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Our Savior taught us by example to love everyone. He also taught us to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. At Tuesday evening's commemoration, led by the bishop of Sheffield, candles will be lit, a wreath laid, and a new carol, The Bethlehem Star, will be sung. It was written in memory of Alan Greaves by Bob Chilcott, one of Britain's foremost choral composers and conductors, who had never met his fellow musician but was deeply moved after reading about his death.
I'm not saying I don't want justice for Alan, I did. But I had to carry myself in a way that would help my children. Forgiveness means you are not seeking retribution or vengeance. Forgiveness is recognising that we are all in the same boat, we're all the same, not perfect. The late Queen carried the burden of knowing more about the world than her 15 Prime Ministers, Armed Forces and Secret Service all put together in the 70 years she was sovereign. As a human being she went through all sorts of pain; family breakups and massive pressure, but every Christmas shared that her anchor and foundation was in her personal, experiential relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the best gift for the world right now!
Love is a positive active force. It helps the loved one. If there is need, love tries to supply it. If there is weakness, love supplants it with strength. … Love that does not help is a faked or transient love.
Christmas is a time of year when we make our list of friends and family to whom we want to give gifts. We usually start with our children and spouse and work our way out to our family, friends and co-workers. As we do this, the list becomes larger and larger. It's no wonder that we can be overwhelmed at the COST of Christmas. At Christmastime, I think of the missionaries—elders, sisters, senior missionaries, and mission presidents throughout the world—who, as representatives of Jesus Christ, give freely of their time and service to all mankind. I think of all the brothers and sisters who spend many hours serving faithfully in their callings. Also at this time, I think of all the men and women serving in the military to ensure our safety. Thank you for your service! Unforgiveness, bitterness, and resentment have a way of blinding us with their darkness, and the only way to see past them is by the light of forgiveness. When Mother Teresa helped the woman to say the words, “I forgive my son,” she not only eased her pain on earth but also prepared her to find peace in eternity. The Most Challenging Words
Kindliness, Mercy, Forgiveness
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. … This prayer helps me remember that God is the source of all mercy, and when we struggle to forgive, He is waiting to help us. All we need to do is ask. In hospital, Maureen Greaves found herself at her dying husband's bedside thinking of forgiveness, a good two weeks before the police investigating the case had even made an arrest. Brothers and sisters, at this Christmas season, let us all give the best gifts. Let us sacrifice with grateful hearts our favorite toys—not the ones we’ve worn out. And let us give the gift of love, the gift of service to those around us, and the true gift of forgiveness. For as we repent, the Holy One of Israel forgives us. I testify that He lives. He is the King of kings, the Prince of Peace, our Savior, our Redeemer, and our Friend. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Not long after, John’s long-awaited cousin was born. An even more miraculous child. Forgiveness incarnate.
And in the next moments, he finishes paying for that unthinkable pardon. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46). Dying didn’t give him the authority to forgive — he had that before the world began. No, dying justified what had been happening since the garden (Romans 3:25). God had always been forgiving people through faith; now he had the blood to prove it. Through This Man It isn't easy making the choice to forgive. But living with unforgiveness can be downright deadly! I've heard it said that harboring unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies! That's a good way to think about it, because many, many illnesses, including depression and arthritis, can be linked to bitterness and unforgiveness!
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Would it be too much to read Winterson’s Christmas collection as an attempt, finally, to make peace and come to terms with her past? The evidence is there in the inclusion of the recipe for her father’s favourite trifle, which she made out of tinned fruit and Bristol Cream sherry only a few days before he died. “I am glad of that last Christmas with my dad,” she writes, “not because it rewrote the past but because it rewrote our ending. The story, for all its pain and sometimes horror, did not end tragically; it ended with forgiveness.”
John 1:9 leads to a question: Is our forgiveness contingent on our confession? John has just said that believers can’t say they have no sin. We all sin every day. We confess those sins that we are aware of. But what about the sins we’re not aware of? Can I be lost – not reconciled to God – because I never confess the sins I’ve failed to recognize?
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Joseph was contemplating divorce. But, and this is where love and forgiveness was displayed. In his contemplation, he was mindful not to disgrace Mary. He was going to deal with the situation in love without openly disgracing Mary. He was going to end it privately to spare Mary any open shame. Here is a great love lesson; in our dealing with others, we must act out of love and not the desire to spite other. It is very likely if any of us found ourselves in Joseph’s shoes, firstly, the whole community will hear about how Mary has been unfaithful. We may proceed to tell how a hypocrite she has been. She carried herself as a virgin and here she was with a pregnancy.
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