Why You Should Always Choose Forgiveness

[Why You Should Always Choose Forgiveness]( Current Teaching Series [The Manifestation of Your Life Mission]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Why You Should Always Choose Forgiveness]( By Rick Warren — 08/09/2020 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( “If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.” Matthew 6:15 (GNT) If you are unwilling to forgive someone and you don’t want God to forgive them either, that reveals bitterness and resentment in your life. If you want someone else to be punished but you expect forgiveness for the bad things you’ve done, you’ll just make yourself miserable. You’re not hurting them; you’re only hurting yourself. Jesus said, “If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done” (Matthew 6:15 GNT). Forgiveness involves your past, present, and future: - God has forgiven you multiple times in the past - Lack of forgiveness will make you miserable today - You will need God’s forgiveness in the future Consider Jonah. After he warned the people of Nineveh about God’s judgment, they repented and so God forgave them and didn’t punish them. This disappointed Jonah and made him bitter. But remember how Jonah originally turned away from God? He wanted God’s forgiveness for his own sin of disobeying. Yet he didn’t want God to forgive the Ninevites. So Jonah prayed, “I knew that you are a loving and merciful God, always patient, always kind, and always ready to change your mind and not punish. Now then, Lord, let me die. I am better off dead than alive” (Jonah 4:2-3 GNT). Jonah’s resentment was only hurting himself. Here were the Ninevites enjoying the grace of God while Jonah was wallowing in self-pity. It’s critical that you forgive anyone from your past who has hurt you. And that you forgive anyone who wrongs you today because God has forgiven you for your past sins, and he has promised to forgive you in the future. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NIV). [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - How have resentment and unforgiveness affected you—or how have you seen those attitudes affect others? - What’s the biggest challenge in forgiving the person in your life who has hurt you the most? How can you overcome that obstacle? - Pause for a moment and consider if you need to forgive anyone today. If so, are you willing to take that step? The post [Why You Should Always Choose Forgiveness]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( [Get God's Power to Change Your Life Book when you give a gift to support Daily Hope]( Ever wish you had more patience? Love? Joy? Self-control? Most people do, and we often exhaust ourselves trying to "be better" without ever experiencing real, lasting change. So what’s the secret to breaking the cycle and actually becoming the person God created you to be? That’s what you’ll discover in Pastor Rick’s book God’s Power to Change Your Life. Find out how God’s Word and the power of the Spirit work together to transform you from the inside out—so your outward behavior reflects the inward reality of Christ in your heart. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 4 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series The Manifestation of Your Life Mission. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: What to Do When You Cause a Storm Message 2: What to Do When It Feels Hopeless Message 3: What to Do When You Get a Second Chance Message 4: What to Remember When Things Don't Go Your Way [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at[PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you?[Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan]( to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. You can listen to Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope, his daily 25-minute audio teaching, and sign up for his free daily devotionals at [PastorRick.com](. © 2020 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, 23182 Arroyo Vista, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688, United States