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Speaker 1: Life Audio.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional. We're so glad to have

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Speaker 2: you as a listener. Today's topic is the Promise that

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Speaker 2: teaches us to forgive. We'll be right back with a

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Speaker 2: brief message from our sponsor. The Promise that teaches us

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Speaker 2: to Forgive Written by Laura Bailey Read by Laura Bailey.

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Speaker 2: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it

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Speaker 2: will be the sign of the covenant between me and

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Speaker 2: the Earth Genesis nine thirteen in IV. I'll never forget

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Speaker 2: one of the first times I experienced the heartache of

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Speaker 2: someone breaking their promise. As I think back to the

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Speaker 2: day my friend gave away the seed of the lunch

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Speaker 2: table that had been promised to me, it seems so trivial.

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Speaker 2: While I've moved on from the past adolescent hurt, the

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Speaker 2: reality is that the painful feelings of broken promises and

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Speaker 2: unmet expectations are present in adulthood. Unfortunately, the stakes are

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Speaker 2: much higher than eating lunch alone. A breach of confidence

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Speaker 2: can lead to family tensions, severed relationships, and future mistress

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Speaker 2: of people. As an adult, I long for the simplicity

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Speaker 2: of recess drama, where misplaced trusts held little consequence recently,

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Speaker 2: a close friend I confided in let slip some details

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Speaker 2: of our conversation to a group of ladies. I specifically

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Speaker 2: asked that she keep our conversation between us, and she

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Speaker 2: assured me that she could be trusted. So when later

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Speaker 2: that week, a mutual friend sent a text that read,

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Speaker 2: I'm so sorry to hear you're having a hard time.

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Speaker 2: I'll be praying for you, my initial response was not

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Speaker 2: one of gratitude but grievance. I was deeply hurt by

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Speaker 2: my friend's inability to keep her lips. That however, I

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Speaker 2: decided not to say anything to her, but by my

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Speaker 2: frosty hello at church the following Sunday, she knew something

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Speaker 2: wasn't right between us. She invited me to coffee and

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Speaker 2: apologized profusely for her carelessness. She genuinely didn't mean to overshare.

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Speaker 2: I could tell that she was genuinely sorry, But even

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Speaker 2: as I looked into our tear pricked eyes, my heart

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Speaker 2: remained hardened towards her. We left our time together with

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Speaker 2: a hug, and I said that all had been forgiven,

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Speaker 2: but truthfully I was still feeming inside. While we were

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Speaker 2: at the coffee shop, a summer storm came through, leaving

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Speaker 2: a curtain of fresh steam, inescapable puddles, and a beautiful rainbow.

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Speaker 2: On my drive home, I couldn't help but feel like

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Speaker 2: the rainbow was following me. I know, God, I know,

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Speaker 2: I muttered into the air. One of the first stories

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Speaker 2: we learned as children is about Noah and the Ark

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Speaker 2: and God sending a rainbow, a reminder that God keeps

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Speaker 2: his promises. I begin to think about the first rainbow.

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Speaker 2: I wondered if he looked to this guy Noah question

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Speaker 2: whether God would keep his promise and never fled the

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Speaker 2: earth again. Scripture often speaks of God's covenants with his people,

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Speaker 2: his verse being that he would send a savior to

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Speaker 2: save us from our sins. We see the fulfillment of

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Speaker 2: the promise through Jesus, and every rainbow we see is

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Speaker 2: an affirmation that God is faithful in keeping all of

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Speaker 2: his promises. I began to recall the countless times I

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Speaker 2: hadn't kept God's commandments, my word, or broken a promise.

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Speaker 2: Yet God is quick to forgive me and even promises

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Speaker 2: to remember my sin against him no more Hebrews A twelve.

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Speaker 2: If God, the creator of the universe, can forgive my

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Speaker 2: many acts of disobedience, both unintentional and intentional. Who am

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Speaker 2: I to withhold forgiveness from my friend? I was stewing

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Speaker 2: over a few misspoken words when my own civil nature

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Speaker 2: was the reason why God sent his son Jesus to

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Speaker 2: cleanse me of my sin, the ultimate act of love

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Speaker 2: and full redemption. I could forgive my friend because I'd

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Speaker 2: been forgiven, and when I'd been unfaithful to God, he

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Speaker 2: continued to be faithful. It can be difficult to move

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Speaker 2: past her, especially at the hands of someone we trust.

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Speaker 2: There will be times when forgiveness is appropriate, but reconciliation

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Speaker 2: may not be due to the need for boundaries or distance.

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Speaker 2: But let me encourage you. Let us live out the

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Speaker 2: words of Paul and Romans twelve eighteen. If it is possible,

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Speaker 2: as far as it depends on you, live at peace

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Speaker 2: with everyone intersect faith in life. How does remember God's

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Speaker 2: faithfulness to his promise even when we are unfaithful? Help

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Speaker 2: you when you struggle to forgive others for further reading

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Speaker 2: prayer when you don't feel like for giddy and Hebrews

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Speaker 2: eight twelve.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to today's devotional. If you liked what

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