Introduction

You Must Believe to Understand

[F]or you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a

holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result,
you can show others the goodness of God, for he called
you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and
foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that
wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live
properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even
if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your
honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God
when he judges the world.
1 Peter 2:9, 11-12

T
he most difficult tasks involved in writing The Process of
Asking for, Receiving and Giving Love and Forgiveness
were deciding to whom to address the text and to
maintain that focus throughout the book.
My questions to “self” consisted of: Am I writing to the people
who love, or to the people who are loved? Am I addressing the
repentant at heart, or the unrepentant? Should I focus on those
who have forgiven, or those who have received forgiveness? Is this
work ultimately for people who believe in God, His Son Jesus and
His Holy Spirit, or for those who don’t believe at all?

 
 The answer from “self” was: everyone represents, has
represented or will represent each of those characteristics at any
given point of their life.
This book is a tool to be used in working out love, repentance
and forgiveness issues in human relationships through the
examples God has provided. Those relationships could be with
parents, siblings, spouses, other family members, friends, co-
workers, neighbors or community members. There are many
relationships during the course of our lives through which we have
to navigate our way. Some of those relationships fail and die
because one or both parties involved are unfamiliar with the
process of love, repentance and forgiveness. Love, repentance and
forgiveness are more than just words that you speak and forget
about. Love requires action. Repenting mends the love you hurt.
Forgiveness is a loving response to the attack on love. They are all
choices. Asking is involved. Receiving is necessary. Giving is the
only way each is shared.
The Process of Asking for, Receiving and Giving Love and
Forgiveness is a work by a Christian woman who has chosen to
purposefully sow into the Kingdom of Heaven. My goal with this
book is to speak directly to anyone with eyes, ears and a heart
open to see, hear and receive the truth of the Word of God. The
majority of Biblical scripture used in this volume is addressed to
Believers from the mouths and pens of Jesus and His Disciples.
The Holy Bible is a Teacher’s Manual full of instructions telling
Believers (a.k.a. Teacher Aides) how to conduct themselves… and
how to show God to other people. Believers are commissioned to
teach the world by showing nonbelievers God’s ways through their
mode of living and their treatment of others. The Father’s process
is very deliberate!
 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as
some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake.
He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants
everyone to repent.
~ 2 Peter 3:9-10

This knowledge encouraged me to address Believers and

nonbelievers alike. My hope is that the Believer will be encouraged,
edified and strengthened; and that the nonbeliever will be exposed
to a truth they can no longer deny and will begin to pursue.

What does it mean to “believe”?

God’s word is locked. His secrets are hidden. His word does not
make sense to everyone. He does not reveal knowledge and
understanding to all of Creation. But those He call His children are
permitted to know His secrets and understand His ways through
His Spirit.
How do you become a Child of God?
You must believe on and receive the One He sent – Jesus Christ
the Messiah.
We must have confidence in and be convicted of God’s
existence. That’s how we believe. By believing in His existence, we
can then believe in His works.
He came into the very world he created, but the world
didn’t recognize Him. He came to his own people, and
even they rejected Him. But to all who believed Him
and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children
of God. They are reborn — not with a physical birth
resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that
comes from God.
~ John 1:10-12

 
 Having faith is another way of expressing belief in God. Hebrews
11:1 tells us that faith is the confidence that our hopes will
manifest and it assures us about the things we cannot see.
Hebrews 11:6 further explains:
And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He
exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek
Him.

Again, this may not make sense to a nonbeliever, but then

again a nonbeliever wouldn’t be reading this if they weren’t
seeking truth. So, if that’s you, keep on reading!
For the Believers, this may be elementary, but a review never
hurts anyone. So, you keep reading as well!

Do you believe God?

You acknowledge that God exists, but do you have enough
confidence in His existence to obey His Word? To believe God is to
accept what He says as true. He doesn’t allow picking and
choosing or alternating between a straight walk and a zigzag. If you
claim to believe in God, but you do not believe what He says in the
Bible (His Word), then you do not really believe God. God and His
Word are one. “The Word” is also another name for Jesus Christ.
God and Jesus are one. If you believe God, you will believe and
obey His Word. If you do not believe what God says directly or
through Jesus, it is God Himself you are disbelieving and rejecting.
(Yoonu Njub, 1998)
But these are written so that you may continue to
believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and
that by believing in Him you will have life by the power
of His name.
~ John 20:31
How to become a Believer
If you desire to become a child of God, a Believer, one of God’s
chosen people, a member of His royal priesthood and holy nation,
then simply do so. All that is required is that you follow His
instructions. If you desire to become one of God’s very own
possessions and heed His call by walking out of the darkness of
the world and into His wonderful eternal light, then you have only
to believe in your heart and speak with your lips the words of
Romans 10:9-10, and ask the Father to be your Teacher and Guide
for everything He wishes for you to learn on your spiritual walk with
Him.
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the
dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your
heart that you are made right with God, and it is by
confessing with your mouth that you are saved. As the
Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in Him will
never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in
this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives
generously to all who call on Him. For “Everyone who
calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”
~ Romans 10:9-13