There are certain wounds that are more painful to endure and process than others. Adultery is the deepest form of betrayal within a marriage and leaves devastating wounds in the heart of the victimized spouse that makes forgiveness seem impossible. Conventional wisdom says that even if forgiveness is possible for an unfaithful spouse, recovering from it will take years. But conventional wisdom rarely considers the Cross.

Recently a couple came to us as a last resort. The wife had lost all hope and they were clearly heading for a divorce. As my wife and I worked with these two hurting people, we begin to recognize the telltale signs of unforgiveness. We helped them to discover the deep wounds from their childhood, their past relationships and from each other that were tormenting them both. As we walked them individually through the protocols of forgiveness, we witnessed two unbelievable transformations. They were set free! They were arm in arm as they walked to their car. Their marriage was restored through the power of forgiveness.

The insufficiency of the animal sacrifices gives way to the sufficiency of the Lamb of God who was slain from the foundation of the world. As we reflect on these High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, let’s celebrate that the ultimate Day Of Atonement was accomplished over 2000 years ago on an old rugged Cross where the spotless Lamb of God was slain for the sin of the world. It never has to be repeated!

Jesus Christ himself identifies with that because when he forgave it cost him greatly. And so, no, it's not OK. But, forgiveness does say that it was already paid for. They don't owe me anything because Jesus already paid for their sins against me.

Faith is the confident and active understanding that God is love and, in His sovereignty, governs everything for His glory and our good. David began to live by faith as a young boy as he shepherded his family’s sheep. On separate occasions, a bear and a lion threatened the flock and David killed both of them with his bare hands. Quite a heroic conquest for young man! David understood full well who it was who actually won the battle. As he recounted the story to Saul in 1st Samuel 17:37, David said “the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Sometimes we find ourselves angry, bitter, and upset without really understanding why. The answer, according to scripture, is oftentimes because we are harboring unforgiveness in our hearts. Toni and I wanted to share some of our story and how it manifested in our lives with you, in the hopes that you could learn to recognize unforgiveness, and in turn choose to forgive immediately - leading to a lifetime of joy and peace, no matter the circumstances.

There! I said it! Unforgiveness is a sin. It really is. “I know I know it doesn't feel like a sin. I mean, come on. They hurt me. It wasn't my fault. So it's my choice whether I forgive or not. I have a right to be upset because they owe me.” All of that may be true, but unforgiveness is still a sin. And it's a sin that keeps us in torment.

Our speaker today is Dr. Bruce Hebel. He is the international speaker with a compelling message that is revolutionizing the hearts of people from all walks of life. Raised in a pastor's home and educated to pastor the local church, he is now following God's call to the church at large.

Forgiveness is a transaction. It's receiving the blood of Jesus as payment in full for every wound I ever have or ever will suffer.

What if I told you that forgiveness isn't a process, it's a decision? And what if I told you that you don't need a lot of time to make that decision? And what if I told you, the concept that's out there that, "OK, it's going to take time to deal with this wound and process it and get through it"...  What if I told you that's exactly the opposite thing that you ought to do? And what if I told you that the purest evidence of the Christ-Life in us is when we choose to forgive instantaneously?

He recognized that the revelation of Jesus is the key to overcoming problems and that there is nothing the nearness of Jesus does not cure. This article is foundational in understanding why Forgiving Forward uses the coaching model rather than the traditional counseling model.

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times..

As we have seen the power of these principles worked out in our own lives, God has given us the opportunity to come alongside many other wounded pastors, ministry leaders, and people in all walks of life who are in torment because of unforgiveness. We have witnessed significant supernatural breakthroughs, and have found incredible joy in helping others forgive.

Who is Jesus? We believe this is the most important question for every person to consider. It is a question that people have wrestled with for over 2000 years since Jesus walked on the earth. Jesus Himself saw this as the crucial question.

I think the main thing that people struggle with when they think about forgiving is the issue of justice. We hear it all the time: “There’s no justice, no peace.” Because there’s a concern that the person who wounded me needs to pay. There’s a debt that incurred because of that wound.

If you really want to know that you have forgiven, you bless them. If you cannot bless someone, you haven’t forgiven. Because blessing means I no longer want them to pay. Because Jesus has already paid! I want them to be blessed, because it is the kindness of God that brings us to repentance. So the way that you know you’ve forgiven is that yo’ve specifically dealt with the wounds and you’ve chosen to bless the person that inflicted them.

Fear. It’s a real emotion. It comes knocking hard, sometimes just barging in disguising itself as anxiety, dread, hopelessness, paranoia, and most commonly .. at least for someone like me.. worry. It can be debilitating!

Thank you for saying yes to God by accepting His blood as payment for the wounds you have experienced. Thank you for forgiving the most painful of wounds. Thank you for glorifying God by choosing to forgive.

These words are just a sample of what we heard from the people during our trip to Europe. God continued to bless the Forgiving Forward ministry throughout our recent trip where we spoke 10 times, delivered an all day seminar, and coached multiple people over 15 days.

Faith, Hope, and Love have no geographical boundaries! I was invited to the conference to share Forgiving Forward primarily to the leaders gathered. Many of these pastors lead significant ministries and oversee many churches in their respective countries. I was allotted two hours over two days to communicate the Forgiving Forward message.