February 2, 2010

Today's reading: Leviticus 4, 5, 6; Psalm 2, 32, 62, 92, 122; Proverbs 2

Leviticus 4:35, "And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them upon the altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him."

Having lived on this earth for over forty years now, I feel like I have some life experience. Some of it good and some of it; well, not so good. Over these years I have offended people. I don't like to think about that but it is true. Some of these people used to call themselves my friends. Now, the mention of my name brings anger and hostility.

Why is this? It is because I have done or said something that offended them. Maybe it was something they thought I did or said. None the less, there has been some act that has offended them.

Some of these people I have attempted to reconcile with to no avail. Others would not even let me get close enough to try to reconcile. Unfortunately, there are those with whom I am not ready to reconcile with as of yet.

Here is the thing. The Scriptures tells us that we can have forgiveness if we want it. The main thing is to get forgiveness from God. Start with Him and then go to the person or persons and ask for the needed forgiveness. If they will not forgive you that is one thing; but, at least you did your part in asking and giving forgiveness. Yes, we must forgive also. Ouch!

If we meet God's conditions, we can be forgiven. I love the last few words of our text today, "and it shall be forgiven him." Thank God for forgiveness today and then show someone forgiveness. Easy said. Not so easily done, I know.