Bulletproof MarriagesSample

 It Takes Grace To Forgive

What happened cannot be changed, yet forgiveness has the power to change your future. Your future cannot be affected, wasted, or darkened by what someone else did to you, not even your spouse, unless you allow it to happen. If you decide to forgive, your future will be different. Bitterness can turn into joy, darkness can turn into light, mourning into joy, pain into sweetness, and sadness into happiness. Forgiveness sets us free from bondage. that tie our lives and sicken our bodies. 

To forgive does not mean that you agree with what happened. It does not mean that what happened was ok and you approve of that. To forgive does not mean that you are disregarding what happened; rather, it means that you are leaving behind all the negative thoughts that are causing you pain. Forgiveness is based on the extension of grace over what happened. Lack of forgiveness can make you a slave to the events and situations that are causing you pain. Lack of forgiveness is the most devastating poison there is for the spirit, and it neutralizes every one of our spiritual resources. 

A married couple can have significant problems and get divorced. Some married couples can get divorced over inconsequential things like splashing the toilet or leaving the toothpaste out of place. Other couples, on the other hand, can go through harder and more difficult things and come out stronger because they use the filter of forgiveness on their hearts. Which is more serious, Infidelity, or splashing the toilet? In either case, if you do not use the filter of forgiveness, the outcome will be the death of the marriage. 

When Peter asked, “How many times should I forgive?” I wonder if he was thinking about his relationship with his wife? “Seventy times?” I think he was keeping score. Yet Jesus told him, “Not seven times, but seventy times seven!” Forgiveness only exists to God’s extent. It has no limit. It goes beyond human capacity and reason. 

The strongest marriages are not made up of people who never make mistakes, but of those who have learned to carry the filter of forgiveness with them to put into practice what Jesus said, “Seventy times seven.” If we put the filter on our mouths and our eyes, and we see the treasure that God gave us with the one He brought into our lives, and we apply the filter of forgiveness every day, our marriage will be built upon the Rock. Winds and storms may come, but our house will not move, because is built upon the Rock who is Jesus Christ. 

 Reflect

 Is your marriage built upon Jesus Christ? 

 I pray that you can use these three filters every day and that your marriage is built upon the Rock, Jesus Christ. 

This devotional plan is based on a sermon by Pastor Gerardo Cardenas. If you wish to watch the full sermon, please follow this link:  https://vimeo.com/206238339