GoodMorning Thomas, James 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick,and the Lord shall raise him up,and if he had committed sins,they shall be forgiven. Taken from "Wikipedia" In Judaism, if a person causes harm, but then sincerely and honestly apologizes to the wronged individual and tries to rectify the wrong, the wronged individual is religiously required to grant forgiveness: "It is forbidden to be obdurate and not allow yourself to be appeased. On the contrary, one should be easily pacified and find it difficult to become angry. When asked by an offender for forgiveness, one should forgive with a sincere mind and a willing spirit. . . forgiveness is natural to the seed of Israel." (Mishneh Torah, Teshuvah 2:10) In Judaism, one must go to those he has harmed in order to be entitled to forgiveness.[20] [One who sincerely apologizes three times for a wrong committed against another has fulfilled his or her obligation to seek forgiveness. (Shulchan Aruch) OC 606:1] This means that, unlike in Christianity, in Judaism a person cannot obtain forgiveness from God for wrongs the person has done to other people. Thus the Tefila Zaka meditation, which is recited just before Yom Kippur, closes with the following: "I know that there is no one so righteous that they have not wronged another, financially or physically, through deed or speech. This pains my heart within me, because wrongs between humans and their fellow are not atoned by Yom Kippur, until the wronged one is appeased. Because of this, my heart breaks within me, and my bones tremble; for even the day of death does not atone for such sins. Therefore I prostrate and beg before You, to have mercy on me, and grant me grace, compassion, and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all people. For behold, I forgive with a final and resolved forgiveness anyone who has wronged me, whether in person or property, even if they slandered me, or spread falsehoods against me. So I release anyone who has injured me either in person or in property, or has committed any manner of sin that one may commit against another [except for legally enforceable business obligations, and except for someone who has deliberately harmed me with the thought ‘I can harm him because he will forgive me']. Except for these two, I fully and finally forgive everyone; may no one be punished because of me. And just as I forgive everyone, so may You grant me grace in the eyes of others, that they too forgive me absolutely." [emphasis added] Thus the "reward" for forgiving others is not God's forgiveness for wrongs done to others, but rather help in obtaining forgiveness from the other person.

_{Thank you Nimi, you just gave me a word for one sometime in the future (Grace). Some of us know about Grace but we as Christians we cant merit Grace and try to serve God with performance, it ain't happening. Cuz we rule it out if we do. Luke 17:10; Romans 4:1-8; Galatians 3:10 and in Ephesians 2:8-10 all talk about this.}

_{Until next time gang vote as often as you like,}

_{one scripture or theme to ones post.}

Good Evening Thomas, Luke 17:4 4Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.” Forgiveness According to Quran and Sunnah The Noble Qur'an - An-Nur 24:22 And let not those among you who are blessed with graces and wealth swear not to give (any sort of help) to their kinsmen, Al-Masâkîn (the poor), and those who left their homes for Allâh's Cause. Let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love that Allâh should forgive you? And Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Hadith - Qudsi 34 O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as it. 11.11. Except those who are persevering and patient (neither despairing in affliction, nor exultant and self-glorifying in success), and do good, righteous deeds; it is they for whom is forgiveness and a great reward. Martin Luther King “Forgiveness is not an occasional act. It is a permanat attitude" John MacArthur “Forgiveness unleashes joy. It brings peace. It washes the slate clean. It sets all the highest values of love in motion." Hannah Moore “Forgiveness is the economy of the heart ... forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.” I just thought about "Sams"Forum for the New year......... This will go well with that....... May God grant us the desire,courage and the wisdom to forgive each other, continuously when the occasion arises! nimi

Oh my Nimi, now theres a lot of inspiration going on there. Thanks again with another scripture Plus! :)

Good Morning Thomas! Todays meditation verse is:Ps103:3 Bless the Lord O my soul! and all that is within me Bless His holy Name! Bless the Lord Oh my Soul and forget not all His benefits! Who forgiveth all thine iniquities and who health all thy diseases I am glad you picked this word, there is sooo much to learn about forgiveness and we all need it in our daily life to have a quality life and a peaceful life! Forgiveness is ones greatest gift to self. Forgiveness is: If you ever had your feelings hurt and you forgave the person for it, and, inside of you, you allowed them the chance to hurt your feelings again, then you really did forgive them. I believe that bitterness is the cause of more destruction than any other single issue. "Acid is more destructive on the vessel in which it is stored, than on the object on which it is poured." Letting go of bitterness is sometimes very hard to do. You lose so much happiness by holding on to it. Forgiveness is a soft cloud that lifts us back to the Heavens. Thank you, & may the Almighty guide all of Mankind