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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Ahead of the new year, a Christian Minister, Pastor Prize Felix Aluko has charged Christians to embrace peace and forgiveness in order to obtain the grace of God.
The clergy noted that in order to receive forgiveness for our sins, we need to equally forgive others of their wrong and eschew the feelings of anger, bitterness, or revenge.
“Doing this frees you from the festering anger anchored inside your spirit causing hatred and bitterness to ooze from the wounds you carry, ” he added.
Speaking at the grand finale of the three-day annual convention of the Church, the senior pastor of The Resurrected Assembly(GROM), Abuja, said forgiveness can heal spiritual wounds and bring the peace and love that only God can give.
Pastor Aluko who preached on the topic”Joseph Access to Grace” however, explained that “forgiveness does not make the person being forgiven innocent. Forgiveness is not approving the wrong that was done, but overlooking it out of love, and with expectation that the offender will benefit with a profitable change of action and attitude”.
“To forgive someone of an offense doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, that it doesn’t hurt, that the other person wasn’t wrong. It doesn’t mean that a few words of apology wipes out the hurt. It is not excusing what has happened; it is not forgetting, though it involves forgetting. It doesn’t mean it’s a superficial event in which your anger or pain is minimized or denied; it’s not something the other person deserves; it’s not pretending nothing happened and trying to be nice.
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15).
Reading from the book of Genesis 39: 2-4, Pastor Prize Aluko revealed that Joseph’s enviable position in a strange land of Egypt was a product of God’s grace which was obtained by his life of humility, the fear of God and a forgiving heart.
He listed the secrets of Joseph’s access to God’s grace to include: ” his passion for God’s presence; his love for people; the heart of servant-hood and humility and the heart of forgiveness.
Aluko further x-rayed to benefits of God’s grace upon the life of Joseph to include wealth, power and influence in a strange land of Egypt; favour from the King of Egypt; wisdom for successful living and vision of his journey of dreams.
Waxing philosophical, pastor Aluko stated: “Every offence comes to reduce grace and to make someone exist from the realm of God’s grace, if he or she refused to forgive the offender.”
Meanwhile, the senior pastor said Nigeria need leaders that could be touched by the plight of the people as well as providing services that would improve their standard of living.
