My Father’S Forgiveness

By Seth Poston

Have you ever wondered why the hurts of the past still haunt you? Why the things that people have said or done still plague your subconscious? Could it be that the forgiveness you thought you had extended actually wasnt forgiveness at all? You may have said the words, but often they are hollow words. This is what forgiveness has become to most people. We hear these words day in and day out, Im sorry and I forgive you. But forgiveness is much more meaningful than that. There is a deep journey that accompanies true forgiveness, and it cannot be found in words alone. Forgiveness is a powerful and personal experience that is finely laced throughout Scripture. Forgiveness is deeply rooted in the Word of God, and we can only find it if we are willing to saturate ourselves in the Scripture in search of a deeper meaning. This forgiveness will carry each of us on a journey of personal transformation that is redemptive in its work. My Fathers Forgiveness guides you toward the light of Gods Word as it illuminates true biblical forgiveness. If we allow God to unveil our eyes with His truths, we will find that we really can embrace our Fathers forgiveness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 31, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490874784

Seth Poston

Seth Poston is a pastor at Vertical Church in West Haven, Connecticut. He is a dynamic teacher of the Word, songwriter, and author. Seth has a passion for sharing God’s Word in a modern light through both his teaching and writing. Seth and his wife, Reanna, have a small homestead in Oxford and love spending time outdoors, gardening and caring for their animals. You can connect with Seth and find out more about his ministry by visiting www.sethposton.org.

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Copyright © 2015 Seth Poston.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-7477-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7479-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7478-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015904874

WestBow Press rev. date: 3/31/2015

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Into the Darkness

Chapter 2: Head-On Collision

Chapter 3: Deep Clean

Chapter 4: The Love of a Father

Chapter 5: The Right to Choose

Chapter 6: The Forgiveness of the Father

Chapter 7: How to Release the Debt

Chapter 8: A Father to the Fatherless

Chapter 9: Honor

Chapter 10: Forgiveness, More than Just a Word

Conclusion

Reference

This book is

dedicated to my grandfather (Pappie), Gordon C. Locke. In my life, there has never been another man as influential as him. Without his guidance and love, I would not be the man I am today.

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone in debt to us."

—Luke 11:4

Preface

In a conversation with my brother, I shared with him the title of this book, and suddenly things became quiet, awkwardly quiet. In that moment of uncomfortable silence, he looked at me and inquisitively said, I like the title, but I didn’t think you were looking for Dad to forgive you. And that made me smile because I knew that the title had done its job; it had gotten the wheels in his brain and heart turning in a glorious symphony. The purpose of the title is to inspire thought and provoke reflection. I want everyone who reads this book to first look with wonder at the title and ponder its meaning in such a way that he or she will be drawn into the life of the text even as he or she faces down his or her own painful journey

To avoid too much confusion though, allow me to explain its meaning so that you know what you are about to get into. My Father’s Forgiveness has a dual purpose, both of equal importance and neither functional without the other. One meaning refers to a natural truth, and the other is a spiritual truth. The physical meaning is relatively straightforward; it relates to the forgiveness that I showed to my father. The spiritual sense of the title refers to the example of that forgiveness that my Father God has shown me. You will see both of these themes intertwined throughout the entire book. The forgiveness that my Father God has shown me is the same forgiveness that I needed to learn and to express to my biological father.

The chapters that follow tell the story of my personal journey and hold a powerful testimony of forgiveness, revelation, and restoration. Most likely, you have already begun to formulate the story line, and that’s okay, but my prayer is that as you read about my failures, test, trails, missteps, and ultimate victory, your view of forgiveness will transform and alter the way you approach every situation in the future. You see, this isn’t a story about an I’m sorry, or an I forgive you; it’s about a forgiveness that is often overlooked in our fast-paced, easily offended society. This is about a forgiveness that has no boundaries, that has no caveats, that has no small print or fast-talking announcer adding requirements at the very end. It’s a forgiveness that shines with glory and light that reaches beyond generations, that is often unthinkable, and that is unforgettable. It’s a God kind of forgiveness; the type of forgiveness that Jesus expressed to His harshest and most vocal critics on almost a daily basis. This is the forgiveness that was purchased by the work that Jesus completed on the cross. A purchase that was necessary in order for us to live in relation with our Father God. Understand that this forgiveness was not cheap, the price was flesh and blood, but what it secured was something we could have never acquired on our own. This was the work that Jesus was sent by the Father to complete on the earth for our redemption, our reunification, and our justification in Him. It was a forgiveness that had been beaten, bruised, mocked, and hung on the cross as it cried, Father, forgive them!

Allow me to make one point very clear right from the beginning; the journey you are about to take toward ultimate forgiveness is a deeply personal one. Your journey will not be a mirror image of mine or anyone else’s. Even within my own family, in dealing with this same situation, our journeys took different paths and looked remarkably different. Now certain parts may look similar, and the truths of Scripture will remain unchanged (and are unchangeable, so just get okay with that now), but don’t feel constrained by the parameters of my own journey or disenchanted because you have different emotions, reactions, or responses. Each journey will be unique in its own right; the struggles and challenges that present themselves will take much inner reflection and personal adjustment. However, if you maintain the course and keep firmly grounded in the truths of Scripture, you will find the forgiveness you so desperately search for as the light of heaven breaks through.

I have received quite the education while traveling on this journey. To be completely honest with you, I learned that I had no idea what true forgiveness really was. I foolishly thought I knew, but God revealed to me that what I had was a distorted, perverted view of true biblical forgiveness. I have also learned that in order to attempt a cohesive conversation about forgiveness, we must address two other critically important topics. First are what Galatians 5 calls the fruits of the Spirit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. When this true forgiveness is in operation in your life, these fruits will also be evident. I have found that these virtues confirm the existence of genuine and complete forgiveness. Each of these has a much deeper meaning and revelation than what we often understand. It takes a real relationship with the Father and a sincere desire to meditate and understand the Word of God for us to grasp fully what they mean and how they can positively affect our entire existence. It is not a natural love that this Scripture refers to, but the love that would die for you, the love of Christ. It is not a natural peace, but peace within that surpasses all natural understanding. Follow? These attributes are connected directly to each other and cannot be separated. Where you find one in its truest most sincere form, you will find the others.

It would also be harmful if we did not address the inevitable byproducts of unforgiveness that absolutely plague our society today. These hindrances will cause you to lose sight of the ultimate goal, blind you to the truths of the Word, and cause you to justify your actions, thoughts, and words through altered and distorted filters. We will talk more about these later, but to name a few, there is bitterness, hatred, anger, fear, discontentment, and discord. As we move forward together, you will see how each of these caused many years worth