Like the feeling we have on Christmas morning, a secret delight over the joy that others will have when they receive gifts, imagine waking up one day to find that everything you had ever done that was displeasing to God was wiped away as if it never happened. Wait – we don’t have to imagine that – God’s mercies are new each and every morning and He provided At-One-Ment for our sins. Forever. What a feeling of freedom and joy! Yes, well a murder investigation is a bizarre thing. Very strange. You hear them being talked about all the time, then you are in the same courtroom as them, you're sitting next to Ashley's girlfriend and nodding to his mother. Ashley's family just live up the road. They are real, not evil. They are men who have done an evil thing. But even if we are not serving the Lord or our country in full-time service, our opportunities to serve are limitless. Kind words and deeds can lift burdens and cheer up hearts! Our Father in Heaven invites us all to give service. And when we do, “the King shall answer and say unto [us], Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” 6 This prayer helps me remember that God is the source of all mercy, and when we struggle to forgive, He is waiting to help us. All we need to do is ask.

Unforgiveness, bitterness, and resentment have a way of blinding us with their darkness, and the only way to see past them is by the light of forgiveness. When Mother Teresa helped the woman to say the words, “I forgive my son,” she not only eased her pain on earth but also prepared her to find peace in eternity. The Most Challenging Words

After a while they played at forfeits; for it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself. One of the obstacles to giving forgiveness is that our flesh never wants to do it. I can't tell you how many people have said to me "I wish I could forgive, but I just don't feel like I can." Wishing isn't one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but self-control is! That's the reason that God told us in Deut 3:19 that even though He put the choice of Life and death in front of us, we would have to choose life! It's not something we always feel like doing! James 4:7 says that if we will submit ourselves to God and resist the devil he'll flee. Notice that Satan doesn't flee until after we choose to submit ourselves to God and I can't find anywhere that it says I have to feel like it! Forgiveness is a choice we make in obedience to God's word. It may take a while for our flesh to get over harboring unforgivensess but our spirit man loves it when we choose to follow God!

The baby in the manger we celebrate this season is God in the flesh, come to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), so that all of us sinners who believe in Him can be reconciled to God the Father, and then live as His beloved children every day. I'm not saying I don't want justice for Alan, I did. But I had to carry myself in a way that would help my children. Forgiveness means you are not seeking retribution or vengeance. Forgiveness is recognising that we are all in the same boat, we're all the same, not perfect. Until Good Friday, forgiveness had been a promise — real, but unseen. As the nails went in and the beams rose high, however, forgiveness broke into sight, painted in red for all to see. They seized him without warrant, tried him without justice, and beat him without mercy. And yet, even as they showered him with hostility, he prayed for them. And what did he pray? “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).And in the next moments, he finishes paying for that unthinkable pardon. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46). Dying didn’t give him the authority to forgive — he had that before the world began. No, dying justified what had been happening since the garden (Romans 3:25). God had always been forgiving people through faith; now he had the blood to prove it. Through This Man What is atonement? We who have inherited this free salvation are now “at-one”, or united with Christ. Like a blanket of snow covers the ground and all we see is pure white (until the dog comes along), God sees us through His Holy Son, who is Holy and righteous and covers our transgressions – once and for all. Understood this way, confession is not something over and above “believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Confession is the daily manifestation of faith in Jesus, a daily living out of recognizing Him as Savior, Master, and Treasure, a consistent exhibit of the Gospel of God’s grace. Christmas is a time of year when we make our list of friends and family to whom we want to give gifts. We usually start with our children and spouse and work our way out to our family, friends and co-workers. As we do this, the list becomes larger and larger. It's no wonder that we can be overwhelmed at the COST of Christmas. Forgiving others brings peace and joy to our lives. President Heber J. Grant taught: “There is nothing that will bring us more of the Spirit of God than to … be kind, considerate, charitable, long-suffering and forgiving. There is nothing that will bring more joy to us than to be ready and willing to forgive the trespasses of our neighbors against us, and there is nothing that will bring more condemnation to us than to harden our hearts and to be bitter and vindictive in our feelings towards those by whom we are surrounded.” 7