Derek Prince

THE POWER TO FORGIVE.
In 1947, Corrie Ten Boom was traveling and speaking across Germany, sharing the message of God’s love and forgiveness that had sustained her through Ravensbrück concentration camp, where her beloved sister Betsie had died.
After one service in a Munich church, a balding man in a gray overcoat stepped forward to greet her. Corrie’s blood ran cold. She instantly recognized him: he had been a vicious guard at Ravensbrück—one who had stood by during the degrading processing where women prisoners were stripped naked and mocked.
Memories flooded back—the harsh lights, the piles of clothing, the cruelty, the loss of her sister. Her heart froze as he extended his hand.
He said something like: “A fine message, Fraulein! How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!” Then he continued: “You mentioned Ravensbrück in your talk. I was a guard there. But since that time, I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well… Will you forgive me?”
Corrie stood there, wrestling internally. She had preached forgiveness countless times. But now? Facing the man responsible for so much pain? She felt she couldn’t do it. Betsie’s slow, terrible death couldn’t simply be erased with a handshake.
In that moment, she remembered the truth she had lived by: Forgiveness is not an emotion—it is an act of the will. And she prayed desperately:
“Jesus, help me! I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.”
She thrust out her hand.
“And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes.
‘I forgive you, brother!’ I cried. ‘With all my heart.’”
For a long moment, they grasped each other’s hands—the former guard and the former prisoner. Corrie later wrote that she had never known God’s love so intensely. It wasn’t her love. She had tried and failed in her own power. It was the power of the Holy Spirit.
This encounter wasn’t just a personal victory. It became a living sermon on what Corrie often taught: “Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred.” She spent the rest of her life (traveling to over 60 countries as a “tramp for the Lord”) telling people that no pit is so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.
Even in the darkest places—like the concentration camp barracks where fleas kept guards away so she and Betsie could read the Bible aloud—Corrie experienced that God’s presence and promises were real. She and Betsie clung to the truth that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).
When bitterness feels justified, will we choose to forgive anyway?
When we feel too weak, will we trust God to supply the strength?
In a world full of division and hurt, can we let the Holy Spirit do what we cannot?
Corrie’s words still echo: “There is an ocean of God’s love available—there is plenty for everyone. May God grant you never to doubt that victorious love—whatever the circumstances.”
If this story moves you, share it. Read The Hiding Place or Tramp for the Lord. And ask yourself: Who do I need to forgive today? Not in my strength—but in His.
“Jesus, help us to forgive as we have been forgiven.”
#CorrieTenBoom #Forgiveness #FaithOverFear #TheHidingPlace #ChristianTestimony

God's way is always the way of reconciliation, grace, and peace.

Share this with someone who needs encouragement to choose grace, healing, and reconciliation.

#Matthew525 #ChoosePeace #ForgiveOneAnother #Peacemaker #WalkInLove #FaithInAction #ChristianEncouragement #GraceAndTruth #HopeInChrist #Lordsbook

Oh how cumbersome life can be

#God
#life
#struggle
#truth
#life

God is our savior.

🪸 FAITH REELS —JULY 10

The Bible is about Jesus

#LordsbookDailys #FaithReels #BibleTruth #JULY10

A Prayer for the Brokenhearted

Heavenly Father,

Today I lift up every person whose heart is broken.

You see the tears that no one else notices. You know the pain that words cannot fully express. You are close to those who are crushed in spirit, and You never turn away from those who cry out to You.

Lord, bring comfort to every wounded heart. Heal the pain of rejection, loss, betrayal, and loneliness. Replace fear with Your peace, despair with hope, and sorrow with the quiet assurance of Your love.

Help us not to become bitter because of our suffering. Teach us to trust You even when we cannot understand what You are doing. Give us the strength to let go of what we cannot change and the courage to keep walking by faith.

Remind every broken heart that no pain is unseen by You, no prayer goes unheard, and no life is beyond Your redeeming love.

Wrap us in Your presence. Restore what has been shattered. Renew our hope day by day until joy returns and our hearts find rest in You.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, I pray.

Amen.

Bullae are small clay seals — roughly the size of a thumbnail — that were pressed into wet clay to create an impression authenticating a document or container. In the ancient Near East, when a scroll or container was sent from one party to another and needed to be sealed against tampering, the sender would press their personal seal ring or stamp into a small lump of wet clay attached to the string or cord securing the object. The clay would dry and harden, preserving the impression of the seal until the recipient broke it to open the package.
These objects are extraordinarily valuable to archaeologists because they bear identifiable names and titles from specific historical periods, and they're often found in administrative contexts where significant royal or official correspondence originated.
In 2015, in the Ophel — the elevated area between the City of David and the southern wall of the Temple Mount — archaeologist Eilat Mazar's excavation produced two bullae found within inches of each other in the same archaeological stratum.
One reads: "Belonging to Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, king of Judah." It bears the image of a winged sun disc flanked by ankh symbols — royal Egyptian iconography appropriated by Judahite kings during this period. This is a direct physical artifact belonging to the king who built the tunnel.
The second bulla, found within inches of the first, reads: "Belonging to Isaiah the prophet" — with the possible remnant of the word "prophet" in the partially damaged text — and bears the image of a seraph, the winged celestial beings associated specifically with Isaiah's vision in Isaiah 6.
The king who built the tunnel and the prophet who rebuked him, separated by inches in the dirt, united across 2,700 years.

Keep trusting God, even when the path is difficult. Stay faithful when no one is watching.

Share this with someone who needs encouragement to remain faithful and stand firm in their faith.

#Psalm261 #WalkInIntegrity #TrustInTheLord #FaithfulLiving #ChristianEncouragement #GodIsFaithful #WalkByFaith #StrengthInChrist #HopeInGod #Lordsbook

Love chooses mercy even when it’s undeserved.

#Forgiveness #GodsMercy #Luke23 #ChooseForgiveness #FaithJourney #LordsBook