Lift Up and Take Away! November 4 Notes from Papa via Paul Gray

To My very special child, who I look forward to being with all day,
I want you to grasp and understand more and more how wonderful forgiveness is. Everyone wants to be forgiven, longs to be forgiven and hopes to be forgiven… both by Me and by others in their life.
However you often forget how wonderful forgiveness is… until you need it again. That attitude can then cause you to be callous and not eager to forgive others.
Both the Hebrew and Greek words that are translated into English as “forgive” literally mean to “lift up and take away.” Have you ever thought about exactly what is lifted up and taken away?
Of course its sin, but do you know what sin is? Sin is actually missing the mark of My pure perfection. For example, I am truth. There’s nothing devious or deceptive in Me. I do not lie, ever. Lies, of course, exist in the realm of relationship. If there’s only one person on a desert island, there’s no one to deceive or lie to.
I, of course, have always existed in community with Jesus and the Holy Spirit and We never lie to each other, so when you lie, you miss Our mark of perfection. Once you actually tell a lie (which is a verb) where does the lie (noun) go? Where does it reside? What actually is there to lift up and take away?
There is something that affects you… and Me… and other people. What affects you is guilt, shame, condemnation and sometimes pride from being deceived into thinking that you were justified in lying. Those all reside in your mind.
I don’t put them there… the enemy, the deceiver/accuser is the one who accuses you and puts those thoughts into your mind. I knew before I created you that you would lie. I don’t like lying because of how it hurts you and others. And I knew that you believed the lie that your lying causes separation between you and Me… that I am angry and disappointed with you… that somehow, I have to balance the scales of justice and someone has to “pay” for the lie you told. None of that is true!
I keep no record of your sin. I took the record that the law kept and nailed it to the cross. I released you forever from anything you think you owe Me because of your sin. My forgiveness is totally for the benefit of our relationship which is the most important thing of all to Me. Never believe the evil one’s lie that sin is the biggest thing to Me. It simply is not!
At the cross I released you of anything ever that you think you owe Me because of your sin. I took your sin away. It does not even exist! I did that for your benefit to keep you from experiencing guilt, shame and accusation which kill life in you and steal and kill the intimacy of our relationship. It’s for my benefit too because it enables Me to accomplish and enjoy My highest goal… a love-based relationship with you!
Now think of when a friend lies to you. Of course it hurts and you wish they hadn’t done it. It can even have financial, reputational or other ramifications to you. Your forgiving that person means that you lift it up and take away, and let go of anything that you feel like they owe you as a result of that lie (sin.)
You, then, are the one who benefits the most from that because you are free from bitterness, hate, anger, the temptation to condemn, slander and demean your friend. You are free from the temptation to hurt them. Like Me, you then never overcome evil with evil, you overcome evil with love… which forgives and gives grace!
Think about these things both in your own life and in your relationship to others.
~Love, Papa

From Paul Gray: My new 365 day devotional book, “Notes from Papa”, is now available at Amazon.com