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The following sermon transcript does not match the video version of the sermon—it matches only the audio version. Here's a brief explanation why.
John MacArthur routinely preaches a sermon more than once on the same date, during different worship services at Grace Community Church. Normally, for a given sermon title, our website features the audio and video that were recorded during the same worship service. Very occasionally, though, we will post the audio from one service and the video from another. Such was the case for the sermon titled "Losing Your Life to Save it," the transcript of which follows below. The transcript is of the audio version.
I want to talk to you tonight and next Sunday night about the issue of forgiveness. It probably doesn't come up as often as it should in our discussions from the pulpit here because it is a very, very important issue. What makes it an important issue in the church, and we're talking to believers tonight, we're not so much talking about God's forgiveness toward us as we're talking about our forgiveness toward each other. But it is a very vital and a very essential and a very necessary component of life in the church because the church, even at its best, is a collision of sinners. We all understand that. We are guilty of saying the wrong thing, and behaving in wrong ways. We have all offended people. We have all caused people to stumble. We have all crossed the line of discretion into indiscretion and the way we deal with people and treat people. We have all showed preferential treatment at times. We have all been less than considerate to people in need. We have failed to give to folks what they need at the time they need it. There are many, many points at which sinners collide in the church. And because the church is a very intimate fellowship, only to be exceeded in its intimacy by family, we borrow that image, don't we?, the image of a family. We are seen as God's family and the intimacy then throws us together and we crash into each other and our weaknesses are made manifest and so we are guilty from time to time of offending.
It then becomes essential to the ongoing life of the church, the ongoing joy of believers that we be able to deal with those offenses with an attitude of forgiveness...of forgiveness. In the end, what finally destroys every relationship is an inability to forgive. It isn't the offense that destroys the relationship, it is the inability to forgive that destroys the relationship. Offenses will come. Even our Lord said that. Offenses will come. That's part of living life in a fallen world and dealing even in the church with the people who have not yet been perfected. How we deal with those offenses is what determines the nature of our relationship. It is that way in a marriage. It is that way in a family. It is that way among friends. It is certainly that way in the church.
Not only is this matter of forgiveness essential to the cohesiveness of the church, as it is to the family and to marriage, not only is this the path to joy and satisfaction and fulfillment in the family and in the church, that is collectively, but the inability to forgive not only destroys relationship, it destroys the people who don't forgive. It is not only destructive of relationships, it is self-destructive. And Scripture makes it very, very clear that where there is a lack of forgiveness, there will develop bitterness and out of bitterness come hatred and couple with hatred comes anger and the end of hatred and anger and bitterness is the pursuit of vengeance. Retaliation is sought and retaliation is never satisfied and vengeance is never really appeased and consequently people live with the bitterness and it is deeper and deeper as they live with it longer.
We live in a society that has made a virtue...or tried to make a virtue out of vindictiveness. Three out of every four attorneys on the planet live in America. They have to be here in order to take up all the litigation that comes from angry, bitter people wanting to get every piece of flesh they can get out of anybody who has stepped across the line, into the offense zone.
Even psychologists have said that forgiveness is not healthy. That's right. Forgiveness is not healthy. You don't need to carry around that offense. You need to get resolution and the best way to get resolution is to be vindictive. Years ago I read a popular book called Toxic Parents and in this book Toxic Parents the author has a chapter entitled, "You don't have to forgive." She says that children who have been offended by the behavior of their parents must not forgive their parents, they must heap on their parents full blame for their present problems because their parents poisoned them by their toxicity. And so she suggests that the new cry should be, "I am the victim, it's not my fault, I'm not responsible, my parents did it to me."
Guilt for everything is pushed off on someone else and vengeance needs to be not only exalted but exhausted. However, the price of vengeance is extremely high..extremely high. An unforgiving attitude, a bitterness that runs deep, a desire for vengeance that comes out of vindictiveness or hate, or anger, will do several things. Number one, it imprisons people in their past. This is the price of an unforgiving heart. It imprisons people in their past. As long as people will not forgive, as long as people will not put the past in the past, but continue to seek an unfulfilled level of vengeance, they are shackled to their past. They are shackled to that past event. The pain of that event is fed. It is not only kept alive, it is fed until it becomes larger and larger.
Another way to look at it is, if you don't forgive things that have happened in the past, you continue to pick at an open sore, you keep it from healing, you enlarge it, you sentence yourself to the future feeling worse than you felt in the past when it happened. You choose to love hate and hate dominates.
This unforgiveness then produces bitterness. It becomes an infection and it is malignant, it harasses, it creates distorted memories which create a distorted view of life. Anger becomes out of control. Emotions become unchecked. People entertain ideas about revenge, every conversation becomes a forum for slandering the people who have supposedly harmed you so profoundly. Every conversation becomes an opportunity for defamation, exaggeration and outright lies.
On the other hand, forgiveness frees a person from both of these categories of tragedy. Forgiveness frees you to enjoy all relationships and to live with peace and tranquility in your own heart. Forgiveness is a very freeing reality.
Now Scripture exalts forgiveness for these reasons and for the one greater reason and that is forgiveness honors God. And I'll get to that in a moment. But as far as I can tell, in the Bible there are at least 75 word pictures of forgiveness. Relax, I'm not giving you all 75 of them. But there are at least 75 figures of speech, or analogies that are used in Scripture as word pictures of forgiveness. Here are a few.
To forgive is to turn the key, open the cell door and let the prisoner free.
To forgive is to write in large letters across a debt, "Nothing Owed."
To forgive is to pound the gavel in a courtroom and declare the person, "Not Guilty."
To forgive is to shoot an arrow so high and so far that it can never be retrieved.
To forgive is to take out the garbage and dispose of it, leaving the house fresh and clean.
To forgive is to loose the anchor and set the ship free to sail.
Again, a few more biblical pictures.
To forgive is to grant a full pardon to a condemned and sentenced criminal.
To forgive is to loosen a stranglehold on a wrestling opponent.
To forgive is to sandblast a wall of graffiti leaving it brand new.
To forgive is to smash a clay pot into a thousand pieces so it can never be put together again.
These are biblical pictures of forgiveness, very instructive. Forgiveness is a marvelous, virtuous, liberating, loving attitude and act. It makes sense to forgive. It is healthy. It is wholesome. It is sensible. It is freeing. It brings peace. It engenders love. That is why Proverbs 19:11 says, "A man's foolishness is not to forgive. It is folly."
One person has analyzed forgiveness in an interesting sort of prosaic way. He writes this, "Only the brave know how to forgive. It is the most refined and generous element of human virtue. Cowards have done good deeds and performed kind acts. Cowards have even fought and conquered. But cowards never forgive. It's not in their nature, their hearts. The power to forgive flows only from a strength and a greatness of soul, conscious of its own humility and security and able to rise above all the little temptations of resenting every fruitless attempt to steal its happiness," end quote.
That's good human wisdom. There is certainly truth in that philosophical viewpoint. But we're compelled to a deeper discussion than that. It's wonderful that somebody in the world recognizes that forgiveness is the noblest of all virtues. Forgiveness may be in the world, isolated to a very few, it may be a rare commodity. It may even be so bold and so brave that it only belongs to those who would be deemed as emotional heroes because it is so rare. But it must not be rare among believers. It is the most normal of all our behaviors as Christians because it is absolutely necessary in a collision of sinners that marks and defines the life of the church and the home.
So I want us to look at some compelling, biblical, theological, spiritual reasons why we are to forgive, for the sheer spiritual nobility of it and because it is a direct command from God to us. Now I'm going to give you some of these reasons tonight and next Sunday night. We'll see if we can work our way through them in two nights, if not, we'll add a third after Easter and a week later, or so.
But I want to start where you have to start. Forgiveness is required of a believer because forgiveness is the most godlike act a Christian can do. It is the most godlike act a Christian can do. No act is more divine than forgiveness. Never are we more like God than when we forgive.
What do we mean by forgiveness? Forgiveness is a verbally declared, personally given promise, a statement of undeserved, unearned love that affirms that though I have been offended, there is no anger, no hatred, no desire for vengeance, no bitterness, no retaliation. Why? Because there is no guilt, no blame held. That's forgiveness. This is a characteristic that belongs to God. He is a God of forgiveness.
Obviously we could spend a lot of time talking about that particular attribute of God, His forgiveness. But let me just give you a few representations of it in Scripture. In the thirty-fourth chapter of Exodus, God discloses Himself to Moses. Verse 5, He descends in the cloud and the Lord passed by, in verse 6, in front of Moses and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness and truth. Now there are some attributes of God, compassion, grace, slowness to anger, loving kindness, truth, who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin...who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin."
When God introduces Himself to Moses and makes this appearance to Moses, He defines Himself as a God who forgives by every definition of violation...iniquity, transgression and sin. In Psalm 32, the Psalm begins, "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, how blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity." This is a blessing from God that He forgives, that He does not hold against us our sins. In Psalm 85 the Psalmist begins, "O Lord, You showed favor to Your land, You restored the captivity of Jacob, You forgave the iniquity of Your people. You covered all their sin. You withdrew all Your fury. You turned away from Your burning anger." And again in the Psalms, and there are other places, I'm only giving you illustrations. Psalm 130 is a similar testimony to God's forgiveness. "Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord. Lord, hear me, let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You."
Perhaps one of the most beautiful statements regarding the forgiveness of God is in the first chapter of Isaiah, that wonderful statement in verse 18, "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool." This is God's forgiveness. And the sins were serious. If you read the rest of the chapter, he paints a vivid portrait of just how sick and just how sinful Israel was, and yet how ready His forgiveness is.
In 43 of Isaiah, and verse 25, "I, even I," God giving testimony to His own nature, "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake and I will not remember your sins." Wow! Wiping them out, obliterating them from the record and even from His own memory.
Listen to Isaiah 55:6, "Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to the Lord and He will have compassion on him and to our God for He will abundantly pardon." His testimony is part of the instruction of God that came to the prophets as they pronounced judgment at the same time they announced that where there was repentance, there was forgiveness. Jeremiah 33:8, "I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me. I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me. It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them. They will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it."
This is the heart of God, the New Covenant, a couple chapters earlier than that, namely in chapter 31, celebrates the forgiveness of God with familiar words. "This is the Covenant...verse 33...that I will make with the house of Israel after those days. I'll put My law within them and on their heart I will write it, I'll be their God, they will be My people. They will not teach again each man his neighbor, each man his brother saying, 'Know the Lord.' They will all know Me from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin. I will remember no more." This is the testimony of the Lord who gives the sun for light by day, and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light at night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar, the Lord of hosts is His name. The God of order. The God who controls the universe is the God who forgives.
When you come, of course, in to the New Testament, then the forgiveness of God becomes manifestly visible in the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The message of Christ is that God will forgive your sins. The cross is where that forgiveness is purchased. The rest of the New Testament then features the message of the gospel of forgiveness, preached through the book of Acts, defined through the epistles and consummated in the book of Revelation.
One of the great standout evidences of the forgiveness of God is in the fifteenth chapter of Luke, a very familiar chapter to us, we've gone through Luke, the story of the prodigal who sins greatly, picturing the sinner who sins greatly against God, who upon returning is embraced in love and full forgiveness and this gives us a picture of the lavishness of God's forgiveness...the lavishness of it. This wretched, sinful, young man comes back, cannot do anything to purchase restitution or restoration, or reconciliation, but comes and can only ask for mercy. He receives everything. He receives the robe, the ring, the sandals, full sonship. This is the nature of God. We see it in our Lord as He dies and says, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." And that very day, one of them was forgiven, who had mocked Him, a thief hanging beside Him.
Another one was forgiven who had overseen the crucifixion, the Centurion. Forgiveness extended further so that early in the book of Acts, there were some of the priests who were so set against Him who were forgiven their sins, became a part of His Kingdom. This is godlike, to forgive. You are never more like God than when you forgive. That, of course, becomes a very evident message in the New Testament. Matthew 5:44, "But I say to you, love your enemies." And love your enemies means you are forgiving them. "Pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be the sons of your Father who is in heaven. You're never more evidently like your Father than when you forgive." It's a call to be godlike.
The Apostle Paul in Ephesians, in that wonderful fourth chapter of Ephesians, and that familiar 32nd verse says, "Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." There again, you forgive because God forgives. And you are to be...verse 1 of chapter 5...imitators of God.
Let me go over that again. Be forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you, therefore be imitators of God as beloved children. Same thing that Jesus said in Matthew 5:44 and 45, "Be like your Father, be forgiving. Walk in love just as Christ loved you."
You, of course, display Godlike mercy when you forgive. Colossians 3:13 repeats the same thing, "Forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, forgive it, just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. And, by the way, Paul wrote both Colossians and Philippians from a jail where he was unjustly and hatefully imprisoned. He was practicing the very virtue that he was calling on believers to enact.
So, the first reason to forgive is that you are never more like God than when you forgive. We'll come back to that point at a later point, and you will see how incongruous it is to accept consistent, constant forgiveness from God and withhold it from other people.
But let me give you a second reason for forgiveness. First of all, you're never more like God than when you forgive. And number two, it is not murder only which is forbidden by the sixth commandment...it is not murder only which is forbidden by the sixth commandment. The sixth commandment says, "Do not murder," right? Back in Exodus chapter 20. Is that all it means, "don't murder," or does it mean something more than that? Let's go back again to the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5...Matthew chapter 5. There are two verses here that I want you to look at, verses 21 and 22.
Now in this particular section of this sermon, our Lord is attacking the limited, superficial interpretation of His commands that had developed in Judaism. And that's what He is referring to here. "You have heard that the ancients were told..." In other words, you've been taught a certain thing by ancient rabbis, the rabbis and scribes of old. You have heard what they have taught. You see the same thing sequentially, verse 27, "You have heard that it was said about adultery..." Verse 31, "It was said...and so-and-so...about divorce." Verse 33, "You have heard that the ancients were told about vows..." "You have heard...verse 38...about this matter of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Or verse 43, "You have heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." This is what you have heard. You have been taught certain things about these issues.
In this case, you were told that the ancients were told, "You shall not commit murder and whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court." Now the Jews had long been well-informed and very serious about the matter of murder...unless, of course, the victim was a prophet. They were sadly eager to murder the prophets. But apart from that, they understood the prevalence of crimes being a dishonor to God and one of those crimes was murder. They would even go so far as to affirm that if somebody commits a murder, they are liable to the court and they understood the Old Testament rendered capital punishment as the appropriate verdict to be pronounced on the head of a murderer. That's what you've heard...that's what you've heard.
I want to take it further. There's more than just that. There is more intended by the sixth commandment than just murder. "I say to you," and this is typical, "but I say to you," verse 21, "But I say to you..." verse 28. Verse 32, "But I say to you..." Verse 34, "But I say to you..." Verse 39, "But I say to you..." Verse 44, "But I say to you..." In each of these cases, He starts out with what they had heard and He tells them there's a lot more there than you have heard. "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court and whoever says to his brother, 'You good for northing,'" that's one way to translate that, "shall be guilty before the Supreme Court. And whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell."
Jesus is saying, "Look, if you have hate in your heart, you're a murderer in your heart and you're guilty before God for the murder though you never actually commit it. Listen to 1 John 3:15, the Apostle John got the message. He wrote, "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer."
Unforgiveness is a hate attitude. It is a representation of hatred. He sweeps away all their self-righteousness and unmasks their murderous attitudes. If you say, as the original says, to someone, "Raca," that's a transliteration of the word, it is simply introducing to us an attitude that is vicious. It's a common epithet that really has no English equivalent. It's sort of transliterated "Raca" this new NAS says, "You good for nothing." I'm afraid that is a pretty mild interpretation of what that word meant. It's a term of abuse, a term of derision, a term of contempt, a term of hatred, vicious term. And so is "you fool." A fool was synonymous with being godless because the fool said in his heart there is no God. You stupid fool, it's like pronouncing a curse on someone. If you have that kind of attitude toward people, attitudes of abuse and derision, and contempt, you are guilty enough to go to fiery hell. You have to see that you need to forgive in the heart, as well as withhold the instrument of murder. You need to love and forgive or you're in sin.
If you're a Christian, you have the responsibility to forgive, to let loose all hate, all sense of vengeance. You need to release all of that attitude of abuse and derision and contempt and scorn and hatred toward another person. If that person is a Christian, then that person is literally Christ to you. How you treat that person is how you treat Christ. If that person is a non-Christian, he still bears the natural image of God and you do no good to your relationship to either a Christian or a non-Christian by that kind of non-forgiving hate and you certainly do no good to yourself by that attitude. The death penalty is not just for murderers, it is for haters.
You don't mind honoring the image of God in yourself, how proud are you that you cannot see the image of God in someone else? You don't mind recognizing the Christ that is in you. How terrible it is within the family of God that you don't recognize the Christ that is in someone else. You are angry at someone else's sins. Are you equally angry at your own? Are you so proud that you cannot see your own sins, but only the sins of others? Hatred toward someone, an unwillingness to forgive someone, is to hold a murderous attitude in the heart. Any lack of forgiveness is selfish. You need to deal with the pride in your own heart. This is seriousness enough to say that that's sin enough if unforgiven to catapult a person into the fires of hell. No offense against you, no matter what it is, no offense against you is worth hatred and unforgiveness.
Sometimes people want to debate that. "Well, are you supposed to forgive everybody if they don't ask?" Yes...yes. You forgive immediately, you forgive instantaneously, you forgive totally, you forgive completely. Whether or not you will ever have reconciliation and what that relationship will be in the future is a matter of that person desiring that relationship to be what it should be. But forgiveness, that comes immediately.
Let me give you a third reason why it is so important to forgive, because whoever has offended you has offended God more. Whoever has offended you has offended God more. Ask yourself a question. You say, "I was seriously offended, that person seriously offended me, they deeply offended me, they scarred me for life because of the way I was treated. Maybe it was my mother, my father, maybe it was somebody that dumped me, maybe it was a former spouse, whatever they offended me so profoundly, they have scarred me so deeply, the wounds are hard to get over.
Listen, if God who was far more offended by their sin than you and who is infinitely more holy than you forgives, don't tell me you can't forgive. Are you saying that to offend you is more serious than to offend God? Is that the point?
"Oh I know God can forgive, but I can't." Oh really, are you a higher court? Are you a more holy person? Well obviously not. If God who is the most holy can forgive the greatest offense, can you the least holy forgive the least offense? Any wrong ever done is, first of all, against God. Look at Psalm 51...Psalm 51. This Psalm is tied to David's sin with Bathsheba committing adultery and murder, and he is just devastated with guilt, condemnation. It's tearing him up. A parallel Psalm is Psalm 32. He says it's effecting his physical body. His body is becoming weak...that's what sin will do and guilt will do, it effects you physiologically. His life juices are drying up. It's effecting the fluid that runs in his nervous system, it's effecting his blood flow, it's effecting his saliva.
And he looks at this sin that he's committed against Bathsheba, this sin that he's committed against Uriah, her husband, the sin that he's committed against his own family, his own children, his own nation, but he looks past all of that and in verse 4 he says this, "Against You, O God," mentioned in verse 1, "Against You, You only I have sinned." All sin must be seen primarily as an offense against God, against the most holy, against You I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight. All sin is against God. The fact that it's against you or me is incidental. It's incidental. It's a minor detail. It's immaterial, don't take it personally, don't let it ruin your life, don't let it destroy your relationship, don't let it wound the church. That's ridiculous. If God forgives, who is the most holy, and is supremely offended, cannot we who are the least holy and only minimally offended forgive? We who are so unholy as to be in constant need of forgiveness from others and from God, will we withhold that forgiveness that we so desperately need?
So we forgive and we forgive because God forbids anger, hatred, attitudes of vengeance. And we forgive because He has forgiven who is most holy and most offended. And we forgive because never are we more like the God we proclaim than when we forgive. And if you call yourself a Christian, you are a child of God. And if you are a child of God, then you understand that it is critically important that you manifest godlikeness.
I'll give you one more and it's tied to the one I just gave you. It is only reasonable that those who are forgiven the greater sins, forgive the lesser sins. It is only reasonable that those who have been forgiven on a greater scale be willing to render forgiveness on a lesser scale. And what I mean by that is take a look at what you've been forgiven. What has God forgiven you? What? All your sin, all your iniquity, all your transgression from the moment you arrived in this world till the moment you exit, if you're His child, all is fully, completely forgiven, all the past, all the present, all the future. The grandness of this forgiveness is stunning.
Turn to Matthew 18 and let's see an illustration that will lead us to the secondary point that if God can forgive us the greater, cannot we forgive the lesser? This is really an unforgettable story in Matthew 18. Peter is trying to find out how you're supposed to forgive people because he's living in this collision of believers, he's understanding that it's so easy to offend. They're wrangling about all kinds of things anyway, they must have irritated each other on a daily basis. They were together 24/7. They were not very sanctified. They were weak in faith and they all wanted to sit on the right hand of Jesus in the Kingdom. So they were hassling for sure.
Peter comes, this is life, "Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Peter patting himself on the back as best he could by bending his arm around there, because the rabbis said three times to forgive, and that's it. You forgive the first time, you forgive the second time, you forgive the third time, after that you don't give forgiveness.
Peter wanting to trump the rabbis and look like a hero doubled it and added one. "Lord, shall we forgive seven times?" Thinking he would probably get some kind of commendation. Jesus said to him, "I don't say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." Just took his number and multiplied it into infinity.
And one of the other gospels says, "Seventy times a day." You just keep forgiving. There's no end to it. You forgive as many times as there's an offense. That's how God forgives, isn't it? I would venture to say that certainly the Lord has forgiven me seventy times seven, seventy times a day, day after day, week after week, month after month after month of my life, your life.
And then he tells the story that makes the point. The Kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. This would be a king who had allotted segments of his kingdom to certain underlings, these are slaves at a very high level and their responsibility is to collect the taxes and collect the income for the king from these various areas. He brings these in to settle the accounts and when he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. That's an unpayable amount. One person figured out that that would be...that would be equal to the entire gross national product for Israel in a year. Now this is just a massive amount of money.
This guy shows up and he has to give an account for this vast wealth which would have meant that whatever his responsibility was, it was a grand responsibility and this kind of money would only be accumulated over a long period of time. It's now time to settle the account.
Verse 25 says he didn't have the money to repay. Well what did you do with it? That's a massive amount of money, squandered and wasted. His lord commanded him to be sold, I'll get what I can out of him, along with his wife and children and all that he had and repayment to be made. All he could do was get what he could get. So it's like a...it's like a bankruptcy in which the guy has nothing and you get only what you can get. And what could they get? Well you could only get the slave price of these people and whatever possessions they had, I'll get what I can...that's all I can do. That would have been merciful.
Well the slave fell to the ground in verse 26 and prostrated himself before him and said, "Have patience with me and I'll repay you everything." Huh, how is that going to happen? That's not possible. "The lord of the slave felt compassion, released him, forgave him the debt." Wow! How wonderful, amazing.
Verse 28, "The slave went out, found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii," about three months wages, meager amount compared to what this guy had had. He found somebody who owed him a hundred denarii, he seized him and began to choke him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe.' So his fellow slave fell to the ground, began to plead with him," same exact words, "'Have patience with me and I'll repay you.' He was unwilling, went and threw him in prison till he should pay back what was owed."
Debtor's prison where you go and you work for pennies for years. That's a very offensive behavior, isn't it to you? I mean, that's about as ugly as you can get. You've just been forgiven something equal to an unpayable fortune and you go strangle a guy for three months wages. That's repulsive.
Do you get the picture here? This is what you do when you don't forgive someone. So you don't mind receiving full forgiveness of an unpayable debt by a gracious God and you're going to go choke somebody until you get the pound of flesh out of them, throw them in a debtor's prison?
The model for forgiveness is the forgiveness that God has forgiven to us. There are other points in that story and we'll pick that story up next Sunday night and go from there. That's enough for tonight.
We deserve condemnation. We fall down before God and we receive complete forgiveness. Then what do we so? Go out and act in an unforgiving, ungracious, merciless, compassionless way toward other people when we have received what we have received? God has mercifully forgiven you, aren't you going to be able to forgive others? He's forgiven you the vast unpayable debt, are you going to demand more out of someone who offends you than God asked from you? No judgment comes to you, why would you render vengeance on someone else? Strong language and a strong call to forgiveness.
Well, that's enough for tonight.
Father, thank You for the time we've been able to share in talking about this. We want to be known as those who eagerly, graciously, mercifully, compassionately and lovingly forgive. That's our desire. We want to be like You. We want to be beloved children, imitators of God. We want to be as merciful and gracious as You are to us. We want to obey the commands not only on the surface, on the behavioral level but underneath in the attitudinal level. May our lives, our marriages, our families and our church be a place where forgiveness flows and we enjoy the freedom and the power of that forgiveness and the blessing that comes from Your hand to a forgiving soul. Continue, Lord, to draw us into the place of obedience that we might know the fullness of joy, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.
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Real Estate buyers are hereby notified that real properties and its rights and amenities in the States of Texas; Oklahoma; and New Mexico are subject to many forces and impacts whether natural, those caused by man, or otherwise; including, but not limited to, drought or other weather related events, disease (e.g. Oak Wilt or Anthrax), invasive species, illegal trespassing, previous owner actions, neighbor actions and government actions. Prospective buyers of Texas real estate, New Mexico real estate or Oklahoma real estate should investigate any concerns regarding a specific real property to their satisfaction.
When buying investment property the buyer's agent, if applicable, must be identified on first contact and must be present at initial showing of the property listing to the prospective real estate investor in order to participate in real estate commission. If this condition is not met, fee participation will be at sole discretion of Republic Ranches, LLC.

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Note: This item is more than nine years old. Please take the publication date into consideration for any date references.
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News Release
Media Contact: TPWD News, email@example.com, 512-389-8030
Jan. 15, 2010
Lifetime License Drawing Winner Gets Unexpected Birthday Gift
AUSTIN, Texas — William Vlasek got an unexpected surprise on his 50th birthday when notified he had been selected as the first person ever to receive a Lifetime Super Combo hunting and fishing license as part of a new promotional program from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Vlasek, from Hunt, Texas, was among 7,889 who applied in a TPWD's first special drawing for a lifetime license combo.
"When they told me I had won, my first thought was it was a hoax because I've never won anything," said Vlasek. "It's like the lottery; I play every week, but never really thought about being drawn. I'm excited. That'll save me a lot of money every year."
Vlasek will be permanently exempted from purchasing state hunting and fishing licenses.
TPWD is this year again offering Texas hunters and anglers the chance to win a Lifetime Super Combo hunting and fishing license — an $1,800 value — for only $5.
Entries for the next Lifetime License Drawing on June 30 can be purchased anywhere hunting and fishing licenses are sold, as well as on the TPWD Web site. Entries received during the first round will still be eligible for the second drawing. Entries for the June 30 drawing must be purchased by June 27. In all, 10,008 entries were received for the initial drawing, generating $48,943 for TPWD conservation efforts.
Participants can purchase as many entries as they like, and winners are allowed to give the license as a gift to family or friends who are Texas residents.
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Autosomal recessive: A genetic condition that appears only in individuals who have received two copies of an autosomal gene, one copy from each parent. The gene is on an autosome, a nonsex chromosome. The parents are carriers who have only one copy of the gene and do not exhibit the trait because the gene is recessive to its normal counterpart gene.
If both parents are carriers, there is a 25% chance of a child inheriting both abnormal genes and, consequently, developing the disease. There is a 50% chance of a child inheriting only one abnormal gene and of being a carrier, like the parents, and there is a 25% chance of the child inheriting both normal genes.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an example of an autosomal recessive disorder. A CF child has the CF gene on both chromosome 7's and so is said to be homozygous for CF. The parents each have one CF and one normal paired gene and so are said to be heterozygous for CF.
Other examples of autosomal recessive disorders include:


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With Indigo behind me and Juno in the distant horizon, it's time to chart a new course. It was with great interest that I read Mile's inspirational and timely blog about Indolent Programming. I immediately recognized that I definitely prefer to work on Really Cool Things. Moreover, like a bolt of lightning, I had a startling revelation: providing service and support for a ten year old framework like EMF is totally, absolutely uncool. Granted it was definitely cool to create and popularize EMF and most certainly it's great for the uncounted clients relying heavily on EMF that it be well supported, but one salient fact stands stark: service and support is at the far end of the coolness spectrum. As a result of this awakening, I nurtured my inner Teflon Programmer, and embarked on a renewed quest for coolness. Who will support EMF in my stead, you might ask. Ms. Else of course!
She's the ultimate goat, to use Mile's enlightened terminology. She actually enjoys eating her own dog food. Not only that, if you throw her the occasional bone, she's simply beside herself. This will help free up much of my time. She'll be well qualified to hit some of my simple short cut keys. For example, the first answer to any newsgroup question will be, "Did you consult with your best friend, the debugger? She's able to answer questions far faster than me." Of course Else too has a backup, Ms. Ruby!
What will I do with my new found freedom? That's for me to know and for you to find out. The only thing I'll reveal is that at this moment, number one on my list is Eclipse Demo Camp Vancouver. See you there or be uncool; the choice is always yours.
Sunday, 26 June 2011
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Daniel Hannan, the British Member of the European Parliament who gained fame with his devastating critique of Gordan Brown, has been equally trenchant in criticizing the excesses of the European Union. On his blog he explains the latest self-serving intricacies of voting in the upcoming election for the European Parliament:
How many MEPs will be elected a week on Thursday? Wait! Come back! I'm going somewhere with this! I realise the issue might not sound intrinsically sexy but, believe me, it demonstrates everything that's wrong with the Brussels system. Bear with me and you will see how flagrant is the EU's contempt for the ballot box – and for its own rule book.
Had the European Constitution Lisbon Treaty been ratified, there would have been 754 MEPs in the next Parliament. But under the existing scheme – that provided for by the Nice Treaty – there are meant to be 736. Three countries have rejected the European Constitution in referendums, and it is not legally in force. So how many MEPs will be elected a week on Thursday?
You don't need me to tell you, do you? The EU's primary purpose is to look after its own. Eighteen unconstitutional or "phantom" Euro-MPs will be elected anyway (hat-tip, Bruno), and will draw their full salaries and allowances. The only concession to the letter of law is that they won't be allowed to vote. In other words – in an almost perfect metaphor for the entire Euro-system – they will be paid without having any function. (Incidentally, a couple of BNP trolls keep posting here to asking when I'm going to publish my expenses. I did so ages ago – see here – and all Conservative MEPs have done the same: our Right to Know forms are available online here.)
The number of Euro-MPs in the chamber might seem a recondite issue, but it goes to the heart of how the EU behaves. Other, more important, parts of the European Constitution have also been implemented, without the tedious process of formal ratification: a European foreign policy, the harmonisation of justice and home affairs, justiciability for the Charter of Fundamental Rights. These things would have been regularised by the European Constitution, but have been enacted despite its rejection.
It's almost as good as unconstitutionally giving Washington, D.C. a congressman!
In fact, the attempt to consolidate continental government without giving the European people much say over the political system they live under is even more bizarre than electing MEPs who might never be able to vote. If implemented, the Lisbon Treaty will reduce the ability of the European people to hold their government accountable, but that's just the point to the Eurocratic elite actively pushing further centralization of power. About the only barriers left to the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty are the Irish people and Czech President Vaclav Klaus, as I detail in a recent article on American Spectator online.


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Logo LCD Watch
- $159,00
Options disponibles
As time changes, so does Kisai Logo's display, morphing into imaginative shapes that show the time in a very simple way.
With a mirrored LCD interface, a stainless steel and acetate case and strap, Kisai Logo features time, date, alarm, EL backlighting as well as binary time, for the geek within.
A Simple-to-Read Display with a Twist
Kisai Logo is easy to read at a glance because it has an 'always on' display. Hours are shown by blocks around the outside of the screen in approximately the same position as hours on a clock. Minutes are shown digitally in the centre.
One push of the lower button changes the display to date mode, with the month on the outside and date in the centre. Logo can also show the time in binary - ideal for the scientist, math genius or computer hacker - see the guide below to learn more.
A Comfortable, Light & Colorful Watch Design
Kisai Logo is a stainless steel watch that uses inlayed acetate to add color. Acetate is a strong material with a deep gloss, similar to ceramic or lacquerware. Choose from black, white or the 'very limited edition' blue woodgrain - perfect for wearing with your favorite pair of Jeans. Acetate is a light material making Kisai Logo really comfortable to wear.
Time, Date, Alarm, Animation & More
As well as time and date, Kisai Logo has an alarm mode and EL backlighting - so you can check the time at night. Kisai Logo also features a custom designed animation which can be turned on or off and brings the display to life once every 15 minutes. See the video demo above to see this in action.
Kisai Logo has an adjustable strap making it suitable for small and large wrists and uses a standard CR2025 watch battery which will last at least 12 months and can easily be replaced.
Each part of Kisai Logo has been individually designed and manufactured, including the case, strap and uniquely programmed display. Like all watches from Tokyoflash Japan it is a limited edition design which means that it is guaranteed to be an original watch that not many other people own.
- Displays the time and date
- Binary time
- Alarm mode
- Unisex design for small & large wrists
- LCD "always on" display
- Electroluminescent (EL) backlight (for night time only)
- Stainless steel case, & clasp
- Adjustable stainless steel & acetate strap
- Minimum wrist size: 100 mm (approx.)
- Maximum wrist size: 210 mm (approx.)
- Case Dimensions: 35 mm x 51 mm x 11 mm
- Weight: 100 grams
- Water resistance: 3ATM
- Battery: CR2025 standard replaceable watch battery
- English instructions
- One year warranty
Binary numbers date back to ancient times but it is also the basis of all modern computers; using 0 & 1 (or OFF & ON) to represent numbers.
Kisai Logo features a hidden binary mode which you can activate if you prefer a more cryptic looking display. The position of the binary blocks on screen to read hours & minutes, are shown below.
|Watch Attributes
|Strap Material
|Stainless Steel
|Case Material
|Stainless Steel
|Stainless Steel


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Photographers in Williamsport -
Wedding and Event Services in Williamsport MD
Creative Award Winning Wedding Photographer located in York, PA, serving Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Surrounding Areas (Harrisburg, Lititz, Gettysburg, Lancaster, Manchester, York, Hanover, Westminste... more photographer info
1867 recent listing referrals for Emerald Stone Photography
As a photographer focused on capturing the raw emotion and beautiful memories of your day, we are pleased to work one on one with our clients to create gorgeous, storytelling images customized to your... more photographer info
2011 recent listing referrals for J. H. Photography
For more than 30 years, Kevin has been photographing or djing weddings throughout the Pennsylvania, Maryland and northern Va regions. Capturing the special day should be done by an experienced person... more photographer info
1481 recent listing referrals for Remembrances by Kevin Strack
An All Occasion Photographer "Where Your Memories Are Worth More Than A Thousand Words".......more photographer info
Senior Portrait Photographer covering Hagerstown MD, W. VA. and PA Providing Senior, Engagement and Wedding Photography for the Tri-State area in and .......more photographer info
I established Photography by Michael J, in 1984 in Lombard IL, and relocated to West Virginias Eastern Panhandle in 1999. If your photographic needs.......more photographer info
We're a Sports Event Photography Agency and event photography company based in Western Maryland serving the Tri-State area.We specialize in Action Spo.......more photographer info
Custom design semiprecious bead jewelery, small handbound books, journals, & photo albums, and glycerin soaps. Also, office services provided. QuickBo.......more photographer info
Photographing weddings in Virginia: Winchester,Front Royal, Woodstock, Luray, Leesburg, Berryville, Bluemont, Shenandoah Valley and West Virginia: Mar.......more photographer info
Photographer - Wedding, Senior, classical portraiture, over 50,000 portaits since 1985!.......more photographer info
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Wedding photographer, friendly and affordable. Serving West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Other photography services: family, child.......more photographer info
Everytime I squeeze the shutter button on my camera, I know I'm capturing someone's special moment. I feel honored to be a part of that moment - whet.......more photographer info
We are wedding photojournalists with 25+ years of experience in wedding photography. Our easy to find studio boasts a large camera room, two private .......more photographer info
We offer Photography for Weddings, Newborns, Family, Senior, toddler, events, etc. You name it, we photograph it! Photo Booth also available with our.......more photographer info
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We are the #1 Christmas lights installers in the HAGERSTOWN MD area. WE DO Christmas Lights is a full service Christmas lights business. 1. We bring .......more photographer info


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Golden Heart is committed to provide you and your loved ones cutting edge care in every way possible. This includes bringing the best technology available into our workplace, and into your home. To this end, we proudly partner with companies with the same commitment to provide best practice services to their customer-communities.
Golden Heart Senior Care Proudly Presents
Click here for more information
Click here for more information


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Located in the heart of the Kansas Flint Hills, diversity abounds in Geary County. With Fort Riley, home of the First Infantry Division: the Big Red One; Milford Lake, the largest lake in the state; and next door to Manhattan, home of Kansas State University, there is something for everyone who lives and works in this region.
Thank you for your interest in employment with Geary County. By submitting you application for any position with Geary County, you understand and agree to the following statements:
You represent and warrant that the contents of your application are true, to the best of your knowledge and belief; and that falsification, misrepresentation or omission of information could be just cause of dismissal at any time and that you have withheld nothing which, if disclosed, would affect this application unfavorably.
You understand and authorize investigation of all statements contained in this application for employment and other known information as may be necessary in arriving at an employment decision. I authorize my previous employers, schools, credit bureau, personal acquaintances, etc. to give any information regarding employment, credit or educational records. I agree that this organization and my previous employers shall not be held liable in any respect if a job offer is not extended, is withdrawn, or my employment is terminated because of false statements, omissions, or answers made by me on this application.
You understand that you may be required to take relevant employment testing, for the purpose of determining your capability of performing the duties of the position. In the event you need reasonable accommodation for this testing or for the interview process, if selected, you understand that Geary County will make this accommodation. Geary County reserves the right to require medical documentation concerning the need for the accommodation.
If you are selected for employment by Geary County, you agree to participate in the appropriate examinations, determined by the position, which may include pre-employment physical examination and drug screening and psychological testing as well.
Completion of an employment application does not constitute an offer of employment nor is a completed application considered a contract of employment. Your employment with Geary County is of an "at will" nature. It is for no definite period of time and may, regardless of the date of payment or salary, be terminated for any reason and at any time without previous notice.
You understand that working for a public entity and are held at a high standard of personal and professional conduct and that you are required to abide by all rules and regulations of Geary County employment.
In addition to a competitive wage, the following benefits are offered to full-time employees:
Contact for more information: firstname.lastname@example.com
Jon Thummel, Director
Jennifer Gatlin, HR Assistant
Geary County Human Resources
200 E 8th, Room #123
Junction City KS 66441
785-238-5700 (voice)
785-238-2801 (fax)
For other information regarding Geary County Government: www.geary.kansasgov.com


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NanoDays 2012 kits awarded
December 21, 2011
Regional hub leaders are contacting NanoDays physical kit applicants individually regarding awards. As always, making decisions was a difficult process with only 225 physical kits to award. We encourage all those who were not awarded a physical kit to utilize the digital materials in their ongoing education efforts. The new digital kit will be posted here by January 15th: http://www.nisenet.org/nanodays-2011-digital-kit


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Bring Your Web Presence to Life.
Custom Web Development, E-Course Development, and Web Presence Management for businesses, government, and educational institutions.
Custom Web Development
Your unique business or idea requires equally unique solutions. We furnish beautiful websites atop strong, custom and open-source, feature-full frameworks. The cap on what can be Developed lies only within our collaborative imagination.
E-Course Development
Working with your subject-matter experts, Slonky will Develop beautiful, custom, and branded E-Courses rich with graphics, audio, animations, and interactive elements. Section 508 or SCORM requirements? No problem!
Web Presence Management
Web Presence Management by Slonky, LLC is an all-inclusive set of services. Slonky will handle everything from Design and Development to building, maintaining, and promoting your entire web presence.
Tell us about your project
Some of our recent clients


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|MLBPA Press Release
Major League Baseball is proud to provide help to our friends, peers and all the citizens of Japan at this critical time of need, said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. We are united in our effort to offer assistance and support at this dire hour for the people of Japan. We will continue to work with the MLBPA, the clubs and the players in the days and weeks ahead to do everything we can to help this nation.
The MLBPA and its members join with the Commissioners Office and the Clubs in expressing our heartfelt concern for the welfare of the Japanese people, including our many friends in the Japanese baseball community," said MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner. "On behalf of the players, I also would like to thank the fans for their compassion and willingness to join in this effort.
The distribution of MLB/MLBPA funds will be directed by the Japan Committee for UNICEF, which has a well-established network of relationships with private citizens, local NGOs, volunteers, schools and the business community.
The donations by MLB and the MLBPA are being made in a collaborative effort on behalf of the league, all 30 clubs, players, MLB Network and MLB.com. MLB clubs will observe a moment of silence on Opening Day and MLB Network and MLB.com will work with MLB and the MLBPA to encourage baseball fans to support the people of Japan in their time of need.


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Boring tagine in MoroccoMorocco is a favorite destination for many Parisians. It's warm, exotic, and French is a secondary language for most people. Moroccan food is also highly appreciated for its spices, tagines, and couscous. Ask a Parisian about Morocco and a smile appears as they remember one of the many little joys of visiting the country.
It's possible to get vegetarian food in Marrakech. Most restaurants will sell a vegetable tagine. However, I found them to be quite boring. Perhaps I needed to visit better restaurants.
Earth Cafe
You can imagine my delight when walking through the market and spotted some hand made signs for "Earth Cafe" a vegan restaurant. I had to find this place and enjoy a good meal, it did not disappoint.
The first thing you see as you step down into this cafe is the open kitchen, a beaming chef will greet you with pride as you enter her domain. As you pass the kitchen the restaurant opens vertically. What seems like a small space grows to several floors with an open space in the center.
The menu
I was surprised to see the menu lacked tagines and couscous. How very non-Moroccan! How very refreshing after dealing with some rather banal versions found in other places.
Instead you'll find a creative assortment of dishes that span the North African and Mediterranean flavor spectrum. My meal had a variety of vegetables wrapped in filo dough, baked and placed on the plate with mango sauce. It was delicious and very filling.
Earth Cafe also features some yummy smoothies that will hit the spot on a warm African afternoon. The friendly hosts speak French and English. The waiter even walked with me through the souks to find a hammam.
You'll owe it to yourself to visit Earth Cafe when visiting Marrakech. You'll get great food, great service, and a jovial, peaceful environment. The flavors are so great that your meat eating friends will also enjoy the meal.
- Cafe Earth
- Arset Sakia, Marrakech, Morocco
- email@example.com
- Hours: 11am-late
- Vegetarian Restaurant
- Accessibility: The restaurant is not accessible to wheelchairs.


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The Big Bad-Twilight finally stands revealed, and it's tearing the Scoobies apart, testing the limits of their friendship.
Seems like a perfect time for Spike to come back.
Joss Whedon writes the final five issues of Buffy Season 8, taking his greatest characters to places only he can take them! Teamed with series artist Georges Jeanty, Joss counts down to the biggest Buffy final ever-and it starts right here!
King Thor #1 First Look Pits Thor Against Loki in Their Final Battle