Laws bring wrath. Faith brings forgiveness. Hope brings God. Romans 4 The law brings wrath. The law, because it reveals sin, and even stimulates it, produces wrath, not forgiveness. Anger is ok as long as you don't let it consume you, don't obsess over it. Laws reveal acts that have been commited that are not right. A transgression, which is overstepping a clearly defined line. Having faith in Jesus means having hope. Where there is no hope, there is death in the spirit, in the soul. If one has hope, there is a confidence, a knowingness there is One Who is more concerned about you, AND what you are concerned about, than you are! Faith brings forgiveness. If Jesus could forgive those who were murdering Him, and do it graciously, then who am I to not forgive someone who has done something to me? Jesus forgave people who spit on Him, who lied about Him and to Him, who betrayed Him. If I am to follow Christ's example, I am to forgive too. Forgiving someone is allowing the anger to not control you. Forgiveness means keeping my eyes on the Lord. Stepping into His realm of love, peace, joy, long-suffering, endurance, kindness, gentleness. To me, forgiveness is the hardest thing to do. Trusting God is VERY hard sometimes, forgiveness goes beyond that for me for some people. But forgiving someone sets me free to go on. I have heard it said that I, as a Christian, have no 'rights'. There is a fine line here. We all have inalienable rights. However, following after Christ's example, I do not have the right to stay angry at someone. I can be mad/angry, as long as I do not act out in anger and as long as I forgive within a reasonable time. What's a reasonable timeframe? It varies for each individual. The quicker the better. The more quickly I can forgive, the less power that anger will have over and in me. We like to nurture anger sometimes. We use it as a spur to get us going, into action. Which means, it's still controlling us. When do we quit? When do we let it go and let the 'cause' take over? Sometimes anger uses us. When I stay angry, I am holding a grudge. I devise ways to 'get back' at someone. Anger causes my stomach to hurt and my stress level to go to all-time highs. This makes my heart race, my back hurt, etc., etc. Anger is not healthy for the soul, nor the body. Forgiveness heals. Forgiveness heals you and it releases the person you are angry at to God, so He can do something about it. Holding someone hostage to your anger is keeping them from God's love. From God's forgiveness, from God's discipline. Forgiveness brings hope. Hope that God will heal me, hope I will let go, move on. Hope is believing. Believing when nothing around you seems to go right, when no one supports you or your decision. Hope is believing God has His best for you. Hope is placing your complete trust in God. Not necessarily for the outcome you want, but for the outcome He wants you to have, and trusting Jesus to know what's best for you. Back in the late 80's I had no hope, I was depressed. I was dead inside. I had no joy, no smiles, no laughter, nothing. I was hope less. Without hope. I still attended church, mostly because it was the 'thing to do'. Someone prayed for me. Someone who had been without hope at some point in their life. Someone who knew what it feels like. After that person prayed for me, I began to have hope! Hope that things would get better, hope that there was a light at the end of the tunnel! Hope is what makes us put one foot in front of the other, hope is what gives us a foundation to walk on, sleep on, live on. Hope is believing things will be better. Hope is faith in God. Without faith, you cannot please God.

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