The Amish Voice 10
The Forgiveness Test
—
Richard D. Dover
handing out his life
story—Unshackled.
“
Oh,” he said, “that
would be absolutely
awesome.”
As Dan and I con-
tinued talking, he
said, “Joe, I am not
sure why, but there
has always been
four empty pages at
the end of my gos-
pel booklet. Do you have an idea what we
can put there?”
It was as if the Lord just gave me the answer.
“
Dan,” I said, “you need to let the people of
this world know that you finished well. You
fought the battle of life and refused to give in
to Satan. You clung to God and you raised
your family in a Christ honoring church.”
“
Ah yes,” he said, “I walked with my Lord
and did not give up, even though many of my
friends and relatives from back home spread
rumors about me and my family.”
“
Well,” I said, “Dan, the truth is, you fin-
ished well! You never left the faith and your
readers need to know that.”
When I said that, the tears just started run-
ning down Dan’s feeble cheeks. Finally, he
looked up and said, “Joe, that’s it; I must tell
the readers that I kept my eyes on the finish
line all the way to the end. Please fill the last
four pages in with the fact that I finished
well.”
Finally, it was time for me to leave and go
home, knowing that I would never again talk
with my friend on this side of heaven. We
hugged, said our goodbyes and I left.
Exactly two weeks later on July 31, 2009, my
phone rang, and it was Dan’s daughter. She
said, “Joe, dad passed into eternity last
night.” She went on to explain how dad had
awoke up from his coma, just long enough to
tell the family that two angels were at his bed
side to take him home. Soon after that, Dan
Byler drew his last breath and went to be
with the Lord forever more.
Since then, my thoughts went to II Timothy
4:7-8
where Paul writes,
I have fought
a
good fight,
I have finished
my course,
I have
kept
the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for
me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous judge, shall give me at that
day: and
not to me only, but unto all them
also that love his appearing
.
My friend, if you do not know for sure that
your sins are forgiven, can I urge you to re-
pent and let Jesus save you from your sins
and the lake of fire? You cannot do it on your
own. Please don’t wait one more minute.
In
Romans 10:9, God says:
That if thou
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved.
The Bible goes on to say in verses
12
and 13
of the same chapter:
For there is no differ-
ence between the Jew and the Greek: for the
same Lord over all is rich unto all that call
upon him.
For whosoever (your name) shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved
.
Here is a model prayer that you can use to
call out to God:
Today, I call upon the name of the Lord for
my salvation. I believe in my heart that God
the Father raised Jesus from the dead in or-
der that I might have eternal life. I now de-
clare Him to be the Lord of my life. I re-
nounce any effort on my part to save myself. I
stand with God’s Word and believe that I
have been transferred out of the kingdom of
darkness and into the Kingdom of His be-
loved Son. In Jesus’ name I pray and believe.
Amen
—
Joe Keim, Editor
Finishing the Course - Keeping the Faith
—
Continued from back page—
1.
Does remembering a particular hurtful event trigger a strong emotional reac-
tion?
If thinking about a hurtful situation causes strong negative emotions or
even physical shuddering, that suggests forgiveness is not complete. The hurt is
still alive.
2.
Does the stress of remembering hurtful events trigger physical reactions or
discomfort?
If remembering hurtful situations results in physical symptoms,
then unforgiven issues most likely remain lodged in the heart and spirit.
3.
Does the painful experience bring to mind anything for which God can be
praised?
We often deliver misdirected blame towards God when we think what
happened to us was unfair. We need to be honest by confessing to God our
anger against Him. Of course God is not guilty of anything, and He is not in
need of forgiveness. Our anger and unforgiveness are our own. When unfor-
giveness is lodged in the heart, it is difficult to see any way God may be using
the situation to bring blessing or to write wisdom to us. Afterwards, when we
have achieved forgiveness, we can verbalize lessons learned and thank God for
bringing us through painful experiences with a positive outcome.
4.
Can the offending party be thought of with a sincere wish that good things
will happen in his or her life?
Forgiveness holds no grudges and wishes no
penalties of retribution. It wipes clean the slate on which we formerly kept score
and allows us to wish only the best for the other person.
5.
Do you have a complete sense that forgiveness really has been accom-
plished?
Are you being honest with yourself how you really feel?
Is forgiveness coming
from your heart, or do you find yourself saying something like. "I did it Lord.
You told me I had to do it. I made that choice, and I am a loving and forgiving
person." You need to check your feelings and symptoms.
6.
Is forgiveness producing positive results?
When a lifestyle of forgiveness is
effectively achieved, it will produce wonderful fruits in the ways we feel about
ourselves and in the quality of relationships we are able to have with others.
The importance of forgiving ourselves.
We characteristically have the most
difficulty with others when our relationship with them triggers issues for which
we have not forgiven ourselves. Usually, weakness we see and criticize in oth-
ers (and find most difficult to accept or forgive) are those things about which we
have not forgiven ourselves, or in which we most fear being deficient. Look at
what angers you in others. Look at the kind of person you just can't abide, and
you will likely see something in yourself that you have been unable to forgive.
Letting go of our denial and facing the truth about ourselves is a fearful step.
Forgiveness overcoming blame.
Most marital problems are rooted in unfor-
giveness of parents. We transfer onto our marriage partner the job of fulfilling
needs that were unfulfilled by our parents. We misdirect our angers and accusa-
tions that truly belong against our parents towards our spouses.
©
Written by Dan Byler
