Forgiveness is the Key to Moving Forward

Do you really forgive?

Many times we say that we forgive those that hurt us but when they enter a room or their name is spoken in our presence, we feel a certain type of way. We roll our eyes or we are careful not to speak against them but we deny them anything good. We may even hang around them but they are on a tight rope. Is this really forgiveness?

Forgiveness is the intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense, lets go of negative emotions such as vengefulness, with an increased ability to wish the offender well.

Now we tend to forgive with conditions, but real forgiveness is just the opposite. It does not release the offense and make it of non-importance but it takes the sting out of it, so you can move forward with your life. It frees you. It does not say that person did nothing or you accept what they did. It's still wrong and they do still need to correct any offense, however IF they never correct it, your forgiveness sets you in a place of reward and blessing. Forgiveness does not just happen over a period of time. It is something we have to intentionally do. We must choose to forgive.

Forgiveness allows us to continue to receive forgiveness from God. I don't know about you but that is the most important thing. I know that I need god to forgive me for my wrong doing and how can I allow my own unforgiveness stand in the way of receiving God's forgiveness.

We sometimes wonder why we are not able to heal from hurts, habits and hangups...I say to you today, check your forgiveness bag. Is it empty because you have used it to forgive or is it full because you have withheld your forgiveness of others? Then check your answered prayers bag. Is it full because you are operating in god's forgiveness or is it empty because God has not forgiven you? Something to think about. 

Let me leave you with this... God can not and WILL not bless mess. Sin separates us from God. So if we have not been forgiven by God, is our relationship with Him in jeopardy? Can we walk in obedience if God has not forgiven us? Can we be blessed if God removes His grace and mercy?

Why not truly forgive so we can be forgiven.

You are Bound No More. 

Pastor Linda Hillman 

(c) 2014 Living Above Hurt Ministries 

Pastorlindahillman@hotmail.com

Residue Part 2 - Who We are After Becoming New!

So in my last post I talked about residue and why it is important that we acknowledge it's existence and we actively work to become new and remove all residue from our lives. Residue is a contaminate and thus we need to make sure that it does not effect everything else that we do or become.

Well let's take a closer look at how we should get rid of it.

I Peter 2:9 – “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:”

Most of us never think twice about this passage and the demands that it places on us. We just quickly and glibly pass over it with thoughts of white clerical collars or Praise & Worship songs roll over in our head, but no real consideration that these titles place on us very specific responsibilities. Responsibilities that can not he done with residue in us.

I want us to journey back into the Old Testament and examine the daily jobs or duties of the priesthood, those that were set  apart for God, because I think they still translate and speak to us today. I want us to remember that there an be no residue in us if we want to operate correctly. We have ministry that we are required to do on a daily basis as priest of the Kingdom! 

1. The first duty that the priest was responsible for was to diagnose sickness. Their job was to examine the folks around them and be aware and sensitive enough to see sickness for what it was. They were to determine how severe the sickness was. They were to prescribe remedy for the sickness. They were to act as physician to the sick. God’s go between. God’s means of brining diagnosis and healing. And didn’t Jesus reiterate that for his followers and for us? 

1. The second duty of the priest was to transport glory! The assignment of carrying the Ark of the Covenant which was the place of the manifest presence of God fell to the priests. 

I would declare to you today that the reason we are inept at transporting glory because we are inept at living holy! we are inept at living holy because we carry in our heart the residue of what we have been through. The priests that were called to transport glory had to be holy. They had to live pure. They had to be consecrated and set apart. It wasn't enough to just hang out in the glory, worship in the glory, they had to apply the glory to their lives.

In my next post we will take this a bit further and will talk about each of the two steps separately and in depth so we can start to remove the residue and Live as God intended us to live. 

You are Bound No More. 

Pastor Linda Hillman 

(c) 2014 Living Above Hurt Ministries

Pastorlindahillman@hotmail.com

Residue

Residue, what is residue?

First let's look at how the dictionary defines it. Residue is a small amount of something that remains after the main part has gone or been taken or used. So what got me thinking about residue is the PAM cooking spray commercial. You know the one with the ghost of food past. He basically describes himself as the definition found in the dictionary but with a twist. He says that you combines with the new food being cooked. So the residue from the old is now affecting the new.  Yes, someone just got that.

So what does it mean to us in our journey to be free and delivered from our past.. We have to apply the word of god to use and be washed thoroughly. no residue can remain. if it does we will be tainted from the past in every new situation, choice, and relationship. 

Have you ever asked yourself after an argument or an outburst: "Why did I do that or why did i say that?" or maybe it was "where did that come from?" or "I thought I was over that." these statements alone gives us a clue that residue is there. the Bible says:

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

This weekend I learned from Evangelist Rein Johnson that to be IN Christ means to be encompassed (See clip below). In order for us to remove all residue we have to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. we have to allow the Word of God to change how we think. We have to forget the former things as Isaiah 43:18 says and move on the the newness that comes from being transformed. We have to press into the things of God and not allow what happened to us to hinder us. It's not pretending that it did not happened but it is sitting with a journal and allowing the truth of your situation and past to teach you the lessons you could not learn at the time.

It's freeing yourself, let liberty and redemption happen. It's forgiving yourself for thinking you could have done something different. For thinking you could have made a different choice or said something differently. It's understanding that you are who you are because of what you have gone through and that does not make you a bad person or less than. It's not getting over stuff and pretending it did not happen but it is understand that you went through it. In going through it you must let the word wash over over and cleanse you so when you step out one the other side you are a new creature.

Let me end with this. Getting rid of residue is a simple process. Let's take a look at a butterfly and the transformation that occurs when it is ready to covert from a caterpillar. 

First, the caterpillar digests itself, releasing enzymes to dissolve all of its tissues. If you were to cut open a cocoon or chrysalis at just the right time, caterpillar soup would ooze out. But the contents of the pupa are not entirely an amorphous mess. Certain highly organized groups of cells known as imaginal discs survive the digestive process. Before hatching, when a caterpillar is still developing inside its egg, it grows an imaginal disc for each of the adult body parts it will need as a mature butterfly —discs for its eyes, for its wings, its legs and so on. 
Once a caterpillar has disintegrated all of its tissues except for the imaginal discs, those discs use the protein-rich soup all around them to fuel the rapid cell division required to form the wings, antennae, legs, eyes, genitals and all the other features of an adult butterfly. 

This process is a natural look at what takes place supernaturally in 2 Corinthians 5:17. Everything that God needs for us to be whole and complete is already in us but we need to get wrapped in our cocoon called Christ and let him completely transform us to be NEW. He will then make sure that all residue is done away with. That you will become exactly what he intended you to be and all old ways are destroyed and done away with. No more Residue!

You are Bound No More.


Pastor Linda Hillman 
(c) 2014 Living Above Hurt Ministries
Pastorlindahillman@hotmail.com

Stop Doubting God!

I think the biggest misconception in prayer is the confidence. You would think that an appropriate attitude for needy, often foolish, often backsliding Christians when they approach the throne would be abject humility. You would think that we would offer up our requests timidly, not daring to think that the Great One would think our little problems as worth his time. You would think that we would tiptoe around him, walking on eggshells of fear, murmuring our needs quickly, and then backing away toward the door.

Nonsense, says the Apostle James. You are God’s beloved child, a royal prince or princess of heaven, a royal priest of the heavenly temple. God wants you to believe in the importance of your requests and believe him when he says he eagerly receives information about the parts of your life in which you need help. “When he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does” (James 1:6-8).

Doubt comes from Satan. If he can plant doubts in your brain and lead you to suspect that God is laughing at you, has contempt for you, is ignoring you, or is blowing off your troubles, your prayer voice will be timid indeed and soon stop. But believe his Word! Claim your new identity! Speak up! No fear! No doubts! He smiles when he sees you approach.

You are Bound No More. 

Pastor Linda Hillman 

(c) 2014 Living Above Hurt Ministries 

Stop Having A Fit

Many times we have triggers inside of us but why are they there. What was the original hurt? Was it real or perceived? What was left unlearned because we chose not to deal with it? So everything else is weighed against it and never in balance because there is really no way of recalibrating the scale. The truth is it was never calibrated right in the first place. There has to be a point where you destroy the root of the problem. You must confront the very thing that initiates your spiral into the pit of anger. That leaves you in a fit of rage, anger and confusion. You must be willing to expose the whole truth and nothing but the truth to allow the lessons to be learned and more importantly lived.

Life is not going to hand you a solution to all your problems; however every solution you need is racing to get to you. The real problem is our ability to see past the problem. When we start to remove the layers of film on our eyes we will be able to see a true reflection of what occurred and how to fix the situation.

We throw fits because we are not willing to hear, trust and learn. We are so busy wanting it right now that we miss the eternal applications that will keep our hearts and minds in perfect peace.

We blame God, others, loss of jobs, houses, cars, mates and what have you so we don’t look at the real problem. It is simple…the “me” problem; the understanding that I am my worst enemy. It’s because of how I interpret things that have occurred that I am in this situation. It’s me not anyone else. Sure they hurt you, they lied, they talked about you, they left you, they cheated…and that almost killed you –mentally, emotionally, socially, financially and spiritually. Yes they did all that. However, no one has power over your decisions but you. And you have to give that power away. It is your fault not theirs. I know that reality hurts, OUCH! It hurt me to say it and I am sure it hurts to read it. So now that the band aid is off let’s fix the problem instead of having a fit.

It starts with you taking the power back and putting ownership where it belongs. Do this for me, take a minute to stand in front of the nearest mirror and say, “Today I will no longer pass the buck. The buck stops here. My worst enemy has become my best friend.” Then smile as big as you can. The next thing you are going to do as a project is simply get dressed up. I mean go all out and dress for success and take a picture.  For the moment you are taking the picture nothing else matters. Think of a time you felt totally free from anger, worry, frustration, strife and hatred… YES that moment. Bask in that moment and smile for the camera. Take a few shots with different poses even do an outfit change, if you like. Make it a real photo shoot opportunity. Now every time you see those pictures I want you to think this is my best friend. 

Nope, not finished yet, remember we are fixing the problem not just placing another band aid on it. Now it’s time to get serious about your healing. Get a Journal. You don’t journal superficial things like what you ate today or what the events of the day were. No, this journal is to take a long good look at you. Therefore journal how you feel, journal your heart, journal your thoughts, journal your raw emotions and let it flow. Today you may feel like pulling your hair out because of what John said reminded you of your past relationship with Steve, journal it. Tomorrow you can be on top of the world because you realized that you just got that promotion you been wanting, Journal it. You had a breakthrough during early Morning prayer, journal it.

When you journal, you start to see that problems become clearer. Just as amazing, is the solution will leap at you from the pages of your journal. You will start to see patterns. Your answers to many of the questions that you have will be hidden in the midst of the text. With each dilemma there is a lesson to be learned, every storm has a warning of dark clouds but it’s always followed by sunshine and a rainbow. Dancing is a great distraction as well as a happy feeling. Laughing is the best medicine for the heart that is broken. 

Journals will save your life – well, at least help it make sense in the here and now. Now that you are thinking about it, start a journal today. Don’t just write in the journal but take a few minutes to read and reflect on what was written. See what treasurers are inside of you. Treasures you never knew where there because you were too busy having a fit.

You are Bound No More. 

Pastor Linda Hillman 

(c) 2014 Living Above Hurt Ministries

Get Your Copy Today! In The MeanTime: When Waiting Is Key!

GET YOUR COPY TODAY!

In today’s microwave society, we want everything in an instant.  And we want it now.  Between instant gratification and a sense of entitlement, we often forget that GOD is GOD and HIS will be done.  We can’t lag behind HIM and we surely can’t jump ahead of HIM.  Linda A. Hillman’s new book, IN THE MEANTIME, addresses this very subject—waiting upon GOD.

Through vignettes of the Prophet Elijah’s life, Linda reveals GOD’s plan for waiting upon HIM.  This concise but rich study provides insight into the character of GOD and how HE takes us through steps of preparation, motivation and confirmation in getting us through our seasons of waiting.  The beauty and truth of Linda’s message is that you can have the same glorious breakthrough as Elijah had.  Get copy of IN THE MEANTIME and get set-up for your own blessing!

Get your Copy Now! Will You Be Made Whole!

GET YOUR COPY OF THE BOOK NOW!

Through the scripture and the story of the woman with an issue of blood, Linda Hillman moves past the obvious, more common meaning of the text to a revelatory truth:  GOD would not have us live unbalanced and incomplete lives.  In her book WILL YOU BE MADE WHOLE, Linda reveals just how crucial balance in every area of your life.  Through scripture, practical principles and faith, Linda shows the reader how to get back on track when life derails.  In Pastor Hillman’s own words—“The one thing I have discovered in my life is that the pains I have had to endure were not to take me out of the game but to polish me for the end result.”  Get your copy today and be made whole!

Available now at your favorite Online retailer!