportedly holds the world record for the largest audience at a Christian concert. His popularity was at its height in the 1980s and early '90s, but he continued releasing albums for years, including his most recent release, 2014's "No Plan B." In 2018, he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
