Baggage

Life Work:

Baggage Check: Forgiving as we have been forgiven

Scripture Memory Verse:

“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Colossians 3:12-14 NIV

Life Work Assignments:

1.      Take some time to really think about what baggage you are carrying. Some of the ways you know you haven’t forgiven someone is that you: continually bring up the past action in current arguments or conflicts, seeing the person or place where it happened makes you feel the same hurts or pains, or if you wish something bad would happen to the person. Make a list of all the people you have not forgiven and pray to God to reveal areas of unforgiveness in your life.

2.      Start reflecting on what God’s gift to you meant. There was a time where you have hurt someone or not done what God wanted you to, yet He forgave you. What would your life have looked like if everything bad you ever did was never forgiven?

3.      Love. Do Good. Bless. Pray for. This is what we are supposed to do towards those who have hurt us. Take a sheet of paper and make 5 columns. Set it up like this:

NAME

LOVE

DO GOOD

BLESS

PRAY FOR

In the first column, list all the people you have not forgiven from Life Work Assignment #1. Then, for each person write specific actions, you can do to LOVE, DO GOOD, BLESS, and PRAY FOR each person. Keep in mind, forgiveness is an action so DO the things you have written down.

4.      Rob Bell talks about that there are some situations in which forgiving is not forgetting. Situations of abuse or extremely unhealthy relationships may require us to get away from the relationship or set up boundaries. If one of the people you have not forgiven falls into this category, think about ways you can forgive without being in the same negative situation. Sometimes all we can do is pray for someone. Sometimes we may need professional help to create boundaries or get to a safe place, away from that situation. Do whatever it is that you need to do in those types of relationships.

Ladies who attended- What did God reveal to you about your own baggage this week? Anyone want to share some forgiving ACTIONS He prompted you to take????