October 3________________________________________
Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!” – Luke 17:1(NKJV)
OFFENSE MAY COME
A poem and essay by ILMA
In life, offenses are unavoidable
It may eventually happen; it’s inevitable
We can let offense consume us
Or we can forgive again and trust.
We are commanded to forgive without limits
When wronged, choose peace and let God’s Spirit in
To initiate offense is being rebellious and lawless
Choose to let it go instead of being bitter and ruthless.
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Many decades of my life was stolen by the enemy using offense to bring most of my relationships down. Because I wasn’t brought up in a Christian environment and forgiveness wasn’t role modelled to me, I was prone to be offended. The people around me showed anger and revenge when they were wronged. As a child, I imitated what I saw. I learned to react quickly when someone does me wrong. It went on for the next decades until the Lord revealed to me that I need not harbor negative reactions. Instead, I was commanded to forgive seventy times seven. In other words, unlimited.
The bible warns us to offend someone purposely because we will be answerable and pay for it if we do. Luke tells us that offense is inevitable and it will come in our lives one way or another.
________________________________________PRAYER
Lord, help me to forgive quickly and not hold on to offense.
REFLECTION
How can the spirit of offense hold people captive?
For more testimonials about God’s word, please go to YouTube and type ILMA’s poem devotional or go to www.ilmaarts.com posts. To receive emails of my poem devotionals, email me at ILMA.ARTS.STUDIO@gmail.com
