Participants:
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW019212A
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00:19 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written.
00:21 I'm John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me. 00:24 In an age of shocking crimes, 00:26 in an age where, where mass shootings 00:28 just don't really surprise us anymore, 00:31 in an age of unhinged people committing heinous acts, 00:35 this one was really very shocking. 00:39 Charleston, South Carolina, was founded in 1670. 00:43 It's situated right on the Atlantic coast 00:46 and was named in honor of the English monarch at the time, 00:49 King Charles II. 00:51 A city with roots that deep 00:53 is clearly a place with some interesting history. 00:56 And, given the time periods involved-- 00:58 colonization, slavery, the Revolution, the Civil War-- 01:03 some of that history is painful. 01:07 Just a few days before summer began in 2015, 01:11 a 21-year-old South Carolina man traveled to Charleston 01:14 with malice on his mind. 01:16 The young man who came to Charleston that day 01:18 possessed a sickened mind and a gun. 01:22 A combustible mixture. 01:25 He came here to Emmanuel AME Church 01:29 fully intending to do harm-- 01:31 or more to the point, fully intending to take life. 01:35 Motivated by racial hatred, he mingled with worshipers 01:38 at the mid-week Bible study, 01:40 biding his time until he fired almost 80 shots 01:45 and took nine lives. 01:46 He murdered six women and three men. 01:50 He was arrested the next day almost 250 miles away. 01:54 It's not easy to imagine the impact of an event like this. 01:58 Think of it this way. 01:59 In September of 1989, at least two dozen South Carolinians 02:04 died when Hurricane Hugo battered parts of the state. 02:08 Now, of course, a tragedy is a tragedy, 02:11 but this was nature; things happen. 02:13 Earthquakes and tornadoes and hurricanes are to be expected. 02:16 But what happened in June of 2015 was different, 02:20 very different, in fact. 02:23 When a person dies in a natural disaster, for example, 02:26 there are some survival mechanisms, 02:29 some psychological mechanisms survivors 02:32 or those affected by the tragedy can default to. 02:35 In spite of, "This isn't fair." 02:38 In spite of, "Why did this happen to us?" 02:40 In spite of, "Life is rough right now." 02:43 In spite of a sense of helplessness and anger, 02:45 what we know is that natural disasters happen. 02:48 We know that cancer, for example, 02:50 heart disease, strokes, they occur. 02:53 It was terribly sad that Grandma died, 02:55 but, after all, people do die. 02:58 But how do you wrestle with something like that? 03:01 Nine people didn't simply die here in Charleston that night. 03:06 They had their lives snatched away due to a deliberate, 03:09 thought-out, planned act of hatred. 03:12 Children were left without parents. 03:14 Parents lost their children. 03:17 Siblings and friends and neighbors and colleagues, 03:20 all had to wrestle with a radically altered existence, 03:23 one that contained now some very big holes. 03:28 People went to church that night--to church-- 03:32 to worship, to pray, to study the Word of God. 03:37 This was hideous. 03:40 We know how God feels about murder. 03:42 The sixth commandment is probably best expressed 03:45 when it's translated, "Thou shalt not murder." 03:48 This is truly disastrous. 03:51 So how do you go on when somebody you love is murdered 03:54 in circumstances like these, 03:57 by a person who sought out innocent people 03:59 for the purpose of doing something ultimately hateful? 04:03 Well, we're about to find out. 04:06 Myra Thompson was there that night at the church 04:09 often referred to as "Mother Emmanuel." 04:12 She was among the nine people murdered. 04:14 Her husband Anthony has made the remarkable decision 04:17 to forgive the man who killed not only his wife, 04:20 but eight others. 04:24 Thank you so much for joining me. 04:25 I appreciate it greatly. 04:27 It was June 17, 2015. What happened? 04:32 >>Pastor Anthony Thompson: Someone called me 04:34 from the church-- 04:36 not from the church-- 04:37 it was a member of Emmanuel AME Church called me 04:39 and, and told me that shooting was going on at the church, 04:44 and somebody was shooting outside. 04:46 That's, at least, I thought it was outside. 04:48 So I, I took off out of my house. 04:49 I, I drove down, found out that shooting was taking place 04:56 inside the church, not outside the church. 04:59 Then I was told that family members had been moved 05:02 from the church to a hotel. 05:04 So I thought everything was okay, 05:06 until I got there, 05:08 found out that ambulances were parked outside. 05:12 Nine. 05:13 So I thought, had to be more to it than what I had been told. 05:19 And once I searched, trying to find my wife, 05:21 frantically searching, trying to find her, 05:24 and trying to get into Emmanuel AME Church, 05:27 I discovered...I lost my best friend, 05:32 the one I love the most. 05:34 And, uh... [inhales and exhales] 05:38 it kind of took everything out of me. 05:41 >>John: You made a remarkable decision, however. 05:43 This was a crime intentionally perpetrated by a hate-filled man 05:47 bent on causing pain, perpetrating violence, 05:52 and, and starting a race war. 05:54 >>Pastor Thompson: Mm-hmm. 05:55 >>John: But you didn't take the bait. 05:58 And somehow you and others made a decision to forgive, 06:03 a decision I'm sure some people would think is crazy. 06:06 Let's get to that in a moment, but I want to ask you, 06:09 how were you able to make the decision to forgive, and why? 06:14 >>Pastor Thompson: Well, the decision to forgive Dylann 06:17 came easy. 06:19 Not for me, but easy in a way that God stepped in and, 06:24 and made it possible, 06:26 because He put me in a place in the bond hearing, 06:30 a place where I didn't want to be. 06:32 Then when I got there, He had me to say something 06:37 that I had no idea I was going to say. 06:40 And that was to forgive him. 06:42 And so, that's what I mean when I say it was easy. 06:45 But then...you know, after thinking about it for some time 06:51 after actually doing it, 06:53 I realized that He had been preparing me for that moment 06:57 for a long time. 06:58 >>John: Why do you think it was that you chose to forgive 07:01 when so easily you could have said, 07:02 "I'm not going to forgive," 07:03 and you, you could have stood up in that hearing 07:05 and said all manner of unkind things? 07:08 Why did you make that choice? 07:10 >>Pastor Thompson: Well... 07:12 first, I didn't want Dylann to have control over my life. 07:16 I didn't want him to have control over my children's life. 07:20 I wanted to just be rid of him. 07:22 And one way of being rid of him was to forgive him 07:25 so that then his intentions of starting a race war wouldn't, 07:30 wouldn't happen. 07:32 And, if I'd gone the opposite way, 07:35 well, I would have gave in to him, 07:36 and he would have been in control. 07:38 And so forgiveness was a way of releasing myself 07:42 from his control. 07:43 >>John: And clearly that's what you've done. 07:44 You've released yourself from the control of the person 07:46 who committed this terrible act of violence. 07:49 I wonder if some people would say you let him off the hook. 07:53 >>Pastor Thompson: Yes. Some people have said that. 07:56 Some people said that they don't see how 07:59 I could forgive him because it's like saying, 08:03 I don't want anything to happen to him; 08:04 I don't want him to be punished. 08:07 And, um, my answer was, "No, it was letting me off the hook." 08:11 Dylann is being punished. 08:12 Dylann is in jail-- 08:13 nine, nine counts of, uh, the death sentence. 08:17 And so I'm not letting him off the hook; 08:18 I'm letting myself off the hook, 08:20 you know, from having him have control, 08:23 from, from me being angry, 08:25 and from me hating him and just making my life miserable. 08:27 Because if I had not forgiven Dylann, you know, the anger 08:32 and harboring anger and hate in my heart for him 08:35 would only destroy my life. 08:36 >>John: What sort of man would you be today 08:38 if you'd not made the choice to forgive? 08:42 >>Pastor Thompson: I probably wouldn't be at this church. 08:45 Because, first thing came to my mind was, 08:49 what, what am I going to do? I have no more purpose. 08:53 And I was thinking, well, does that mean leaving the church? 08:56 So, I probably wouldn't be here. 08:58 Could have just continued to pity myself and pity myself. 09:03 I don't think it would have been good. 09:05 My life probably would have changed drastically. 09:07 You know, I probably would have gone from God 09:08 to not depending on Him, depending on myself. 09:12 Could have led to drinking, drugs, uh, I don't know. 09:15 You know, it could have gone quite the opposite. 09:17 >>John: Here's another unknown, 09:19 although people have speculated on this. 09:21 Your decision to forgive, the decision made by you and others, 09:24 to forgive a murderer had a very powerful effect on a city. 09:29 >>Pastor Thompson: Mmm. 09:30 >>John: Tell me about that, 09:32 how the city of Charleston was impacted by forgiveness. 09:35 >>Pastor Thompson: Well, the city of Charleston 09:37 was not looking for forgiveness. 09:40 They were looking for us to start a riot, 09:41 to start the race war like Dylann wanted. 09:43 And from that not happening, it just put everybody in awe, 09:51 gave them time to think-- what, what just happened? 09:55 You know, why? 09:57 What was that? You know. 09:59 And, and then immediately everybody just hold hands 10:03 and hugged, cried together, 10:06 you know, uh, brought flowers 10:07 and put them in front of the church together. 10:09 And spent days, I mean, the city of Charleston was crowded; 10:12 the downtown area was so crowded traffic couldn't even move 10:16 because the people wouldn't move. 10:17 The people just wanted to be attached to somebody. 10:20 And it didn't matter what your race was or what your color 10:23 or your culture was or how different you spoke. 10:25 You know, we, we just wanted to communicate. 10:28 We, we, you know, it was like, 10:30 it was like we all had a sense of family 10:34 'cause somebody came and just destroyed and killed 10:38 some people in our family, like brothers and sisters, 10:40 and so we came together like brothers and sisters, 10:42 like, you know, "Oh my God," you know, 10:44 you know, "Myra's gone." 10:46 You know, "Tywanza, he's gone." 10:49 You know, just like you, like they lost somebody, too. 10:53 And so it gave everybody a sense of just wanting to be together, 10:55 being a, being a family, 10:56 and that's what we're trying to work on now. 10:58 >>John: There's power in forgiveness. 10:59 There is power in forgiveness. 11:01 Looking forward to talking more with Pastor Anthony Thompson 11:03 about this in just a moment. 11:05 ♪[music]♪ 11:15 >>Announcer: We hear it all the time: 11:17 God is all-powerful, and God is love. 11:19 But if God is so powerful and loving, 11:22 why is there so much suffering? 11:24 Discover what the Bible says on the subject 11:26 by requesting today's free offer, 11:28 "Why Does God Allow Suffering?" 11:29 It's absolutely free. 11:31 Just call 800-253-3000, 11:34 800-253-3000, 11:38 or write to the address on your screen. 11:39 You can also make your request online 11:41 at iiwoffer.com. 11:45 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. 11:47 My very special guest is Pastor Anthony Thompson, 11:50 whose book, "Called to Forgive," 11:52 recounts the terrible tragedy in Charleston, South Carolina, 11:56 in 2015 and its aftermath. 11:59 Uh, tell me about the process of writing that book. 12:02 It had to be painful, therapeutic. 12:06 How was that for you? 12:07 >>Pastor Anthony Thompson: Well, initially, 12:08 I didn't want to write immediately 12:11 because...we had people coming at us 12:15 from all different kind of directions, 12:17 and didn't have time to mourn, 12:19 barely had time to think about what had happened. 12:22 And I didn't want to re-live that, you know, not at the time. 12:27 And so, um, I gave it some prayer, 12:30 with the help of other people praying with me. 12:33 And then, eventually, I started speaking, 12:38 started speaking to different crowds, 12:40 different churches, organizations, 12:42 and as I spoke, it was like venting, 12:46 and I could feel myself being relieved day by day. 12:50 But then after a while, after realizing the real purpose, 12:55 that God wanted this to be a mission 12:59 and spread the gospel of forgiveness, 13:01 is when I heard the people seeking, seeking something, 13:05 some kind of peace, 13:06 wanting to know how-- "What is forgiveness?" 13:08 "How does it work?" You know, "What can I do?" 13:10 And then it kicked in. 13:12 You know what, yeah, I need to write this book. 13:15 >>John: It's interesting, as a minister of the gospel, 13:16 forgiveness is your thing; it's what you talk about. 13:18 It, the, the gospel is about forgiveness. 13:21 A sinful world, we need reconciliation with God. 13:24 So talk to me about your understanding, 13:27 your experience in God's forgiveness towards us. 13:31 How do you understand that more differently or more completely, 13:33 now that you've been called to forgive in a very real, 13:39 very raw sort of a way? 13:41 >>Pastor Thompson: Before this actually happened, 13:43 before God intervened...you know, 13:47 I didn't give forgiveness a real thought, a real deep thought. 13:52 All I knew was that I was a forgiven person, 13:55 and some of the things that I experienced in my life 13:58 from my childhood--I went through some things that, 14:01 uh, some people who offended me, you know-- 14:04 I forgave them in the past. 14:06 And, but never really experienced the kind of peace 14:11 that I experienced when I forgave Dylann 14:14 at the bond hearing that day, you know, 14:16 because what he did to my wife, it was completely different. 14:21 Um, and so, I saw forgiveness then as, 14:27 well, something I'm supposed to do, you know. 14:30 And I knew that it, if I did it, 14:33 something good would come out of it. 14:35 But then when I forgave Dylann, 14:36 it was more than something good came out of it. 14:39 It was, I received a peace, you know, 14:44 I mean, a, a calmness, 14:47 a more sense of letting God have control, 14:52 knowing that I could trust Him, you know, 14:56 because of what He brought into my life, 14:59 where He gave me new purpose. 15:01 And so it was that, that, it was different... 15:05 at the tragedy than it was prior to the tragedy. 15:09 >>John: Undoubtedly there are many people watching us 15:11 right now who are struggling to forgive, refusing to forgive. 15:16 "I know I should forgive, but I won't. 15:18 It hurts too much." 15:20 This and that. 15:21 What would you say to that person that's wrestling 15:23 with forgiveness? 15:24 How does someone go about forgiving another person? 15:28 >>Pastor Thompson: I would say, 15:29 right now, I know you're hurting. 15:32 You know, I know somebody did something to offend you, 15:35 and, and it hurts you, and you probably want to get them back. 15:39 You know, you probably hate the person. 15:41 You're probably angry at that person. 15:43 And you feel you've got to do that 15:46 because it's going to make you feel better. 15:49 Well, I'm going to let you know now: 15:50 It won't make you feel better. It'll make you feel worse. 15:54 Because harboring anger and harboring hate, 15:57 it affects your health; it affects your mind; 16:00 you know, it just affects your soul. 16:02 And you just get deeper and deeper 16:04 and deeper and deeper until, till, 16:07 till wanting to do something bad. 16:09 But forgiveness is, it may be hard to do, 16:13 but God can help you. 16:15 All you need to do is to ask God to forgive you; 16:20 then ask God to help you forgive the person 16:22 you can't seem to forgive. 16:24 And that's all He'll require of you, 16:26 and He will help you do it. 16:28 You will do it. 16:29 And when you do it, I guarantee you 100 percent 16:33 that He will give you that peace that you've been trying 16:35 to find through other means of being angry and revenge. 16:39 >>John: How about, though, though-- 16:41 someone's going to say, "Yeah, my neighbor backed into my car 16:45 and then lied about it. Cost me $1,100." 16:48 But that's that. But what about the big things? 16:53 And you're qualified to speak about this 16:55 'cause you went through the biggest thing. 16:57 Help someone get over that hump. 17:00 'Cause I can just imagine somebody saying, 17:02 "Yeah, I, I understand that, 17:03 but you don't know what I've been through." 17:06 How do we address that with the really difficult things? 17:09 [inhales and exhales] 17:11 >>Pastor Thompson: We can make things difficult, 17:13 because we, we, we define sin as small sin, 17:18 as big sin. 17:20 We look at lying as something small. 17:22 "Well, I can do that. I can forgive them." 17:24 Then we look at murders. 17:25 "Oh, that's, that's just too, that's just too much. 17:27 I can't forgive him." 17:28 But sin is a sin. 17:31 You know, wrong is wrong; bad is bad. 17:34 There's no greater; there's no lesser; 17:36 they're all the same. 17:37 So, you've got to take a look at that first. 17:40 You know, then you've got to take a look at your own life. 17:42 You've got to examine yourself and say to yourself, 17:46 "Who have I done wrong to? Who have I lied to?" 17:48 What, you know, you know, was it, was it a big sin, 17:51 or was it a small sin? 17:52 There's no, no greater. 17:54 And then if you can see yourself as a person 17:58 who's done somebody wrong or said something wrong, 18:00 then it makes it a little easier for you to see the person 18:03 that did you wrong, 18:04 no matter how big, how small you may see it to be. 18:06 But there's no bigger sin, and there's no smaller sin. 18:08 Sin is sin. 18:10 >>John: And if we look at the Bible, 18:11 we understand that Jesus died, not because of your sin; 18:16 He died because of my sin. 18:17 So, I'm responsible for the death of the Son of God, 18:20 and surely that ought to motivate me somehow 18:23 to exercise forgiveness. 18:25 Jesus said, didn't He, "Father, forgive them." 18:30 "Father, forgive them." 18:31 As a minister of the gospel, 18:33 what does that example of forgiveness 18:35 exercised or demonstrated by Jesus mean to you, 18:38 and how do you share that and relate that to others? 18:41 >>Pastor Thompson: It means a lot to me, 18:43 'cause first of all, the pain and the suffering that He took. 18:48 I mean, He, He was, He, He was beaten as He walked to Calvary. 18:54 You know, He, He, they, they took a whip with, 18:57 tied with bones and, and, and, and like glass, 19:01 like metal on the end of the tips of it, 19:03 just tore Him, ripped His body. 19:05 Then they put crowns of thorns on His head. 19:07 Then they took, set the spear in His side, you know, 19:10 where the blood and the water surrounding His, His heart, 19:14 you know, just came down His body. 19:16 And then, they nailed Him to the cross, hands and feet. 19:20 I mean, that's real pain and suffering. 19:22 But He didn't have to do it. He did it for you and me. 19:26 And He said, "Father, forgive them." 19:29 So, if He can do all that for me and do all that for you, 19:35 then we should be able to forgive someone who does, 19:38 who's done something so small to us. 19:42 You know, I mean, 19:45 for God's sake, you know, forgive that person. 19:48 >>John: "Called to Forgive." 19:50 If anybody knows something about forgiveness, 19:53 it's Pastor Anthony Thompson. 19:54 We'll have a little more in just a moment. 19:56 ♪[music]♪ 20:05 >>Announcer: We hear it all the time: 20:07 God is all-powerful, and God is love. 20:10 But if God is so powerful and loving, 20:12 why is there so much suffering? 20:14 Discover what the Bible says on the subject 20:16 by requesting today's free offer, 20:18 "Why Does God Allow Suffering?" 20:20 It's absolutely free. 20:22 Just call 800-253-3000, 20:25 800-253-3000, 20:28 or write to the address on your screen. 20:30 You can also make your request online 20:31 at iiwoffer.com. 20:35 >>John Bradshaw: It was like a ticking time bomb 20:38 just waiting to explode. 20:39 And when it did, a city was plunged into chaos. 20:43 A town was completely destroyed, 20:45 more than 300 people were left dead, 20:48 and thousands left homeless. 20:51 It remains one of the nation's least-known atrocities, 20:54 yet it was one of the most destructive race riots 20:57 in United States history. 20:58 ♪[harmonica music]♪ 21:00 Join It Is Written on location in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 21:03 for "Black Wall Street" 21:05 as we look at the problem of evil. 21:09 We'll investigate the destruction of a community 21:11 and ask some searching questions. 21:13 ♪[somber music]♪ How can this happen? 21:15 And who would do such a thing? 21:17 How do good people commit truly wicked acts? 21:20 "Black Wall Street" will take you there, 21:22 to the very streets where evil reared its ugly head 21:26 in a way not often seen. 21:28 Don't miss "Black Wall Street" on It Is Written TV. 21:36 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. 21:39 As we talk about forgiveness, let me ask you. 21:41 You preach about it; you've written about it. 21:43 Forgiveness in the Bible, where do we see it? 21:45 >>Pastor Anthony Thompson: The two servants. 21:47 There was a servant who owed his, his master. 21:50 In today's money, it'd be like a million or more dollars. 21:53 And the master was ready to collect, and the servant said, 21:56 "Well, you know, Lord, I don't have it." 21:59 You know, and he begged for mercy, you know, said, 22:00 "Hey, look, I'll pay you later, you know. 22:03 I'll pay you as soon as I can." 22:04 He said, "But just have mercy on me." 22:07 And he had mercy on him. 22:08 And he relinquished his servant's debt. 22:11 I mean, he didn't even have to pay him back. 22:13 In other words, he forgave him. 22:15 And then that same servant, he was master to a servant, 22:18 and his servant owed him maybe a few bucks. 22:21 And he told the man, 22:22 "I'm going to throw you in jail until you pay me." 22:26 Now, the ridiculous part is that, 22:27 well, while he's in jail, he can't pay him. 22:30 So it means that he was never going to pay him, 22:32 so he was always going to be in jail. 22:34 Then the master who forgave him found out 22:39 that he had thrown his servant into jail, and then he said, 22:42 "You know, I forgave you, 22:43 and you could not forgive your servant?" 22:45 He says, "So now I'm going to throw you in jail, 22:48 and you're going to stay there, you know, 22:49 until you can pay me back." 22:51 Meaning that, you know, it was over for him. 22:54 And so, the story is that, you know, God is saying, 23:00 "If you want me to forgive you, 23:03 then you have to forgive the person who did you wrong." 23:06 >>John: Forgiveness is so fundamental to the gospel, 23:08 but we wrestle with it. 23:09 Forgiveness sometimes seems so very hard, 23:11 but as you know, unforgiveness is much harder. 23:15 >>Pastor Thompson: Much harder. 23:16 >>John: Tell me about your wife, Myra. 23:18 What was she like? 23:19 >>Pastor Thompson: Mmm. Myra was a beautiful woman. 23:21 Uh, very extraordinary woman, very loving. 23:24 She wasn't a stranger to anybody. 23:26 She was a giver. 23:28 Everybody loved Myra. 23:29 Myra loved everybody. 23:31 >>John: What do you think she'd say to somebody 23:32 wrestling with a decision to forgive or otherwise? 23:36 >>Pastor Thompson: Mmm. She would tell them, 23:40 "I don't know why you drank that poison, 23:42 think it's going to kill somebody else." 23:44 [laughs] 23:45 "You need to go ahead and forgive them." 23:47 You know, you just need to go ahead and forgive them. 23:50 Because that, you, you, 23:53 you drinking the poison not going to kill them, you know. 23:55 You holding hate in your heart or anger in your heart, 23:58 that's not going to do anything to them. 24:00 It's going to make your life miserable. 24:01 You're going to die from the poison, not them. 24:04 So, don't drink the poison. Forgive. 24:08 >>John: Thanks so very much. 24:09 I appreciate you taking your time. 24:10 >>Pastor Thompson: Amen. God bless you. 24:11 >>John: God bless you. 24:12 >>Pastor Thompson: Thank you for taking the time to come. 24:13 >>John: Sure. 24:14 >>Pastor Thompson: I appreciate it. 24:14 >>John: Thank you. 24:15 ♪[soft music]♪ 24:17 What we know is that life is going to challenge you. 24:19 Most of the time, those challenges, relatively small. 24:23 Sometimes big, occasionally massive. 24:26 The question is, how do you respond? 24:29 In this case, hate would serve no purpose. 24:32 It's certainly not going to bring anyone back. 24:34 A man has been sentenced to die. 24:36 His execution won't raise the dead. 24:39 The living will still have to go on through life 24:42 without people that they love the most. 24:46 Regardless of the wrong, 24:47 irrespective of the issue involved, forgiveness matters. 24:51 Forgiveness sets the forgiver free. 24:53 Forgiveness is God's way. 24:55 Now, I understand; sometimes the pain just seems way too great. 24:59 Sometimes the wrong just seems way too wrong. 25:02 But forgiveness was given by God so that you can be made whole. 25:07 Anthony Thompson shows us that we don't have to go through life 25:10 hanging on to anger and hate. 25:13 We don't have to carry with us the weight of unforgiveness. 25:17 So how's that working out for you? 25:19 It seems that most everybody has something to forgive. 25:24 Which might just mean that most everybody 25:26 is hanging on to something that they might ought to let go. 25:29 Most people are far less whole than they ought to be 25:32 simply because they're choosing not to forgive. 25:36 Think about the big picture. 25:38 As sinners, God has forgiven us. God has forgiven us so much. 25:43 Jesus died for our sins, and when we confess our sins, 25:47 the Bible says, 25:48 "He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins." 25:52 Further, "to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 25:56 After what God has done for you, 25:59 can you extend that same forgiveness to another? 26:03 And through exercising the kind of forgiveness 26:06 that God has exercised towards you, 26:09 you can experience the peace 26:11 that Anthony Thompson experiences, 26:14 the peace that God wants you to have now and forever. 26:20 >>John: Thank you for remembering that It Is Written 26:22 exists because of the kindness of people just like you. 26:25 To support this international life-changing ministry, 26:29 please call us now at 800-253-3000. 26:33 You can send your tax-deductible gift 26:34 to the address on your screen, 26:36 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 26:40 Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support. 26:42 Our number again is 800-253-3000, 26:47 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 26:51 >>John Bradshaw: Let me pray with you now. 26:52 Father in heaven, we thank You in Jesus' name 26:54 that You are a God of great forgiveness. 26:57 We thank You for the gift of forgiveness that You give to us. 26:59 I ask that right now as someone is wrestling with a choice 27:03 to forgive or otherwise, impress that heart to forgive. 27:07 Show that person the healthy way forward. 27:09 Friend, is that you? 27:10 Would you open your heart up to God now and say, 27:12 "God, give me that grace to forgive another," 27:14 or "God, I choose to forgive"? 27:16 You can choose to forgive. 27:18 Don't consult your feelings. 27:20 Choose to forgive and expect that God will take care 27:23 of the feelings in the fullness of time. 27:25 Thank You, Lord, that You forgive us, 27:27 that Your forgiveness is full and free. 27:30 Give in our lives the ability to forgive others. 27:35 We pray, we thank You, we claim it, 27:38 and we believe, in Jesus' name. 27:41 Amen. 27:43 Thanks so much for joining me. 27:44 Looking forward to seeing you again next time. 27:46 Until then, remember: 27:48 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 27:51 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 27:56 ♪[theme music]♪ |
Revised 2019-10-31