By Delanda S. Johnson
The Bible says, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise; Give thanks to Him and call upon His Name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His faithfulness endures from age to age.”
As we enter into the holiday season, we must also ask ourselves, “What does it mean to forgive and how can I get forgiveness?”
On Sunday, November 25, Johnson Chapel A. M. E. Church held its Annual Women’s Day program with three speakers teaching on the word FORGIVENESS. This was the first Annual event to start the new Conference year for Johnson Chapel.
Sis. Coella Wells, 1st Lady of Grant Chapel A. M. E. Church in Palestine, Texas and she was also the former 1st Lady of Johnson Chapel A. M. E. Church spoke on the Foundation of Forgiveness. Sis. Wells stated, “There is no limit on how many times you must forgive. We must recognize that everyone is not on the same level of forgiveness; you must be redeemed. Jesus asked His Father to forgive us even though we don’t know what we are doing or even if we don’t deserve to be forgiven. God does many things for us; so why can’t we do for Him. God sent His only Son to die on the cross for our sins and yet while on the cross; Jesus was thinking of us and asking His Father to forgive us. We must give thanks and praise to Lord for all that He has done for us.”
Sis. Gloria Graves Wilson, Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Tenn. Colony, Tx., spoke on Forgiveness and Relationship with God. Sis. Wilson grew up in Malakoff and noted to everyone that she was happy to be home. She stressed that this topic held a special meaning for her because she had been dealing with a problem and she noted that God sent this message for her. “When we turn things over to the Lord; He will work it out in His own time. You can’t try to fix it yourself; for that is when problems get all messed up. You can’t do wrong for wrong, it just doesn’t work that way. When you have been hurt, Jesus will work out your problem. All you need to do is just trust Him,” said Sis. Wilson.
The final speaker Eldress Mary Henderson, Pastor of the Church of the Living God, PGT; in Athens, Tx., spoke on Forgiveness, Forgotten, Forever.
Eldress Henderson message to the congregation questioned their ability to forgive and if they were letting God use them. There are things that you may be holding on to; things that we say we can’t forgive or forget; however, God has forgiven us for all or our sins; you have been set FREE. When we say “I’ll forgive, but I won’t forget” you are not letting God use you. You are still holding on; you have not been set free. We must forgive 7 times 7 a day; we must forgive and repent. In Christ, we have HOPE. In Christ, we have Peace. In Christ, we have JOY. In Christ, we have the ability to Forgiveness, Forgotten, and Forever; Jesus is our ROCK.”
