'PEOPLE INSULTED CHRIST, BUT...HE LET GOD...TAKE CARE OF HIM.' 1 PETER 2:23 NCV

A little boy who'd been rude to his Mum started sneaking off upstairs. Where you going, young man? She asked. To my room to talk to god, he replied. Isn't there something you want to tell me first? She said. Nope, he said. You'll just get mad. God will forgive me and forget about it. Long after you think you've forgiven somebody you can still be harboring hard feelings. Here are some clues that you've still got work to do: you get angry thinking about what happened; you give the offender the cold shoulder; you rehearse the incident mentally and in conversation; you seize every opportunity to remind the offender of what they did. Refusing to forgive and forget is just another way of justifying an unforgiving attitude. The Bible says there are two things God won't share:

1. His glory (See Isaiah 42:8);

2. His right to settle old scores. He said, vengeance is mine; I will repay, (Romans 12:19).

Don’t usurp His authority by trying to get even; take your hands off the situation and let Him work it out. When people insulted Christ...he did not insult them in return...He let God...who judges rightly, take care of him. A grudge shackles you to the offender and you become the hostage! Dwelling on something your parents did, or on how an associate took credit for your work, or on what someone said about you, makes you, not them, miserable. You walk around in turmoil and they don't even know you're upset! Why give somebody that kind of control over your life? What's important is what happens in you, not to you. So forgive, forget, and move on!

Evangelist Philip Jegede’s Reading Courtesy of DWFT: Hosea 1-5, Luke 2:8-20, Ps 8, Pr 14:9-12 www.mpbs247.org