"The God Who Saved Us"

"He delivered me from mine enemies: yea, Thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: Thou hast delivered me from the violent man." (Psalms 18:48) You know what I think; I think that Hell is way over rated! It's just that there is so much glory given to a place that will be filled with so much misery, and where love will not exist at all; only shame and regret will be felt in that place, yet so many movies and songs have been written to portray it as just an alternative place for those that refuse to worship God. As I was waking up this morning, I could not help but think of the story of 'The Rich Man and Lazarus' from Luke 16:19-31, and how the Rich Man begs to have Lazarus sent back to his father's house to tell his five brothers about the fate that will await them in that place of torment. It was because he was not expecting that place to be so terrible, and needed to let those he cared about know just how bad it was. When it comes to giving God glory for all that He has done for us, let us not forget the most important deliverance of all, which is that He has broken those chains that kept us condemned to Hell!!! Immediately after Jesus told this story of 'The Rich Man and Lazarus', He went on to speak about "offenses" and our obligation to forgive others, no matter how many times they sin against us. Why do you think Hell might have anything to do with unforgiveness? Could it be that they are both associated with torment? One of the qualities of being delivered from those that might have come against us, is to have forgiven them from having done so; otherwise, we are still bound to their offense by unforgiveness. In other words; we take the shackles that they would of bound us with and use them on ourselves; binding our hearts in an area that is void of God's love and forgiveness; an area that is very much filled with misery and darkness, which is the opposite of being set free from the bondage of sin. Why do you think that unforgiveness can have such hold on our hearts? Let's see; maybe it could have something to do with God's unconditional love, and how He has expressed that love in His forgiveness for us. If we truly know the God who saved us, then we must know how much He has forgiven us, and if we know how much He has forgiven us, the we are naturally obligated to forgive others; otherwise we have not yet been delivered...