"God Loves YOU!"

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God created us in His image, likeness, and gave us dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26-27)! Therefore, we are like God; our true self has the characteristics of God! We have the same make up as God because He is our Creator, our Father, and He loves us very much! God will take good care of us if we give Him a chance; if we cast ALL our cares upon Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7; Psalms 55:22)! Jesus tells us to come to Him if we have heavy burdens and He will give us rest; His rest, His peace!! Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30)!! Jesus has left us His peace (John 14:27 ) and we have to do is receive and embrace it! We do not have to stressed or anxious! Philippians 4:6-8 tells us not to be anxious but go to God in prayer for what we want; make our request known to Him with thanksgiving!

Adam disobeyed God in the Garden and sin entered the world but God had a plan; Jesus! God was not surprised by what happened! God had already made a way of escape for man; He loved us that much!!

God formed us in our mother’s womb; He called and chose us there (Psalms 139:13; Jeremiah 1:5; Isaiah 44:2 (this link has a lot more Scriptures showing God chose us in our mother’s womb; Galatians 1:15)! Even before the foundation of the world, God chose and predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:3-6)! God created us for His glory (Isaiah 43:7)!

We are no longer under the Law of Moses but under grace and truth through Jesus (Romans 6:14)! Jesus cancelled ALL debts that sin required us to pay and nailed them to the cross; we are no longer condemned (Colossians 2:14; Romans 8:1)! Since Jesus has cancelled our sin debt, we are no longer in bondage to sin; sin is no longer our slave master (Romans 6:18; read the whole Chapter of Romans for full understanding)!

We are spirit beings first; not flesh beings! Remember in Genesis 1:26-27 that God said He was making us in His image and likeness? God has shaped and molded us to His Son’s image! When God looks at us, He does not see our sins but He sees His Son Jesus’ righteousness!

Our true identity is that we are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 3:22)! When we become born of God, the evil one CANNOT touch us (1 John 5:18)! Click here for a teaching by Joyce Meyer to help you know who you are in Christ!

Jesus HAS freed us from ALL bondages over 2000 years ago when He died on the cross for our sins, sicknesses, diseases, infirmities, afflictions, guilt, shame, and ANYTHING else that comes to destroy us (Romans 4:25; 1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:4-5; Isaiah 54:17)! Therefore, we do not have to live in our past, rehearsing the hurts and our mistakes! John 8:36 lets us know that whom Jesus has set free, is free indeed; NO ifs, ands, or buts – it is done, it is finished (John 19:30)!

God loves YOU! It does NOT matter what you have done, it doing, or where you are in your life right NOW GOD LOVES YOU! NOTHING you can do will EVER change that; NOTHING can separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:31-39)!

Ephesians 1:4-8 says:

“⁴ Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. ⁵ God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. ⁶ So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. ⁷ He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. ⁸ He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding” (biblegateway.com – NLT).

John 3:16 and 1 John 4:10 tells how God showed His love for us:

¹⁶“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (biblegateway.com – NLT).

“¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins” (biblegateway.com – NLT).

1 John 4:19 tells us our love for God is because God loved us first; we are loving God back! It says, “We love Him because He first loved us” (biblegateway.com – NKJV).

There is NOTHING you have done, is doing, or will do that surprised God and He still loves you! Remember, in Jeremiah 1:5 God told you He knew you in your mother’s womb? Well He does and has removed your sins as far as the East from the West (Psalms 103:12)!

All you have to do is embrace God’s love for you; you do this by accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior! You will be born again; receive a spiritual birth – you become born of the Spirit of God! Romans 10:9 tells us if we confess Jesus with our mouth and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead, we will be saved!

Once you pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart and be your personal Lord and Savior, ask God to lead you to a Bible believing church; ask Him to give the Pastor He wants you to have so you can get rooted and grounded in the Word of God! You need a Pastor who will take time with you; who will nurture you in the things of God and pray for you – to watch over your soul!

Don’t panic or allow the enemy or anyone else tell you that you are not saved if you still desire the things of old; it will take time to walk as mature Christian. Psalms 37:24 says though you, you will not be cast down because God upholds you with His hands! This does not mean you deliberately sin (Romans 6); when the enemy comes, resist him and he has to flee (James 4:7)! Those old things still comes to us after we accept Christ because there are unresolved issues in our soul and the old nature is there; the false self (we will talk more about the soul in a little bit)! But when they come, you have choice; are going to choose to stay the same or do you want to be ALL God called you to be?

Focus on the love of God, how much He loves you and don’t allow anything to shake you loose from your faith place; don’t replace your faith with fear – you were saved by God’s grace through your faith in Jesus’ finished work on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9). You have received God’s gift of Salvation through His Son Jesus! You are now a son or daughter of God, His heir and a joint-heir with Jesus (Romans 8:17)! Praise God!!

Now, I am going to talk a little about the soul so you can understand, your soul has to be regenerated too like your spirit was. Man is a whole being, made up of three parts: spirit (determines our identity), soul (personality – houses our mind [thinker], our emotions [feeler], and will [chooser]), and body (dwelling place for our spirit and soul). (Hebrews 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:23); click here for a teaching about the three parts of man – it will also help resolve issues in your soul that is keeping you sick.

When you accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit washes and regenerates your human spirit (spirit man) (Titus 3:5) but your soul is not submitted to God yet; that is where you come in – you must submit yourself fully to God! God has given man choice, as I said before, and you must choose to submit totally to God and get rid of the lusts, desires, hurts, pains, and EVERYTHING else from the old man; you must do this so the Holy Spirit can lead you ! If you do not, your soul will continue to lead you and your desire will be for the old things and not God; lust, desires, and appetites arise from your soul (1Peter 2: 11)! Colossians 3:1-3 says:

“¹If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. ² Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. ³ For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (biblegateway.com – NKJV).

As you learn about God, deal with the issues in your soul too. Here is how to deal with soul issues:

• Write down EVERYTHING that has affected you emotionally; this will help you to face them so you can process what happened – you don’t have to understand the “Why” just accept it so you can move on. Accepting what happen to you does not mean it was right, it means it is in the past and there is nothing you can do about it now. Put it in God’s hand and move on. Emotions are in your soul remember? And you are cleaning your soul; therefore, whatever affected you emotionally, plays a big part on you living the abundant life Jesus died for you to live – get rid of it! I have included a “Forgiveness Affidavit” along with a “Prayer Against Unforgiveness” you can use to write the names down of the people who has hurt you and pray against the spirits that is keeping you from forgiving. If you need more sheets of paper, you can use blank ones.

• Forgive your offenders! You must for others who hurt you or God will not forgive you (Matthew 5:33; Luke 6:29). Forgiveness is a choice; not a feeling! You choose to forgive people who has hurt you and you keep choosing until you longer cringe when they come around or you hear their name! If you cry when you think about what they did, it’s okay; you are releasing the pain that the offense caused! Forgiveness will purge the pain of that thing from your memories; when you think of it, it will not hurt you! Of course, it will be in your memory of what happened (unless God blots it out – He has blotted out a lot of my childhood memories since they were traumatic) but it will not hurt when it comes to your mind! This pain, traumas, and dramas from your past has held you back long enough! LET THEM ALL GO!! Forgiveness helps you do that! Release EVERYONE who has EVER HURT YOU! GET RID OF THE BONDAGES TODAY!

• Pray the “Prayer Against Unforgiveness” (it is attached) over each person on your list (“Forgiveness Affidavit” and as the Holy Spirit speak to you about each person or each offense (He may or may not for each one), write it down under the column “The Holy Spirit’s Answer (Truth).” It will take time for this, so don’t rush it; do it when it is just you and God! It might take you going through this process more than once; it does not matter – you want to be free of these bondages in your soul and every hindrance that threatens your walk with God!

• You are FREE NOW! NO MORE BONDAGES! NO MORE SHACKLES! NO MORE PAIN! You are free because Christ has set you free and whom He sets free is free indeed! Don’t wait until you feel like you have forgiven the people who hurt you to believe you are free; as I said, forgiveness is not a feeling but a choice! When you first decide to forgive, you are not going to feel like forgiving but keep forgiving, it will happen! You are not alone and God will help you!

“Prayer Against Unforgiveness”

Do you have debts to cancel? Is the Holy Spirit bringing anybody to mind right now? Do you have any buried roots? Let the Holy Spirit search you. Can you give God your pain and grief? Will you give them to God? Would you like me to show you how to do it?

Think of the person that has hurt you the most during your life: an unfaithful spouse, rapist, a sexual abuser, or maybe a parent that rejected you or always put you down. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind the ones who have hurt you then write their names down on the “Unforgiveness Affidavit;” write the ones who have hurt you the most down first. Are you ready to be set free and release the other person from the bondage of unforgiveness? Forgiving that person or those people does not justify in any way what they have done to you; you are releasing them because you want to be free from the sin of disobedience‐let God take care of them.

Pray This Prayer After You Complete “Unforgiveness Affidavit”

In the name of Jesus, and as an act of my free will, I purpose and choose to forgive (the person) from my heart for (what they did).

In the name of the Lord Jesus, I cancel all (the person's) debts or obligations to me. Lord Jesus, forgive me for my bitterness towards (the person).

In the name of Jesus, I break and cancel Satan's power over me in this memory, and the resulting pain. I hate the devil.

In the name of Jesus, I command that all the tormentors that have been assigned to me because of my unforgiveness to leave me now. In the name of Jesus, I command the bitterness to go. Holy Spirit, come into my heart and heal me of this pain and this hurt. Holy Spirit, please tell me your truth in this situation.

(Pause quietly and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart. Listen carefully for what He has to say and write it down on the “Unforgiveness Affidavit” under the column “The Holy Spirit’s Answer – Truth”)

“Unforgiveness Affidavit”(See it in PDF teaching)

As the Holy Spirit speaks to you, write down His message in the space provided below. This is God’s testimony to you. When you have finished this prayer for each person or situation on your list, command the principality of bitterness to go in the name of Jesus.

Reference: The “Unforgiveness Prayer” and “Forgiveness Affidavit” is courtesy of Dr. Art Mathias. They are from his book, “Biblical Foundations of Freedom Destroying Satan’s Lies With God’s Truth.” Dr. Mathias' materials are copyright protect; if you would like to use his material, contact him via his web site: www.akwellspring.com.

 

Your life is now hidden in Christ since you accepted Him as your personal Lord and Savior; therefore, seek the things from above and not on earth (Colossians 3:1-4). The old nature (old man) has no more dominion over you; old things are NOW passed away, all things are new from this point on (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Declare YOUR freedom TODAY! Here is a song by Eddie James, “Freedom” which will help you with your declaration of freedom! As you sing along with Eddie, make your declaration, “I AM FREE!” It is not about feeling that you are free; you must BELIEVE God has set you free through His Son Jesus! You have been given a measure of faith to believe and as you grow in God, your faith will grow; stay close to God and His real Word!

Also, here is a link for new Christians to help you grow in God and His Word; The Way of the Master site will give you “10 Principles for New Christians” plus they have a lot more information on the site that will help you.

Welcome to the Family of God! God bless you as you walk with Jesus; as you embark on your new journey with God! If you would like to contact me for prayer or to ask a question, you can email me at drdehooks@abusedwoman.org.

Here are two songs that will encourage and bless you:

Francesca Battistelli – “He Knows My Name”

Danny Gokey – “Hope in Front of Me”

"God Love YOU!" - PDF

"Affidavit of Forgiveness" - PDF


In His Service,
Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks

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NOTE: These materials are copyright protected therefore you must request permission to reproduce any part of this material. To request permission, please contact Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks: drdehooks@abusedwoman.or

"Importance of Forgiveness" Recovery Program Session 5 Parts 2B-2, 2B-2-1, & 2B-3 Sept 30, 2014

"Importance of Forgiveness" Program Agenda – Session 5 Sept 30, 2014

 

 1. Open each session with prayer; asking God to open your understanding as to the areas in your life which needs to be healed and give you understanding of each session. The goal of each session is to help you to heal everywhere you need to be healed so you can become whole.

2.  Discussion (30 min):

“Importance of Forgiveness”- Part II

Armor of Bitterness – Part 2B-2: There are differing levels of authority and power in Satan's realm. Each specific evil spirit answers to another spirit higher up the line of authority. Just below Satan in this pecking order are his principalities. It is through this hierarchy of evil spirits and principalities that Satan continually seeks to draw us into captivity, taking control of our lives.The evil spirit who presides at each step up in the hierarchy of a principality is more evil than the ones below him. Remember what I said a couple months ago that we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places? Eph. 6:12 lets us know we are in spiritual battle whether we like it or not. What is a principality? A principality is a ruling demon that has several lesser demons answering to it. Bitterness is a ruling demon. Answering to it, giving it protection and providing its armor are: 1) Unforgiveness, 2) Resentment, 3) Retaliation, 4) Anger, 5) Hatred, 6) Violence, 7) Murder – these are the powers which Ephesians 6:12 talks about. In the hierarchy of the principality of bitterness, resentment is worse than unforgiveness; unforgiveness answers to resentment. Retaliation is worse than resentment; resentment answers to retaliation, and so on. Each lower demon protects the armor for the next higher demon.

Armor of Bitterness – Part 2B-3: We are going to look at each part of the armor of bitterness separately:

• Unforgiveness- Bitterness gains entrance to us through unforgiveness, this is the first piece of the armor   surrounding the principality of bitterness. Unforgiveness whispers in our ear, "No, you're not going to forgive them, you don't need to forgive them, there's no way you  need to forgive them." Unforgiveness keeps  a record of wrongs against another person. It reminds, rehashes, projects and torments us with past negative events. It reminds us of what others have done to us, and what we have done to others. Unforgiveness is a smaller entity, a lower spirit. It's just the beginning.

• Resentment - After unforgiveness has done its work, the strong man (principality of bitterness) sends    out the spirit of resentment. Resentment builds on the foundation laid by unforgiveness. The record of wrong ferments and resentment begins to grow. Resentment generates a feeling of ill will towards a person who has wronged us.

• Retaliation - After unforgiveness and resentment have gained a foothold in our minds, the strong man (principality of bitterness) sends out the spirit of retaliation. The spirit of  retaliation is much more dangerous than the spirits of unforgiveness and resentment. Retaliation's presence shows progressive demonization.

• Anger - Unforgiveness first gains a foothold, and then resentment gains a foothold. Next, retaliation gains a foothold. Each of these manifests itself in ways that are progressively worse than the prior spirit. When retaliation wins its foothold, bitterness sends out anger and wrath. Anger and wrath are outward expressions that remind others that we are not going to forgive them, that we resent them, and that we plan to get even. With anger, we have crossed a line. Anger gives the evil spirit a voice. Unforgiveness, resentment, and retaliation can be kept unspoken, eating away at a person's own spirit through self-deception. Once the line is crossed to anger and wrath, the demons start to show themselves physically.

•  Hatred - Hatred starts a process of elimination. Retaliation ferments anger on behalf of bitterness. Anger vocalizes bitterness, and next comes hatred to act out bitterness. Hatred reveals your feelings toward an offender, tells them that they don't belong in your world, and you absolutely hate their guts. Hatred says, "I will do what it takes to get even. “Hatred provides the fuel for the final victimization by the devil.

• Violence - The sixth level of bitterness is violence. Violence is anger and hatred set into motion. Our emotions erupt into physical or sometimes hate-filled verbal attacks. At this point, we see pots and pans thrown across the room, wrenches fly and punches being thrown. Fights erupt. Physical, sexual and verbal abuse result.

• Murder - The seventh and worst spirit in the principality of bitterness is murder. The spirit of murder includes more than taking someone's physical life. God's Word teaches how we can murder someone with our words. Murder starts in the heart, because the ultimate level of the spirit of bitterness is the elimination of someone's person-hood. Murderous hate-filled speech, driven by bitterness, kills a person's own spirit. Whether it is the person  who is doing  the screaming and his speech crucifies his own sense of decency, or a person who receives a verbal attack, whose spirit shrinks in fear, the end result is a death of a Godly, peaceful spirit.

3.  Handout: Armor of Bitterness Chart; Bitterness Affidavit for 10-7-14

4.  If you have any questions, email me at drdehooks@abusedwoman.org

5.  Close each session in prayer; asking God to continue to reveal the areas in you which needs to healed and the things you need to deal with.

Click Here for Complete Teaching


God bless,
Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks

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NOTE: These materials are copyright protected therefore you must request permission to reproduce any part of this material. To request permission, please contact Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks: drdehooks@abusedwoman.org.

"Importance of Forgiveness" Recovery Program Session 4 Parts 2B & 2B-1 Sept 21, 2014

1. Open each session with prayer; asking God to open your understanding as to the areas in your life which needs to be healed and give you understanding of each session. The goal of each session is to help you to heal everywhere you need to be healed so you can become whole.

2. Discussion (30 min):

  "Importance of Forgiveness" - Part II

Review:

• Who are we fighting against according to Ephesians 6:12? According to Ephesians 6:12, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
• Name Satan’s major strongholds which he uses to make up his principalities. Satan’s major strongholds (weapons he uses against us) are bitterness, self-bitterness, jealousy and envy, rejection, fear, unbelief and the occult. These weapons are used to build Satan’s principalities which millions of demons (powers) make up.
• Where does a negative thought come from? Accusing spirits
  • Conditions for Receiving Forgiveness – Part 2A: There are two conditions that we must meet to receive forgiveness. First, we must forgive others. Second, we must ask God to forgive us.
  • Definition of Bitterness – Part 2B: Bitterness is an extreme form of anxiety and stress which affects every organ in our bodies. Most organic diseases (one which involves or affects physiology or bodily organs. A disease in which there is a physiological change to some tissue or organ of the body) are tied to bitterness, including cancer. All of the auto-immune diseases are tied to self-bitterness; bitterness also drives divorce, heart disease and digestive problems.
  • How Many Times to Forgive? – Part 2B-1: Jesus taught us to forgive 70 x 7 = 490 times in 24 hours. The principle is that forgiveness needs to be an ingrained attitude, occurring naturally all of the time. Forgiveness should be as automatic as breathing - and just as important. The Kingdom of God is not a democracy; we don’t get to vote on how the rules are written.
  • What are the results of unforgiveness? – Part 2B-1: First, the person will not be forgiven of their sins-debts, if he/she does not forgive others (Matt 6:12).

Secondly, the person will be turned over to the tormentors (Matt 11:35). This is serious. Who are the tormentors? Evil spirits. Some people consider evil spirits to be imaginary, but the Bible teaches that they are very real and they cause tremendous suffering. Bitterness causes torment mentally, emotionally and physically which causes diseases to manifest in your body.

Thirdly, the person is held in bondage to the memories and pain caused by the bitterness. Bitterness cause the person to constantly remember what has happened to him/her and these memories control their lives.

3. Handout: NONE

4. If you have any questions, email me at drdehooks@abusedwoman.org.

5. Close each session in prayer; asking God to continue to reveal the areas in you which needs to healed and the things you need to deal with.

Click here for PDF version

God bless,

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks

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NOTE: These materials are copyright protected therefore you must request permission to reproduce any part of this material. To request permission, please contact Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks: drdehooks@abusedwoman.org.

"Importance of Forgiveness" Recovery Program Session 3 Parts 2A, 2A-1, & 2A-2 Sept 16, 2014

"Importance of Forgiveness" Program Agenda – Session 3 Sept 16, 2014

1. Open each session with prayer; asking God to open your understanding as to the areas in your life which needs to be healed and give you understanding of each session. The goal of each session is to help you to heal everywhere you need to be healed so you can become whole.

2. Discussion (30 min):

“Importance of Forgiveness”- Part II

Conditions for Receiving Forgiveness – Part 2A: There are two conditions that Christians must meet to receive forgiveness. First, we must forgive others. Second, we must ask God to forgive us.

*First Condition for Receiving Forgiveness – 2A-1:

Matthew 6:9-12 says, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

What is verse 12 saying? Jesus says that we are to ask the Father to forgive us our sins, when or in the same way we forgive those that have sinned against us. Do you really want God to forgive you in the same way that you forgive others? God gave us a requirement to fulfill before He will forgive our sins. Our forgiveness is directly tied to others.

Matthew 6:14-15 makes the above statement from the Lord's Prayer very plain: “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

This Scripture clearly show us that the manner or way that we forgive others set the standard by which God will forgive us. If we do not forgive, or in other words, judge others, we will be judged by God in the same way.

*The Second Condition For Receiving Forgiveness – 2A-2:

We must confess our sins. Once we accept Christ as our personal Lord and Saviors, we are forgiven of our sins but if we continue to sin, we must confess those sins asking God to forgive us. I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us all unrighteousness."

James 5:16 says, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

What happens if we do not confess our sins and forgive ourselves? We are not forgiven and the guilt, shame, anger, regret, sadness, hatred, bitterness, etc. is still in the memory and in our lives. If we harbor unforgiveness against anyone, including against ourselves, God will not — even cannot — forgive our sins. When we do not forgive others, they are not the one who will be suffer, we will; and not only us but everyone who is associated with us. To receive God's forgiveness and the blessing of healing, we must forgive those who have hurt us.

If you have ever forgiven someone, yet the pain of your anger or resentment persists, the bitterness is still there. The enemy does not want you to forgive because he knows that God will forgive you when you forgive others and repent of your sins.

If you bury a root of bitterness, what does it do? It grows. Satan's demons water and fertilize it, so that it will continue to grow. Our lives become so filled with pain that we are unable to forgive. This is Satan's favorite weapon, the inability to forgive.

We all have been hurt but we can’t walk around in denial, we must truly repent to God for holding unforgiveness against that person, walking in disobedience to His Word – He said to forgive, forgive from our hearts and ask God to uproot that root of bitterness. Otherwise, it will destroy us from the inside out.

3. Handout: Recap from Part 2A

4. If you have any questions, email me at drdehooks@abusedwoman.org

5. Close each session in prayer; asking God to continue to reveal the areas in you which needs to healed and the things you need to deal with.

“Importance of Forgiveness Recovery Program” 

Part II Recap From Part 2A (Sept 16, 2014)

1. What are the two conditions that must be met to receive forgiveness? Name them and explain with Scripture references.

a. We must forgive others - Matthew 6:9-12 - Jesus says that we are to ask the Father to forgive us our sins, when or in the same way we forgive those that have sinned against us. Do you really want God to forgive you in the same way that you forgive others? God gave us a requirement to fulfill before He will forgive our sins. Our forgiveness is directly tied to others.

b. We must ask God to forgive us - I John 1:9 - What happens if we do not confess our sins and forgive ourselves? We are not forgiven and the guilt, shame, anger, regret, sadness, hatred, bitterness, etc. is still in the memory and in our lives. If we harbor unforgiveness against anyone, including against ourselves, God will not — even cannot — forgive our sins. When we do not forgive others, they are not the one who will be suffer, we will; and not only us but everyone who is associated with us. To receive God's forgiveness and the blessing of healing, we must forgive those who have hurt us.

2.  What happens if we do not confess our sins and forgive ourselves? Explain

We are not forgiven and the guilt, shame, anger, regret, sadness, hatred, bitterness, etc. is still in the memory and in our lives. If we harbor unforgiveness against anyone, including against ourselves, God will not — even cannot — forgive our sins. When we do not forgive others, they are not the one who will be suffer, we will; and not only us but everyone who is associated with us. To receive God's forgiveness and the blessing of healing, we must forgive those who have hurt us.

3.  If you bury a root of bitterness, what does it do? Explain

It grows. Satan's demons water and fertilize it, so that it will continue to grow. Our lives become so filled with pain that we are unable to forgive. This is Satan's favorite weapon, the inability to forgive.

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God bless,

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks

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NOTE: These materials are copyright protected therefore you must request permission to reproduce any part of this material. To request permission, please contact Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks: drdehooks@abusedwoman.org.

"Going THROUGH the Fire!"

(Picture taken from: http://www.joy-in-the-am.com/2011/01/beauty-from-ashes.html - The Joy Blog)

Scriptures:

“²When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. ³ For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place.” (Isaiah 43:2-3 – biblegateway.com – NLT).

“I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.” (Isaiah 48:10 – biblegateway.com – NLT).

“These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world” (1 Peter 1:7 – biblegateway.com – NLT).

“In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.” (1 Peter 5:10 – biblegateway.com – NLT).

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When we go through our trials and tribulations (the fire), God knows what it will take to bring us out!! He has already prepared the way to bring us out; OUR way of escape – we should not compare our fire to another person’s fire!! BUT sometimes that way is not always an easy way!! Sometimes we have to go THROUGH the fire to escape out of the fire!!

Jonah, in the midst of his storm (fire), was thrown into another problem (2^nd fire) (but really, it was a blessing); he got swallowed up by a great fish. Jonah was in the belly of that fish three days and three nights before the fish spewed him up on dry land; before he was delivered out THOSE fires (Jonah 1:17; 2:1-10)!!

We see here that Jonah went from one fire to another fire.  But God had mercy on Jonah and saved him even though he had disobeyed Him; God is still faithful to us even if we are not faithful to Him!!

Sometimes, we get thrown into the fire by others and other times we jump into the fire our own selves!! Jonah jumped into the fire his own self; first fire, he ran from God by trying to escape on a ship to Tarshish (Jonah 1:16), second fire was a result of trying to escape the first fire!! We just have to do what God says do, when He says do it!! No matter how we ended up in the fire, God will have mercy on us and pull us out; but the way He pulls us out is NOT always how we expects Him to pull us out!! Hahaha, just as we think we’re coming out the fire, it seems as if we are either going back in the fire, or going into a new fire!! Either way, we are never alone God is always with us!!

Don't despise the fire of God; it comes to purify you!! God knows how much fire it will take for each of us to be purified; to burn off ALL impurities and dross!!

How many have ever boiled neck bones (I am from the South:)? Some of you might not know what a neck bone is:)) but that was the only thing I could think of for this example. You cook the neck bones for a longggg time because you have to keep pouring off the water to remove that nasty looking stuff that floats on top as you boil them!! When I did cook them, I would change my water at least 4 times; I made sure they were clean-then put in whatever else I was going to put in them like rice or potatoes!! Spiritually, God keeps putting us through the fire until all that nasty stuff from our soul stop floating on top (stop coming out of our mouth through our heart, from our soul; until we can walk in His love and display His character and not the character of the old man)!!

We are new creatures in Christ once we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior and the old man is dead (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:25) (our old character is done away with because we are crucified with Christ and it is no longer us who live but Christ who lives in us)!! We cannot behave like we use to when people hurt us or things happen to us; we cannot clown like we did in the world and tell people off and cuss them out and do all kinds of other things as we used to do (but the soul is screaming with us "DO IT!! Don't let them say that to you!! Tell them off)!!" In essence, we cannot continue to be hellions and profess to be Christians; there MUST be a difference in us once we accept Christ!! So we will go through the fire in whatever way God sees fit until ALL impurities are gone from our soul!! We cannot put off the old man and embrace the new without the fire!!

Ephesians 4:22-24 says:

“²² throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. ²³ Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. ²⁴ Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (biblegateway.com – NLT).

God sees us as being righteous because of His Son but He wants to perfect us in His ways so we can walk in His character and be people of morals and Integrity!! God is perfecting us for that Great Day, the return of His Son Jesus!! The fire refines our faith!! Peter said in 1 Peter 1:5-7 – whole Chapter of 1 Peter 1 (biblegateway.com – NLT):

“⁵ And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

⁶ So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.

⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”

The Holy Spirit is working in us doing everything that needs to be done so when Jesus cracks the sky, we will be caught up with Him!! Salvation alone is NOT enough; you must have that relationship with God where you can put off the deeds and works of the flesh!! What I mean is you cannot go to the altar after the invitation to accept Jesus, say the sinner's prayer and keep doing what you were doing before you accepted Christ!! We have a new life to live once we accept Christ as our personal Lord and Savior!! Paul tells us this in Romans 6:1-7 (biblegateway.com – NLT):

“¹Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? ² Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? ³ Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? ⁴ For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. ⁵ Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. ⁶ We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. ⁷ For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.”

In order to go back with Jesus, you cannot still be doing what you did before you accepted Him; you cannot just confess Him as your Lord and Savior and keep doing you-not trying to grow in the things of God!! You cannot; salvation does not work like that!! Once you give your life to Jesus, you cannot keep doing your own thing; you must seek the will of God for your life!! See why the fire is necessary? We CANNOT do this by ourselves!! We need God!!

Once we give our hearts to Jesus (accepts Him as our personal Lord and Savior) our spirit man is renewed but our soul (old man) is not!! That is why we must allow God to purge us with fire and get that stuff out of our soul!! That is why it is such a battle within us once we accept Jesus, the soul wants to keep doing the old things and the spirit man wants to serve God: the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak!! That is why Paul said he had to beat his body in subjection to the things of God and we must do the same (1 Corinthians 9:26-27)!!

The unregenerated soul tells the body what to do but we must be led by the Holy Spirit and not by our soul!! We must allow the Holy Spirit to purge our souls so we can be led by Him!! The soul house the mind, will, and emotions so you see, these things are what make us tick: we are made up of three parts, the Spirit, soul, and body!! So we are either being controlled by the Holy Spirit or by our soul whether you realize it or not!!

The fire does not feel good but it is good for us!! When we go through the fire, we are not alone; Jesus is there with us!! Remember the three Hebrew boys? When they were thrown into the fire, God was in there with them protecting them; when they came out, they were not scorched or burned!! There are many different reasons why we must go through the fire but in the end, it helps us to be who God called us to be!!

We each have our own fire (trials and tribulations) that we must go through at times but I want to encourage you today to be of good cheer; Jesus has overcome the world and no weapon that is formed against you will ever prosper!! God is covering you with the Blood of Jesus as you go through the fire; you will not get burned!! Let the Holy Spirit have His perfect way in your life; He is God's Spirit and knows what He is doing!! God is taking EVERYTHING that the devil meant for evil and turning it around for your good because you love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28)!!

As James said in James 1:2-4:

“²Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. ³ Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. ⁴ But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing” (biblegateway.com - Amplified Bible).

Make up in YOUR mind TODAY, that you are GOING THROUGH THE FIRE; no matter how you got there!! Don't focus on how you got there!! STOP blaming others, the devil, yourself, God, and whoever or whatever for you being in the fire!! Just focus on allowing God to bring you through it; allow the Holy Spirit to do what’s need to be done as God brings you through the fire!!

FORGIVE the ones you blame for putting you in the fire (yourself, God, and people)!! You must forgive to get out the fire!! You must let that stuff GO and allow the fire to burn it up; it is dross and needs to be skimmed from you!! It is not worth it!! LET IT GO!! Release people who have hurt you so you will not get stuck in the fire!! You will stay in the fire until you truly have released EVERYONE who has hurt you!!

Forgiveness is a choice, NOT a feeling; it keeps our hearts soft so we will be able to show others the mercy and love of God – the mercy and love God shows us each and every day – NONE of us are perfect YET!!

Therefore, we need to give each other grace; when someone hurt us in anyway, we need to give them the grace card (if you have never seen the movie, “The Grace Card” you really need to, it is a great movie about forgiveness. Christ has covered the person’s sin against us with His Blood over 2000 years ago so let’s not allow the devil to keep bringing up what they did to us!!

Forgiveness is for us; it causes us to obey the Word of God (Jesus) concerning forgiving others so we can be forgiven by God and set free!! Also, forgiveness will keep the root of bitterness from springing up in us!! This is what Hebrews 12:14-15 says:

“¹⁴ Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. ¹⁵ Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many” (biblegateway.com – NLT).

Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15:¹⁴ “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (biblegateway.com - NLT).

Let God deal with the people who hurt you; He is a God of justice and He said vengeance belonged to Him and He would repay!! God does not need our help in repaying people who hurt us!! Release the people who have hurt you; cancel their debts to you as Jesus cancelled YOUR debts to God!! If we do not forgive others their trespasses against us, God will not forgive us of our sins!! Don't be like the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-35; the servant was unmerciful (unforgiving) and was turned over to the tormentors - when we do not forgive others, we are not showing them mercy - God shows us mercy so we should show others mercy.

Unforgiveness is a terminal cancer; if you do not get rid of it, you will die – spiritually and naturally!! Chose to forgive so you can move on with your life and get out of THAT fire!!

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God bless you all!! Have a great weekend and next week!!

In His Service,

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks

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