"To Know by Experience"

"Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known any thing: this hath more rest than the other." (Ecclesiastes 6:5 KJV)

  ""Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, 'You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?' Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. That's what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart."" (Matthew 18:32-35 NLT)

 Looking at this from the place of never having to experience making a choice, there is more rest for them who die early than those who die late. As Matthew Henry puts it, "The shorter the life is the longer the rest; and the fewer the days, and the less we have to do with this troublesome world, the less trouble we know." 

 Not sure how to place this in the way it should be spoken, but if you have lived long enough, then you most likely have had some bad experiences; some of which has caused deep hurt and given you great hate in your heart for those who might have caused you that pain. If you hamper that hate within your heart, it needs to be dealt with, and you need to forgive whoever you have not forgiven. 

 I have to admit, there are people I have not forgiven that have already passed on; but that really doesn't matter, because there are other people here that remind me of them, causing me to bring back the hate in my heart, which is like a blister that is very sensitive and needs to be protected, again and again. We must choose to forgive, just like we chose to believe in Jesus Christ. It is never about feelings, because feelings will change and blow back and forth like the wind. 

 When we accepted Christ as our Savior, we chose to receive the forgiveness that He offered, and it was like giant weight had been lifted off of us; for the very first time, we felt incredibly free; almost as if it was like we started living life all over again. What changed in you, that made you take back those chains?  

 Yesterday I heard a brief part of a message about when Peter asked Jesus to call him out onto the water. We ask God to do something that we know we cannot do ourselves, and then we try to see ourselves doing what we cannot do, taking our faith out of the picture. We Must Walk By Faith, Always...

"When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, "It's a ghost!" But Jesus spoke to them at once. "Don't be afraid," he said. "Take courage. I am here!" Then Peter called to him, "Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water." "Yes, come," Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. "You have so little faith," Jesus said. "Why did you doubt me?"" (Matthew 14:26-31 NLT)