When a person hurts us….wrongs us….mistreats us…betrays us, the natural impulse is to get angry, harbour bitterness, and even seek revenge. That’s the ‘natural’ way to respond to hurt – following the desires of our sinful nature.

But when a person becomes a Christian, God puts the Holy Spirit within them and they have a new nature (Ephesians 4:22-24). They have the capacity to deal with hurt in a new way – letting go of anger, forgiving the offender, and seeking their highest good.

There can be an internal tug-of-war as we feel pulled by the old nature towards bitterness and resentment, and led by the Holy Spirit to forgive. Of course, God would have us to “go with” the Holy Spirit.

Jesus taught in no uncertain terms what we need to do when we are wronged. He said,

> “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27)

> “Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37)

> And He even told Peter to forgive a wrongdoer seventy times seven!
(Matthew 18:22)

Jesus role-modelled forgiveness by saying from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

Can you forgive? If you are a Christian, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, you certainly can! We all can. So a better question would be – Are we willing to forgive?

David Hunt

One experience that is useful, insightful, and life-changing is to travel overseas to a poor country. I highly recommend it! If you ever get the chance to visit a poor nation in Asia, Africa, or elsewhere, it’s a great learning experience. One of the advantages so is that it changes ones’ perspective. It helps us Aussies appreciate how much we have – and that’s a positive thing.

Having witnessed poverty in India, and also seen people who – though not desperately poor – have much less than we have, did me a lot of good. It led me to see myself and my circumstances in a different light.

For example, in 1997 I made the first of several trips to India. Before I went, if you’d asked, “Where are you at economically? Are you rich or poor?” I’d have responded – “Well, I’m certainly not rich! I’ve been renting an apartment in Mount Druitt (a down-market suburb in Sydney!), I drive an old Toyota Corona, I don’t have much money in the bank, and I’m not even CLOSE to putting a deposit on a home. I’m certainly not rich!”

But going to India and seeing people living in poverty, and realising that millions live this way, I now regard myself as rich!

> I have a microwave oven!
> My wife and I own a washing machine!
> We have a TV, stereo, and DVD player!
> I own a computer!
> We have a car – with air conditioning!

Many people in the world would look at us who have these things as rich. Most of us Aussies own more than millions of the world’s people! By world standards, we’re near the top of the financial grid.

Going overseas helps us see how fortunate we are, and we may we find ourselves complaining less. Why not take a trip to India… Vietnam… Thailand… Egypt?

David Hunt

“Satan fears prayer more than almost anything else we could ever do.”
Wesley Duewel

“With every possible guile that he knows, the devil would snatch us from the closet of prayer. For in prayer man is linked with God, and in that union Satan is baffled and beaten.”
Leonard Ravenhill

“[The devil] makes us believe that we can do more by our own efforts than by our prayers.”
Anonymous

“[Satan] will try to get you so busy in daily activities or even Christian activities that you have no time to pray down the power to make your activity successful.”
Wesley Duewel

“Do we realise that there is nothing the devil dreads so much as prayer? His great concern is to keep us from praying. He loves to see us up to our eyes in work – provided we do not pray. He does not fear because we are eager and earnest Bible students – provided we are little in prayer.”
Anonymous