Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. <\/i><\/p>\n
\u2014Philippians 4:5<\/i><\/p>\n
1764<\/b> Inability To Think<\/b><\/p>\n
In a recent chapel service bulletin from Chaplain Wendell C. Hawley, comes a classic illustration of forgiveness. When the Moravian missionaries first went to the Eskimos, they could not find a word in their language for forgiveness, so they had to compound one. This turned out to be: Issumagijoujungnainermik. It is a formidable-looking assembly of letters, but an expression that has a beautiful connotation for those who understand it. It means: \u201cNot-being-able-to-think-about-it-anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Minister\u2019s Research Service<\/i><\/p>\n
1765<\/b> Trampled Fragrance<\/b><\/p>\n
A little boy, being asked what forgiveness is, gave the beautiful answer: \u201cIt is the odor that flowers breathe when they are trampled upon.\u201d<\/p>\n
1766<\/b> Maskepetoon The Indian Chief<\/b><\/p>\n
One evening Maskepetoon was deeply moved by the missionary\u2019s address on our Lord\u2019s dying prayer, \u201cFather, forgive Maskepetoon, the most powerful chief of his tribe of North American Indians.\u201d This chief reveled in cunning ambuscades, midnight attacks, and all that goes to make savage warfare. <\/p>\n
But the Gospel Herald<\/i> once carried the following story of his conversion under the early Methodist missionaries:<\/p>\n
One evening Maskepetoon was deeply moved by the missionary\u2019s address on our Lord\u2019s dying prayer, \u201cFather, forgive them.\u201d The next day a band of Indians was approaching, in which was the man who had murdered Maskepetoon\u2019s only son. His son, sent into a secluded valley, had never returned; and the son\u2019s companion said that he had fallen over a precipice, though in fact he had murdered him. Unknown to the murderer, the tragedy had been witnessed by some Indians who later rep rted it to the bereaved chief. <\/p>\n
When the two bands were within a few hundred yards of each other, the eagle eye of the old chief detected the murderer, and, drawing his tomahawk from his belt, he rode up till he was face to face with the man who had murdered his son. <\/p>\n
Maskepetoon, with a voice tremulous with suppressed feeling, yet with an admirable command over himself looking the man full in the eyes said: \u201cYou deserve to die. I sent him with you, his trusted companion. You betrayed my trust and cruelly killed my only son! You have done me and my tribe the greatest injury that is possible. You deserve to die; but for what I heard from the missionary at the camp fire last night, I would already have buried this tomahawk in your brains! The missionary told us that, if we expected the Great Spirit to forgive, we must forgive the greatest wrong. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou have been my worst enemy, and deserve to die!\u201d With deep emotion he continued, \u201cAs I hope the Great Spirit will forgive me, I forgive you.\u201d Then, hastily pulling his war bonnet over his face, Maskepetoon bowed down over his horse\u2019s neck and gave way to an agony of tears. <\/p>\n
For years Maskepetoon lived a devoted Christian life. He preached to others. And after influencing many of his own tribe to turn from killing their enemies, the Blackfeet, he gave them no other weapon but the \u201cSword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.\u201d<\/p>\n
But a bloodthirsty chief of that vindictive tribe, remembering some of their fierce conflicts of other days, and, perhaps, having lost by Maskepetoon\u2019s own prowess some of his relatives in those conflicts, seized his gun, and, in defiance of all rules of humanity, coolly shot down the converted chieftain. <\/p>\n
Who can say that forgiveness is not a costly thing? Maskepetoon suffered a broken heart to forgive the murderer of his son. Then it cost him his life to forgive his enemies, to go to them unarmed and preach to them forgiveness of sin. <\/p>\n
\u2014Prairie Overcomer<\/i><\/p>\n
1767<\/b> Success On \u201cThe Last Supper\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
Leonardo da Vinci was one of the outstanding intellects of all history, for he was great as a draftsman, an engineer, and a thinker. Just before he commenced work on his \u201cLast Supper\u201d he had a violent quarrel with a fellow painter. So enraged and bitter was Leonardo that he determined to paint the face of his enemy, the other artist, into the face of Judas, and thus take his revenge and vent his spleen by handling the man down in infamy and scorn to succeeding generations. The face of Judas was therefore one of the first that he finished, and everyone could easily recognize it as the face of the painter with whom he had quarreled. <\/p>\n
But when he came to paint the face of Christ, he could make no progress. Something seemed to be baffling him, holding him back, frustrating his best efforts. At length he came to the conclusion that the thing which was checking and frustrating him was the fact that he had painted his enemy into the face of Judas. He therefore painted out the face of Judas and commenced anew on the face of Jesus, and this time with the success which the ages have acclaimed. <\/p>\n
You cannot at one and the same time be painting the features of Christ into your own life, and painting another face with the colors of enmity and hatred. <\/p>\n
\u2014C. E. Macartney<\/p>\n
1768<\/b> Saved By His \u201cWorse Enemy\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
During the Revolutionary War there lived in Pennsylvania a pastor by the name of Peter Miller. Although Miller was greatly loved by everyone in the community, there was one man who lived near the church who hated him and had earned an unenviable reputation for his abuse of the minister. This man was not only a hater of the church, but it also turned out that he was a traitor to his country, and was convicted of treason and sentenced to death. <\/p>\n
The trial was conducted in Philadelphia, and no sooner did Miller hear of it than he set out on foot to visit General Washington and interceded for the man\u2019s life. But Washington told him, \u201cI\u2019m sorry that I cannot grant your request for your friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFriend!\u201d Miller cried. \u201cWhy, that man is the worst enemy I have in the world!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d the general exclaimed in surprise. \u201cHave you walked sixty miles to save the life of an enemy? That, in my judgment, puts the matter in a different light. I will grant him a pardon for your sake.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pardon was made out and signed by General Washington, and Miller proceeded at once on foot to a place fifteen miles distant where the execution was scheduled to take place that afternoon. He arrived just as the man was being carried to the scaffold, and when he saw Miller hurrying toward the place, remarked, \u201cThere is old Peter Miller. He has walked all the way from Ephrata to have his revenge gratified today by seeing me hung.\u201d But scarcely had he spoken the words when Miller pushed his way through to the condemned man and handed him the pardon that saved his life. <\/p>\n
\u2014Bible School Journal<\/i><\/p>\n
1769<\/b> Feast For Enemies<\/b><\/p>\n
In the year 1818, Tamatoe, King of Huahine, one of the South Sea Islands, became a Christian. He discovered a plot among his fellow natives to seize him and other converts and burn them to death. He organized a band to attack the plotters, captured them unawares and then set a feast before them. This unexpected kindness surprised the savages, who burned their idols and became Christians. <\/p>\n
\u2014James Hastings<\/p>\n
1770<\/b> John Selwyn\u2019s Namesake<\/b><\/p>\n
John Selwyn, who became the Bishop of the South Pacific, was renowned for his boxing skill in his university days. On a certain occasion he had to utter grave words of rebuke and warning to a professed convert. The man removed from savagery only by a generation or two, struck the Bishop a violent blow on the face with his clenched fist. <\/p>\n
All Selwyn did in return was to fold his arms and look into his face. With his powerful arm and massive fist he could have easily knocked him down, but instead he waited calmly for another blow. It was too much for his assailant; he was ashamed and fled into the jungle. <\/p>\n
Years afterward the Bishop came home seriously ill. One day the man who had struck him came to his successor to confess Christ in baptism. Convinced of the genuineness of his conversion, he was asked what new name he desired to take as a Christian. \u201cCall me John Selwyn,\u201d he replied, \u201cfor it was he who taught me what Jesus Christ is like.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Southport Methodist<\/i><\/p>\n
1771<\/b> At Home With Son\u2019s Killer<\/b><\/p>\n
During the Korean war, a South Korean Christian, a civilian, was arrested by the communists and ordered shot. But when the young communist leader learned that the prisoner was in charge of an orphanage caring for small children, he decided to spare him and kill his son instead. So they shot the nineteen-year-old boy in the presence of his father. <\/p>\n
Later the fortunes of war changed, and the young communist leader was captured by the United Nations forces, tried, and condemned to death. But before the sentence could be carried out, the Christian whose boy had been killed pleaded for the life of the killer. He declared that he was young, that he really did not know what he was doing. \u201cGive him to me,\u201d said the father, \u201cand I\u2019ll train him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The United Nations forces granted the request, and that father took the murderer of his boy into his own home and cared for him. Today the young communist is a Christian pastor. <\/p>\n
\u2014T. Roland Philips<\/p>\n
1772<\/b> Caring For Family\u2019s Killer<\/b><\/p>\n
In 1946, Czeslaw Godlewski was a member of a young gang that roamed and sacked the German countryside. On an isolated farm they gunned down ten members of the Wilhelm Hamelmann family. Nine of the victims died, but Hamelmann himself survived his four bullet wounds. <\/p>\n
Godlewski recently completed a twenty-year prison term for his crimes, but the state would not release him because he had nowhere to go. When Hamelmann learned of the situation, he asked the authorities to release Godlewski to his custody. He wrote in his request, \u201cChrist died for my sins and forgave me. Should I not then forgive this man?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Gospel Herald<\/i><\/p>\n
1773<\/b> Nixon Granted Full Pardon<\/b><\/p>\n
Washington, Sept. 9 (AP)\u2014President Ford granted Richard M. Nixon \u201ca free, full and absolute pardon\u201d for any criminal conduct during his presidency and Nixon responded with a statement of remorse at \u201cmy mistakes over Watergate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Announcing the pardon at a surprise appearance before newsmen and photographers, Ford said, \u201cI feel that Richard Nixon and his loved ones have suffered enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cMy conscience tells me clearly and certainly that I cannot prolong the bad dreams that continue to reopen a chapter that is closed. My conscience tells me that only I, as President, have the constitutional power to firmly shut and seal this book.\u201d<\/p>\n
1774<\/b> Niemoller\u2019s Discovery<\/b><\/p>\n
After languishing for months in Hitler\u2019s prison Martin Niemoller emerged saying, \u201cIt took me a long time to learn that God is not the enemy of His enemies!\u201d<\/p>\n
1775<\/b> No Room For Injuries<\/b><\/p>\n
King Henry VI of England had it said of him: \u201cHe never forgot anything but injuries.\u201d Of Cranmer it was said: \u201cIf you want to get a favor from him, do him a wrong.\u201d Emerson said of Lincoln: \u201cHis heart was as great as the world, but there was no room in it for the memory of a wrong.\u201d Spurgeon gives this advice: \u201cCultivate forbearance till your heart yields a fine crop of it. Pray for a short memory as to unkindness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Rev. David L. Currens<\/p>\n
1776<\/b> The Best Gift<\/b><\/p>\n
The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity. <\/p>\n
\u2014Lord Balfour<\/p>\n
1777<\/b> Epigram On Forgiving<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people. <\/p>\n
\u2022 Speak well of your enemies; remember you made them. <\/p>\n
\u2022 You may have noticed that every enemy you made has ten friends. And every friend you made has ten more friends! <\/p>\n
\u2022 The greatest conqueror is he who overcomes the enemy without a blow. <\/p>\n
\u2014Chinese Proverb<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u201cA Christian is not perfect; he is FORGIVEN.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Car Bumper Sticker<\/p>\n
See also:<\/b> Love ; Kindness .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. \u2014Philippians 4:5 1764 Inability To Think In a recent chapel service bulletin from Chaplain Wendell C. Hawley, comes a classic illustration of forgiveness. When the Moravian missionaries first went to the Eskimos, they could not find a word in their language for … Continue reading “FORGIVING”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5059\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}