Journey to Forgiveness: 21 Milestones to Freedom with David Peterson, Part 2

hey there thank you so much for joining today with Marilyn and Sarah have you ever had your feelings hurt you're like duh of course I have have has anyone ever said an unkind word to you yeah um have you ever been driving and somebody was rude you're like hello we're human Sarah why are you asking these very human obvious questions because I want to encourage you that today we have a guest David Peterson and and he is a really amazing person to help us in navigating being hurt having unkind things said to us what do we do with that and you're like well you know we forgive it but but and sometimes those are simple little things seemingly but sometimes there's some bigger issues where you know maybe we've had a family member or you know memories scared from something in our childhood um as a teenager whatever I mean there are things that we are Hur with and today's interview is going to really help you with those those issues and overcoming some of those hurdles so thank you for joining and I want to give a special shout out to our partners partners thank you for helping us to cover the Earth with the word and connect everyone to the heart of God and here's a really cool testimony Arisha called to thank our ministry for always giving her a seed of hope during trying times I love that I love that we get to number one encourage and number two to lift your faith and help with giving you hope and so thank you thank you so much whatever the needs are in your life hop on the phone get on the website we would love to pray for you and in just a moment we're joining the interview with David Peterson and my daughter Isabelle bowling is also joining on this interview and I believe it will be very very encouraging to you so as you watch this interview you're going to read and hear about our book that that David is promoting with journey to forgiveness now available the road to wholeness healing from trauma the first book from Sarah and Isabelle bowling through a unique fiction and non-fiction approach the road to wholeness looks at the story of the Good Samaritan through the lens of both modern allegory and foundational Bible teachings come to understand that Jesus still heals broken hearts exchanges ashes for beauty and provides healing for the shattered places in your life learn to recognize the history of your trauma so your healing can begin get yours today hey there I want to encourage you to download our app on your phone you're like really serious absolutely we have some amazing things on our app really convenient for you we have today's program we have opportunities to pray for you we have places for you to give and partner with us we also have things that'll help you know what events are coming up and group tours that you could join as well as a Bible reading plan daily Bible reading plan this app is super relevant very convenient and super helpful for your daily living with Jesus hey there thank you for joining today with Marilyn and Sarah Oh and Isabelle hello hello this is my daughter Isabel we're so excited to have you with us today we have an amazing guest for you David Peterson I'm so excited David thank you for joining us totally happy to have you here thanks for letting me come to be with you totally stoked and not everybody in our audience knows you so can you give us like a little quick thumbnail and then we'll jump in I love this book journey to forgiveness woohoo well I'm a pastor in Chesapeake Virginia I've done some um chapy work with firey AMS and police um as well as hospice a number of years part-time as a Hospice chaplain and uh I've encountered a number of folks over the years with forgiveness issues and um just uh had had the idea always wanted to pull something together and uh managed to do that with journey to forgiveness 21 Milestones to Freedom yeah that seems like a lot of Milestones how do you not choke on all of those that's rude right you're like I'm not supposed to say that but I started off with three the three my pastor had passed on to me and um over the years as I just sought the Holy Spirit and sought the spirit's help and holy spirit just helped me along the way and I came realize there's actually additional and they probably 21 just seemed like a good place to stop right but when you're former um unforgiveness junkie or you wrestle with forg unforgiveness I guess I should be like one of those folks I am Dave I'm a I'm a Believer in Jesus Christ who wrestles with unforgiveness wow and U the energy um that comes along with that so um 21 there's probably more but I find that going back day in and day out um sometimes you're working one of those milestones and you're like I think I need something more and so but I've triy to write it in a way that in will welcome people to jump in on the journey wherever they happen to be yeah and one thing I love about your book is it's so practical because you start with a question or a statement and then you give us scriptures to read questions to ask yourself and at the end you give just a simple prayer and I kind of see this as almost a like you could read it every morning for someone who's really struggling with unforgiveness and it's very practical and if you are dealing with unforgiveness um I encourage you pick up a copy of this book we want you to get it and not only get it for yourself get it for a small group everybody struggles with unforgiveness you need to get this book multiple copies for your small group for your church because it will change your life and it will lead people on their own journey to forgiveness and when you receive forgiveness and when you step out of the spirit of unforgiveness what happens with your ability to hear from the Lord you know uh when we do that what I found is uh not just for myself but also for others it uh as we release that it allows the spirit that much more room to get in and brings that much more freedom now first off we not the ones who are able to unsaddle ourselves from this only the spirit can break that off Isaiah 61 and uh Luke 4 Jesus talked about that the spirit of The Sovereign Lord is upon me because I have come to preach good news to the captives and so um it open um the chains break the chains and so it's amazing he does it all not only only does he break it off but as we walk in that he's going to have more and more room to work in our lives um as I prayed with folks as they've desired to come into a deeper experience with the Holy Spirit um as uh I've asked them are there areas of perhaps people that come to mind that take up a lot of energy that uh maybe need to forgive and I say yes as they even just take those Elementary steps in that that direction the Holy Spirit just comes in manifesting and bringing them new levels of peace and also is this not just about that it's also about being able to connect with our families our our parents our kids um and those who are close to us it allows for a deeper more authentic relationship with others and I think that's a really key thing because a lot of times that unforgiveness is a barrier right it's a it's it's a hurdle it's something an obstacle and maybe you're watching right now and you have some obstacles hurdles there somebody has something against you you've injured somebody you've hurt somebody and you've asked them to forgive you and you know didn't necessarily go the way you wanted but if there are some obstacles in your relationships hop on the phone get on the website we want to pray for you and really help you see God bring uh Redemption and to also overcome those obstacles some of those hurdles and you know David what would you say to somebody who has like triggers right so they've forgiven I've forgiven and then there's something that plinks me and it's like o I feel like I'm stuck back in it all over again what would you say to that you know it's a journey and a journey is going to have its treacherous times there you know on this journey of forgiveness there may be rocks that you bust an ankle on and we're going to have days where we feel like H man I I fell for that Temptation again and you do it's all right you're just going to be more time get back up brush yourself off get back in the word get back on the journey yeah yeah it's a challenge and but you know it's in us it's natural for us to hold resentment and to hold grudges and grievances but God doesn't call us to the Natural the discipleship journey is that of the supernatural where you allow God to work with you and discipleship is not always is pretty he's working something in us it's okay to have times where we stumble get back up go forward and do you think it gets easier the more you forgive it's hard to say if it gets easier sometimes you just find more about yourself and you know what self forgiveness is so important um sometimes we wrestle with self forgiveness and when we do that we put ourselves above the cross a above the finished work of Jesus Christ because if Jesus declares us forgiven how much more does he have to do on the cross we're never above that the pride always we fall for that Pride always tries to you know but well you know God could forgive this sin this sin for this other person but the truth of the matter is God forgives all of us and I think there's I've had people say to me what they did to me was unforgivable how do you how do you respond to that because I mean that's that's a hard thing when I hear that I'm like I mean what what and maybe we have you know viewers right now that are saying it's unforgivable what would you say to that you know inside of us and and of we want Justice and We crave Justice we sometimes look to the legal system and that's just what it is it's a legal system that we have and we cry out for justice but the truth of the matter is it as Believers we find justice as we experience God and God knows the whole story better than we do sometimes the person who violated us or hurt us um was perhaps violated or hurt very early in their life what we know is that the first 10 years of a person's life are so formative and really help to set a trajectory in that person's life and sometimes people encounter horrific things and sometimes hurt people hurt people but at the same time forgiving people are can be forgiving people yeah abut and forgiveness is for giving yeah it's not a gift it's a gift for ourselves yeah and I just encourage you you might be watching right now and and you're struggling with forgiveness to forgive we would love to pray for you hop on the phone get on the website truly it is a gift that you give yourself and also a gift you receive from God to give to others what does it mean to forgive what are the consequences of refusing to do so for your gift of $35 or more we will send you journey to forgiveness 21 Milestones to Freedom by David Peterson this hopeful book is perfect for anyone with the desire to overcome trauma find Freedom from unforgiveness and walk in healing with Christ we will also send you Sarah and Isabelle's book road to wholeness Marilyn's teaching CD Grace to forgive and our forgiveness scripture card for your gift of $120 we will include our healing quilt filled with healing scriptures this custommade quilt will keep you warm and look beautiful displayed in your home let your guard down be honest with yourself others and God find New Life today in the undeniable power of forgiveness call or click today for this life-changing resource are you tired are you broken do you feel far from God I want you to know that God is a god of forgiveness he says that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness this forgiveness is available to anyone anywhere at any time does this sound too good to be true can you imagine a God who loves you who sent his son to die for you and who wants to welcome you into his kingdom of love this is God's invitation to you today he loves you and wants to save you call out to him today pray now ask him to be the Lord of your life he is way for you welcome back to today with Marilyn and Sarah we are so excited that you're here joining us today and before we get into our segment I really just want to minister a word um the Lord was speaking to me the verse that says my sheep know my voice they know the voice of a stranger and the voice of a stranger they will not follow and there are many of you watching and there are very large decisions that are coming up and you feel a lot of anxiety about making this decision and the Lord really wants to say you know my voice and you know the voice of a stranger and the voice of a stranger you will not follow so have confidence in my voice have confidence in your ability to walk with me forward and if you need prayer to make good decisions to hear the voice of the Lord better I want you to call right now we want to pray for you go on our website leave a prayer request we love to pray with you and we want to join you in your decision-making and we are joined here today with David Peterson we're so excited that you're here um and you were sharing that you had a story about walking and surrounding yourself with scripture and with people who forgive can you share us with that story um one of the one of the things I found really helpful and it's um one of the 21 Milestones to um freedom and uh one of those is to surround yourself with scriptures that speak of forgiveness and uh literally take those scriptures and there's some great scriptures out there just take those those scriptures if you need to put it on your mirror in your bathroom um put it on your refrigerator I know there's a scripture on the refrigerator I I'll learn to memorize it fast you know times I'm going in and out of that place um and have those scriptures because remember as we go about the business of forgiveness and walking this forgiveness Journey out this is spiritual warfare and there's no better way to uh be on that than to have those words in front of you um I know a guy who would take scriptures and put it on the inside visor of his car so that way when he was at a stoplight might just pull the visor down look at the scripture put it back up but when you're an unforgiveness junkie like me um I need to have those scriptures in front of me um and of course one of the most powerful ones is from The Lord's Prayer forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us um that's that's Jesus is making very clear in that particular passage that there are going to be times when we are trespassed against and so it's a great prayer also another Milestone is uh surround yourself with stories of incredible uncommon forgiveness um in the book I talk a little bit about Corey ten Boom clearly one of God's generals so many stories but you know what I encourage you to become a student of forgiveness intentionally look for the script the stories about forgiveness you will find them they are out there but you have to be looking for them so have a a particular prescription uh that you're you're looking like glasses have lenses where you're looking specifically for forgiveness stories um you asked one of my one of my favorite forgiveness stories is actually very very personal it's really hard for me to share but I'd really like to take it the opportunity yeah please do so my 19-year-old nephew Tom um incredible love for life 6'6 he was uh seven years younger than myself so he and I were raised together I'm the youngest of five but he was the first born of my oldest sister Karen and so he and I were kind of raised together in some ways he was almost was more like a little brother to me we spent that much time together um Tom had a tremendous heart to help people loved the Lord so much with all of his heart um Tom was on a Southern California freeway and unfortunately his life was taken because of an a a drunk driver a 25y old woman who uh uh very unfortunate had her own Brokenness and her own hurt and was self-medicating with alcohol and um inside of me I I was just raging I was just so hurt and so broken and I went to my sister Karen and uh Tom's mom and I said what are you going to do and she said I'm going to forgive her wow I said you're going to forgive her she saides I can't bring Tom back but I also can't live with the long-term effects of unforgiveness I'm going to have to turn this over to God well how are you gonna do how are you gonna make it Karen says I don't know but I'm GNA have to turn it over to the Lord and just ask him to show me how to go forward it's a very very personal story um but maybe even in your own family you have folks who you see as Heroes of the faith and I'll tell you what that day I heard that and as I continue to encounter Karen and um I know that there are days that are especially more painful than others for her that happened um probably uh about almost 30 years ago now but yet uh God bless her she just keeps going forward and she's a hero to me yeah in what that means to walk that out live that out day by day yeah and some of you watching now you've lost kids and tragic deaths right I and it's right now you're feeling the memories and the emotions and we would love to pray for you hop on the phone get on the website um we want to pray that God would continue to heal you to help you to be present that you would sense God in this moment with you alongside and hop on the phone get on the website we want to pray for you with that you know Isabelle do you have something you want to add here yeah I know that there are many of you who have lost siblings as well I think of you know Tom was like a sibling to you and the Lord wants to bring healing to you and forgiveness to you as well so I would encourage you if you've lost a sibling the Lord wants to minister to your heart get on the phones go on the website we want to join with you as you pray for the Lord to bring forgiveness and Reconciliation as we kind of come to an end is there like if there is one one step like if I have unforgiveness what would be my first step to kind of move in this journey I I would say that step is probably just to acknowledge that what you encountered was real but God's power to um bring wholeness to your life is that much more real you can't walk that out by yourself it's going to take having him walk side by side um forgive us as pastors and counselors or the times we've ever said you know well you just have to forgive and get over it yeah um but there really is Imagine uh the opportunity to discover whole new self and the joy that is there for you as uh you move forward no it's it's not easy um it's kind of like going to the gym and uh you know we're just learning that forgiveness is a a new kind of uh developing new muscles inside of us um is on a emotional as well as a faith side yeah and I think to trusting God leaning into God and saying to God I don't know how to do this you know I know I should and I'm supposed to do this but I don't know how to walk that out and so I think whatever the the struggle is for you with forgiveness I just encourage you to hop on the phone get on the website we would love to pray for you and of course grab your copy of Journey to forgiveness this would be a great resource for a bible study this would be a great resource um for a book club this would be a great resource for you to kind of do as a journal uh you can kind of walk through it you know day by day this would be a powerful resource for you so hop on the phone get on the website grab a couple of copies you might have some friends or some family members who could benefit from a little bit of forgiveness in their life so we know that God can help you and remember this I just say to you the trauma and the things that have hurt you are not more powerful than God's presence in love to redeem and to repair and to restore you nothing is impossible for God what does it mean to forgive what are the consequences of refusing to do so for your gift of $35 or more we will send you journey to forgiveness 21 Milestones to Freedom by David Peterson this hopeful book is perfect for anyone with the desire to overcome trauma find Freedom from unforgiveness and walk in healing with Christ we will also send you Sarah and Isabelle's book road to wholeness Marilyn's teaching CD Grace to forgive and our forgiveness scripture card for your gift of $120 we will include our healing quilt filled with healing scriptures this custommade quilt will keep you warm and look beautiful displayed in your home let your guard down be honest with yourself others and God find New Life today in the undeniable power of forgiveness call or click today for this life-changing resource we just finished taping an amazing program with David Peterson David would you please pray for our viewers thank you I'd be honored Come Holy Spirit release the power of the Kingdom right here right now and into the lives of every single viewer watching today you know the pain you know the difficulty they've experienced you know the offenses and how they've been wronged but thank you Lord that you your triumphant cry from the cross father forgive them for they know not what they do thank you Lord for your words of Mercy to us thank you for your healing your power especially for the power of the Resurrection your words because I live you too shall live and I am the resurrection and the life bring each person into complete wholeness now in Jesus mighty name amen amen amen and we're just so so happy that you joined us on this interview on this program so thank you again and again and we're thankful for you joining us as well because we really want you to walk in freedom freedom from unforgiveness as well as victory and so I just encourage you if you have a need in your life and you're like well you know I think this is too small or you know this seems like insurmountable too big no matter what the need is we want to pray for you so hop on the phone get on the website and of course grab your copy of Journey to forgiveness a powerful resource to help you live in forgiveness [Music]