As the end of 2011 draws near, I asked myself "what have I learned this year"? Did I learn from my experiences or am I the same as I was in December 2010?. There are two things that are now branded into my heart.

1. Reading the Word is important but it is meaningless if I do not apply it to my everyday life.

I have learned a lot by reading my Bible; I have made an effort to memorize some scriptures - although my memory now have a lot of senior moments - but from my reading I noticed something - Joseph, separated from his family, continued to apply God's teaching to his life.   Daniel, although taken into slavery and separated from his homeland, surrounded by another culture continued to walk with the Lord. Then I thought - I am separated from my heavenly home, so I must continue applying the Word to my live and continue walking with the Lord.

2. Forgiveness is the Ultimate act of love.

As human beings, it is our nature to "stand up" for ourselves and when someone does something to hurt us, we stay angry at them FOR-E-V-E-R. We may separate ourselves from them so they can never hurt us again or we may decide that we are the ones who need to punish them for their transgression against us.   

But Father God says to forgive our enemies 70 x 7 times - that's a lot! There is only one way to fight this "nature of revenge" we need to have the Holy Spirit in our lives.  He can actually remove these angry feelings. So how is this an act of Love? Because you are no longer angry at them. The first person who benefits it you. Your blood pressure is no longer high at the sound of that persons name or at seeing them in person. Your heart no longer tighten at the thought of that person - you are the first one that received the love.  Without anger, you can show your love toward others the way Christ showed His love toward us.

When you forgive, Father gives you a light-hearted peace and a joyous feeling of freedom.  In unforgiveness,  I was carrying a burden and weight of unforgiveness not knowing how heavy it was until it was gone.

With the New Year approaching, I am reminded that we are one year closer to His return and that our GIFT to GOD is to love Him with all our heart, mind and soul and to one another as He has loved us.

With this in mind, I wish each of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35