Texts of Mediation: 
Proverbs 15:1-2 Soft words turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness
Matthew 18:21-22 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Songs of Mediation: 

 I need you to survive by Hezekiah Walker

God is a healer by Kurt Carr & The Kurt Carr Singers

Last year we focused on things that were external but this year I wanted us to focus on ourselves. Working out the kinks and the things within us that hinder us from reaching our full potentials. This week our topic and focus in mending broken relationships and accountability and forgiveness. This is so important to our mental and spiritual growth. There are texts all over the Bible on forgiveness and why we should forgive others. God wanted to show us how important it is, if we are to be apart of his kingdom. We may think that we are over something when someone wrongs or hurt us but most of the times, it’s unresolved issues that stay with us that we carry into future situations and relationships. Some of us were scarred by a lover, some of us were betrayed by a close friend, some of us were abandoned by our parents. It is vital to our lives that we deal with these issues and forgive the people that hurt us. What I’ve learned is that, forgiving someone doesn’t mean that you are excusing what happened. However it is not holding that person in the prison of your heart. It’s releasing them. Another thing that I’ve learned is that forgiveness should only be given to the person if they repent. If they admit that they were wrong. Now you may not always get that. There are people who’ve wronged us and either don’t see the error in what they did or aren’t sorry for what they did. Now you are not obligated to forgive them, however it must be readily available to them if ever and when ever they are ready to say they’re sorry. In other words, you have resolved it in your heart already and you’re not walking around with hatred for that person or holding a grudge against them. Another thing I want us to focus on is accountability. Many of us, automatically take on the victim role before analyzing the situation entirely. What I’ve tried to do in the last few years is check myself. Whenever I get into a confrontation or something of the sort, I always ask myself, what did I do to contribute to the situation? What could I have done better and or said better to diffuse the situation. My mom used to say to my sisters and I all the time as we were growing up, “soft words turneth away wrath”or “you get more bees with honey than vinegar “. It’s funny because I hated hearing it all the time back then but now that I’m older, I hear it in the back of my head whenever I’m having issues with someone. Now that doesn’t mean that I don’t get angry and I don’t express that, but I also recognize that even if someone is wrong, I don’t have to stoop to that level and end up being just as wrong as they are by my reaction. This week as we pray and fast, I want us to think about the relationships that we’ve had over the years that ended or were severed. I understand that everyone does not deserve to be apart of our lives but I want to challenge each one of you to mend a relationship that is broken. Reach out to someone and work it out. Apologize to someone who you have a grievance with, listen with an open heart to their perspective. This does not mean that everything is going to be fixed and that it will be as if nothing happened, but it means that we are opening the prison doors and letting them free. Freeing the space in our heart that’s filled with hurt, anger, resentment, malice etc, so that we have room to receive love, happiness, joy, kindness and prosperity. I pray that you all had a blessed and productive week. Happy Friday 💋