God had been speaking with me about offense. The reason why He has been doing so is because He was sharing with me that offense will drive you to literal a place of murder. An offended heart is one that can’t really mend itself. The thing about an offended heart is this, until you deal with the very first offense, all it does it breed more and more offenses. It literally becomes an assassin of your joy, peace, right standing with God, and hope. It brings you to a place of despair. Every conversation of someone that is offended, if you will notice, most times they are being temperamental/having a tantrum and no one has hardly done anything to them. This happens because the root of bitterness has begun to take root in their heart.
God gave me this example of offense. Offense is like a fire. It is like someone that strikes a match in one moment and in the next, the house is burned down. The Bible confirms this in Proverbs 18:19 ESV
A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle
One of the biggest conversations you may encounter in today’s world is talk about being petty. Petty is when you no longer want to look past another’s fault. You intentionally and purposefully intend on making every fault something that affects you in a negative way. It is people’s ability to operate in strife which is a work of the flesh.
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. – James 3:16
We see from the scripture above, when we operate in offense, there is confusion and every evil work.
The scripture below details the character of someone who can overlook an offense
The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression. – Proverbs 19:11 KJV
But I love it in the English Standard Version (ESV)
Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.
The Bible says when you have good sense you are slow to anger and it is your nature; an attribute of beautiful character is to over look an offense (my interpretation).
Offense causes people to kill someone’s character, to attack their position, to dishonor their authority, to literally set out to destroy them. That is what an offended heart does.
This became very real to me in lieu of the shootings that occured when elementary school students lost their lives, part of the young shooter’s issue was anger and offense
Let us strive to walk in love with one another. The bible says that love covers a multitude of sin. Let’s strive to look past one another’s fault and be swift to walk in love and forgive.
How do we walk in forgiveness?
(1) Come back into the fear of God
Reverent fear of God means your soul is concious of God and you run from evil.
(2) Constantly check your heart posture. The Bible tells us how to do this…
Acts 24:16
So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man.
This should be our heart posture. To always endeavour to come before God and keep a right standing. Always raising a question, according to the word, Lord does this behavior offend you!? If you are being convicted then you know your heart posture is not right before God and/or man.
We should endeavour to check your heart because we have an enemy, that goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour. When our hearts are in the right position he won’t be able to go before the judge, our Lord, and accuse you of any sin in His courts.
How do you forgive?
(1) Follow the instruction of Colossians 3:13
Colossians 3:13 Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
(2) Next, go to your brother and express your offense and share your heart and try and work out the situation. If they won’t hear, take someone with you to be a mediator. If this doesn’t bring a resolve, take it before God and bless those who speak against you. Allow God to be a mediator and forgive them meaning let it go. Drop all charges against them.
Why? Because unforgiveness is a prison and it is a like a plumb line that is clogged. How can anything good flow through you?
The Heart of Forgiveness
My blood sister, Dee, always teaches that not only do you forgive but you also pray a blessing of recovery for what was lost as atonement to those that you transgressed against. Sometimes there is loss in others lives with out restitution because of our malice This is a prayer that she gave me to pray in the past and I thought it prudent to share.
Prayer of Atonement
In the name of Jesus, I close any books in hell and the underworld written about me and any generations associated with me. Every legal document negatively written document about me and my generation is replace with the scripture Isaiah 1:18 though my sins are red as crimson, Jesus has washed them white as snow. I pray the prayer of atonment for any one me or anyone in my blood line that has cause an offense or has suffered in any type of way for any thing me and any one in my blood line has said or done. For those transgressions, I pray that all is restored and recovered and if any one has passed on let this blessing fall on their children. Lord also bless them finally for the trouble our family has caused. We release in forgiveness anyone that anyone in our family that died held in unforgiveness. The offense is released and replaced with love and reconciliation here on earth. In Jesus name, Amen.
