Colossians 2:13-14 (AMP) When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (worldliness, manner of life), God made you alive together with Christ, having [freely] forgiven us all our sins, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of legal demands [which were in force] against us and which were hostile to us. And this certificate He has set aside and completely removed by nailing it to the cross.

Did you know that when we keep track of those who wrong us, fail to match our level of compassion or love, or compare themselves to us, we’re essentially holding a debt against them? I am looking back over my memories, and it was this time fourteen years ago that my husband and I were preparing to take over as the pastors of our church. His parents had started our church in 1993, and we were going to step in January of 2013. We had no idea the amount of stress that was coming our way. It began on the first night when a couple approached us and said they would not be continuing, as they didn’t like the type of people they believed we would attract to the church.

Over the next few years, we would have more leave for different reasons. They either were submitted to his father and did not think we could take them to a new level in ministry, or they tried to use their money to persuade how things went. My husband and I worked at the time, so we did not need money from the church (still do not). What hurt us the most was when family left. We almost quit over that one. We actually had the words come out of our mouths and not a few moments later a great man of God (hundreds of miles away) called and said, “God said, don’t quit.”

It was not just people we had a reason to quit over; it was the money issues of the church as well. The overhead of the property was way too much for our congregation to handle. There is so much involved with the debt the church was in, that I cannot put it into writing. My husband and I took on a good portion of the debt. Even after the sale of the church property, there was nothing. It was by the goodness of other pastors that we have a place to worship today.

What about the debt we took on for the church? It took us ten years to pay it off. It was not our debt, should we demand it back? The answer is no. We talked about whether, once the church is in a better place, we should ask for it back someday. We could not do it. We could not use it against the church either. They owe us nothing. We serve with nothing expected in return. You may say that it depends on the amount of debt owed. Could you walk away from $100? Could you walk away from $5000? How about $100,000? We walked away from the last one. We decided to give it as free will offering. We did not say it was our tithe; it was above our tithe. It was the best decision we made. Prosperity is not about money; there is an abundance of joy and peace that money cannot buy.

Hebrews 12:2-3 (AMP) [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work]. Just consider and meditate on Him who endured from sinners such bitter hostility against Himself [consider it all in comparison with your trials], so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

When I hear people say they are owed something or they deserve something I grieve, because they are collecting a debt. This is not about wages, this is about how they are in their homes. I think about the high price Christ paid for me, and it turns me away from my selfish ways. I was pretty selfish at one point in my life, even after I got saved. God allowed something to shake me, giving me the choice to either fall into bitterness or grow closer to Him. It was my choice. I chose Him. That was eight years ago. I look back at that time, and I am so very grateful for the shaking and for burning those bridges (my plow like Elisha), so that I cannot go back. I got to share about the trials and what it brought me to. The lives that I have been able to touch for Christ because of it. The change it brought in me.

Romans 4:4-8 (AMP) Now to a laborer, his wages are not credited as a favor or a gift, but as an obligation [something owed to him]. But to the one who does not work [that is, the one who does not try to earn his salvation by doing good], but believes and completely trusts in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God). And in this same way David speaks of the blessing on the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed and happy and favored are those whose lawless acts have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered up and completely buried. “Blessed and happy and favored is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account nor charge against him.”

How can I hold a debt or demand anything from someone when my greatest debt has already been forgiven? Did we have questions and were upset when that debt came upon us? Yes, we are human and had human reactions. Who did we talk with our frustrations with? Each other and God. We kept it between us. We only share it afterward, because it’s a story of victory, not one of self-pity. Self-pity says there is a debt still owed. Why did we choose it this way? All to Jesus now. Jesus paid the ultimate debt; it is because of Jesus that we can live debt free. When we serve in our church and give to others, we expect nothing in return. We do not demand respect due our title in the church. We are who we are because of Christ and so very grateful for it. All to Jesus now. Nothing held back. My chains have fallen; I am free. What debts are you holding onto that you need to surrender to be free?

Abba Father, Creator, Lord of all, You are Marvelous and Wonderful. Your name is worthy of all honor and praise. There is none like You. Thank You for Your Son, our Redeemer. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, our Teacher. Thank You for setting the captives free. We have accepted Your free gift of salvation. We bring our anxious thoughts before You. Let peace guard our hearts and mind. We repent for taking stock of what we think we are owed. We are sorry for keeping debts where you told us to forgive. We accept the responsibility of taking our thoughts captive. We choose to believe the truth and reject the lies of Satan. We confess that when we kept debts, we were listening to the lies of the enemy of what we were owed. We commit to think on what is true, what is lovely, and what is right according to Your Word. We choose to commit a life focused on Jesus, all to Jesus now. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.