How I Have Made And Are Seeking Advice

As I was reading the chapter on forgiveness in Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling by McMinn (2011), the personal life experience that jumped out to me was when I had to make the decision to truly forgive my ex-boyfriend and his parents for the emotional pain they caused me. After living in New Jersey for a month and spending time with my boyfriend and his family, working, and taking care of an elderly lady with dementia my world came crashing down on me. My ex-boyfriend’s parents discovered sin in his life and told me I could no longer pursue a relationship with him because of the sins he had committed. After finding out the sinful things my ex-boyfriend had done, I chose to forgive him. I also chose to give him a second chance at a relationship with me, but my effort to salvage our relationship was futile.

Forgiveness is not just practiced by saints and not only benefits its recipients but have strong connection with person’s physical, mental and spiritual health. It plays a great role in the health of families, communities and nations. Forgiveness provides common ground for love, acceptance, harmony and true happiness Most spiritual and religious leaders of the world will agree that forgiveness of oneself and others is one way to clear the mind, heart and soul and may result in a feeling of increased peace and happiness.

The dance of forgiveness is six steps to be transformed from being a selfish self-absorbed human being. To being a person full of grace and accepting of everyone. The first step is truth telling. This helps build trust between people groups and starts on the path to a relationship. The second step is acknowledging anger. A person should not try to hide their emotions even if it may be an emotion of anger. To get rid of it is by bringing it out in the light and praying for God to help you with the anger. The third step is having concern for others. One of the ways of understanding someone else is to think how life would be in their shoes. Having a genuine concern for someone besides yourself can change a person’s, heart. The fourth step is recognizing, remembering, and repenting. As humans, we need to recognize what we have done wrong and not pass off blame to others and repent for what we have done. The fifth step is

While the Bible clearly shows, God alone can forgive sins, and Christ is the one Mediator between God and man, God uses men to bring about his reconciliation. Confession of sins is a ministry of reconciliation. The confession of serious or mortal sins to a priest forces your conscience to recognize your sins. Examining your conscience is necessary if you are to advance in holiness and become more faithful to Christ. It is known as the sacrament of confession, since the confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. It is also a "confession" of acknowledgement and praise of the holiness of God and His mercy and pardon towards sinful

Repentance is a concept of turning away from sin, which paves the way to salvation and thus eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Most denominations have the belief that one renounces from sin and aims to live a life according to the work of the Holy Spirit, with the exception of Baptist and Pentecostal who view Baptism as the complete submission to the will of God. Salvation is the means to eternal life in the Kingdom of God, and thus baptism becomes a meaning of initiating into the Christian community. “Forgive anyone who offends you” (Colossians 3) suggest that baptised individuals need to forgive those who offend them, as

Sometimes there is no win-win, and we have to be willing to forgive and to move forward. Psalms 130:3 “If you, Lord kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand” (New International Version). Clearly, there is none among us who is without

Reconciliation is stated as “restoration of a state of peace to the relationship, where the entities are at least not harming each other, and can begin to be trusted not to do so in future, which means that revenge is foregone as an option” (Santa-Barbara, 174). This definition is a starting point in understanding reconciliation but does not address the spirit of forgiveness involved. It is important to recognize harms that others have done but it becomes necessary to portray these in a positive and understanding manner. This supplies the persecutor with an image that is not so negative and “monster-like” but also provides for the victim acknowledgement that there has been harm done. For reconciliation to take place, all parties involved

This client was Christian and from my estimation now looking back was just beginning their walk with Christ and not on the same maturity level that I was at that time in my walk with Christ. At that time I knew how forgiveness first and foremost is obedience to God, and secondly how it can set you free from so many emotional problems, McMinn said, “Forgiveness, in its theological and spiritual context, is profound, life-giving, and transforming. When we remove the religious context and think of forgiveness only as a clinical technique, we risk losing the essence of forgiveness.” (2011, p. 254) After reading this chapter it made me re-live an area in which I was not fully equipped to help client maneuver their way through. This particular chapter has allowed me to see how vital forgiveness is in a therapeutic session, and how it must be used carefully. It is made me aware of how important my Christianity is to forgiveness, but also to assess the level my client is currently on before beginning a session on forgiveness. Reflection

The reconciliation and atonement is used in various English Bible translations interchangeably, for example in Romans 5:11. Therefore, another synonym for atonement is called satisfaction. The word satisfaction was preferred by many Protestant theologians during the reformation time. There are some theories of the atonement that help to understand the theories of atonement on point.

Asking for forgiveness and forgiving to many is the hardest thing to do but we must remember in the book of Matthew (18:21-22) Peter said to the Lord: “Lord if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” In this paper, the chosen case study will give the reader a better understanding of what forgiveness is to Jesus. Forgiveness is a big part of the Bible and if Jesus forgives us of our sins we too must learn to be as forgiving as him.

The goal of repentance is not the end, rather as Matin Luther says in the small catechism, repentance means a new self should arise to serve him. Gospel writer Luke when he talks about repentance he is not talking about the guilt, fear, sorrow, self hatred, he is talking about joy, confidence, new relationships, fresh starts to become God’s instruments of redeeming love.

Being forgiven your sins is very much at the heart of what this comprehensive understanding of healing brings. Describing the coming of Jesus, he has come to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins (Luke1:77). John came, “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke3:3). When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . ."

In The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, A. Andrew Das states that reconciliation “indicates a change in social relationship in which two parties previously at enmity with each other exchange friendship and peace.” Throughout history God has had to punish His people for disobedience. In effect, when we sin we become enemies of God. Through the blood of Jesus, and our faith in Him, we are brought back into God’s grace, and we will achieve eternal life through His resurrection and his ongoing life. Wrath of

Once we recognize God’s true love for us and see the need of looking to Christ to change our hearts rather than trying to do it on our own, we see our need of repentance, which involves a change of direction, turning our back on previous intentions and actions, and seeking new direction in life. Instead of making excuses, blaming circumstances or others, repentance means taking full responsibility. King David, after committing murder and adultery appealed to Christ: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalms 51:10). He accepted his guilt and asked for a new direction – from Christ.

I realize that I have remained content in my relationship with God rather than working to enhance it. This is due to my dislike of change and fear of obstacles. In “The Emotions God Gave You” Art and Laraine write, “…a phlegmatic may feel anxious or fearful. These are simply tendencies and do not dictate our actions (Bennett 34). I am disappointed in myself because I have allowed the fear I experience to dictate my actions of avoiding spiritual growth. Every human is called to holiness and in order to achieve it action is required. This fear also explains my internal conflict with laziness because I have allowed the fear to disincline my activity. An insecurity that I am extremely fearful of is talking to adults. This greatly affects my spiritual life because in order to be resolved of my sins I am required to talk to a priest in the sacrament of reconciliation. My fear of talking to a priest has effectively hindered my decision to receive reconciliation for more than three years now. In order to further my relationship with God it is vital that I attend the sacrament. I will no longer allow fear to dominate my actions as I plan to attend reconciliation this coming Saturday at my