Welcome to the Dire-Rie of a Sane Black Woman. I'm Marie, your host. This is season two, episode six, and today we're stepping into a segment God has been nudging me about. It's been unfolding and pretty quietly spiritually. I've been reflecting on this. And so I wanted to launch this segment within the series called The Legal Release. And this isn't just about forgiveness, it's about jurisdiction, it's about spiritual authority, it's about what happens when we release the case to heaven and allow justice and mercy to move together. But let me be clear: I have not arrived. I'm not walking in perfect forgiveness and I'm walking through it, right? And um, this is not necessarily a teaching from the mountaintop, it's a reflection from the battlefield. So if you've ever struggled to forgive, you're not alone. I've tried to forgive those who hurt me in the past and those who continue to hurt me on a daily basis. And I'm not speaking metaphorically, I mean literally. There are people who wake up with one goal. How can I make Marie's life a living hell today? How can I block her? How can I hurt her? How can I silence her? How can I obstruct the progress of the destined state? And while I know the Bible says to forgive 70 times seven, I've had to ask myself, is that even humanly possible? Or is it just an aspiration to be like Christ? Sometimes I believe I've forgiven, but then I still want justice to be served. And that puts me in a very real and very spiritual tension. And so, because on one hand, it might seem like I'm not obeying scripture. On the other hand, scripture itself seems to wrestle with this paradox, right? So we have scriptures that say, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. But we also have scriptures that say, Vengeance is mine and I will repay, says the Lord. So, how do you reconcile that? How do I reconcile that? How do we reconcile that? Especially when the same people who say, Let it go, let it go, let it go, and forgive, as you can tell, I'm not a singer, but forgive, move on, are the same ones who continue to mock, who continue to troll, and who continue to attack. And these people are the same ones who also say you deserve the targeting, you deserve what's happening, and that it's God's judgment. And so, if they can say that, how can they expect to receive forgiveness? Because they're actually cheering on judgment. So I actually don't believe, and I've said this before, I don't believe that God is what's happening here is God's judgment. I believe that this is demonic, I believe that this is a demonic attack, and so you know, that's that. And everyone, and when when I say people, you know, that are saying let it go, forgive, and the the constant attacks, it's not just one group, right? So, you know, you have Christians, you have people that aren't Christians, you have perfect strangers, you have familiar faces, you have people that are potentially, you know, family, you know, blood relatives that are actually partaking in this, you know, whole situation. And so, and then when I say this situation, right, so like forgiveness, at least for me, is not only current events, right? It's also things that has occurred in my past, things in my past that I believe that I'm still healing from, that are still fractured, and wounds that I need to fully heal from, because with fractured wounds and with unhealed, you know, trauma, that is an easy way for the enemy to get in, to get into those tra to get into those cracks and to actually try to attack you, you know, and so it just festers and then it just basically goes out of control. And so the the the pattern is clear, right? And the pain is real. And so when I talk about forgiveness, I'm not talking about erasing the offense per se. I'm talking about releasing the case to God, right? There's a scripture that says, cast your cares on the Lord because his burden is light and his yoke is easy. And so I'm talking about releasing the case to God. And I'll talk about a little bit more as we go along about the benefits of releasing things to God. And so that release doesn't mean the absence of judgment, right? And it doesn't necessarily mean judgment either. It just means surrendering the outcome to the court of heaven, right? Casting your cares on God, releasing it to God. That's surrender, that's surrendering to God. Now, God may choose to remove the sin, you know, whether it's your sin or whether it's someone else's sin, someone that is sinning against you, as far as the east is from the west, or he may not. And we're at the mercy of the courts of heaven. And I all I ask is that may his will be done, may God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And so this isn't a sermon, this isn't a Bible study, this is my diary, right? The name of the podcast is The Dire-Rie of a Same Black Woman, which is a play on the word diary. And my this is my sincere journey as someone who's working out her salvation daily, right? I know that I haven't arrived, and I know that the word of God says that the work that He has started in me, he will complete it faithfully. And so I, you know, I know that while I believe God has commissioned me to start a Christian ministry, this particular platform or docuseries, the dire-rie of a same black woman, is not my Christian ministry, right? It is a docuseries. I am documenting what I'm experiencing as a targeted individual. With that being said, I'm a Christian, I believe in God, and so part of my journey and how I've been getting through this is through the word of God and through prayer. And I've been a Christian all my life, and so part of me, as you're getting to know me as an individual, you will hear me reference scripture, reference God, and things like that. I'm not necessarily preaching, but you know, if this can actually encourage someone, if this can actually help someone, if this resonates with someone, that's great. But I also think what I'm sharing as far as like my pain, my struggles, my experiences, will also help. So in turn, this is also ministry, right? Not necessarily Christian ministry, but it can be, right? Because, you know, I believe that, you know, this journey, like this is my documentation, and you know, God has been prompting me. He's prompted me to start, and you know, this he's been prompting me to start this docuseries, and so you know, I'm still healing, I'm still going through this, right? So, like the attacks have not stopped, people have not stopped at attacking me, they have not stopped targeting me, and so but I believe that God can use, you know, the imperfect, like the in the imperfect person to confound the wise, right? I know that there's a lot of how can I say it, naysayers, critics, oh, you know, she's this, she's that, like, you know, she shouldn't be talking about God, like, you know, test the spirit, whatever. Look, whatever. All I know is that God has commissioned me. I believe that God has called me to ministry. Um, ministry is not something that I would have chosen in a thousand years. Like, I love God, I love the Lord, but I never thought I would be doing ministry in any shape or form. And I never even thought that I would be having like a docusaries documenting me being a targeted individual. So, you know, sometimes things happen and you don't even know what God is using it for. And so I'm just basically being obedient to the Holy Spirit because, again, I've been nudged to start my ministry. And so, you know, my Christian ministry. So, and it it's been for quite some time now. And so, you know, I believe just as God is going to use the dire-rie of a sane black woman, you know, I believe he's gonna use my hurt, my pain, the humiliation, the slander, the gopssip, the gossip, the the doxing, past mistakes, current mistakes, the unforgiveness, you know, to heal me and to minister to me, but as a result, I believe that's going to also help others. And I believe that, you know, this this platform, although it was not necessarily created as ministry, it can be a form of ministry to others. And so while the primary purpose of the documentation is to document, but the side effects or the you know, the end result would be healing, awareness, community, and so forth and so on. And so I think that you know this is a resource, and then this would also help facilitate justice as well, like spiritual, like in the spiritual realm, and in in in in and also in the real world. And I don't want to use the the word real world because the spiritual world is also real, so forgive me for saying that, but let's just say the natural world, right? And so I say all this, and and um this is a long introduction, but again, we're gonna we're gonna get back to talking about forgiveness and unforgiveness. But I I just wanted to kind of you know get some things out in the open basically to give more clarity as to, you know, what the purpose of my documentation, my docuseries is, and so forth, and where I feel like God is leading me. And so I believe that ministry starts with the individual, and I've had, you know, spiritual leaders, you know, that you know, I've confided in, and they know what I've been going through, and they have also kind of said the same thing to me. Yeah, like you know, God is gonna use this, and that, you know, ministry starts with you, and so I I believe that. And so ministry starts with the individual and God is working it out in real time, right? And so, you know, I think that God is basically with everything that has happened to me, that God is gonna use it for my good and for his ultimate glory. And I just wanna reintroduce myself to you all. I'm Marie, and I'm destined for greatness. And I have launched my ministry. It's called Destined for Greatness Ministries, and I believe that the work that God has started in me, He will complete it faithfully. And what I'm documenting here on the dire-rie of a same black woman is ministry as well, as I just basically demonstrated, right? If you think about it, a diary is in the real sense, right? It's is about it's about documenting, right? But it's about reflecting, it's about healing, and that's what I'm doing here. And so, with that said, I'll be sharing some scripture, I'll be sharing encouragement here and there, and you know, this is part of my reflection, this is part of my healing, this is part of my encouragement or exhortation to others, and it's part of my spiritual unpacking, right? So it's a layered release, it's part of who I am, no matter how imperfect I may be, no matter my past mistakes, no matter what I, you know, past mistakes that I've made in the you know uh distant past, you know, or you know, recently, or things that I continue to make. This things that are in or things I think that in some people's minds that I shouldn't be doing, right? I know that again, there are a lot of critics, people that are very judgmental, judging the book by its cover, going off of gossip, and a lot of other different things, but you know, I'm choosing not to entertain that, and I keep my eye on God. And so I know that the word of God says nothing can separate us from him, and so that includes my sins, and so I know that sin shouldn't keep me from the calling that God has for me and praising him or making references to him. Sin can't keep me from praising God, sin can't keep me from making references to his word, and I also know that there are a lot of people who are waiting for me to fail. As if what I'm doing, what I'm going through is not bad enough. They're waiting for me to fail. And so, and a lot of these people, there are Christians. There are the Christians who should be praying for me, but they're actually praying against me, praying for my demise, praying for my downfall. And I find that very interesting. But I release it all to God, I release everything, everyone. You know, this doesn't mean that I won't speak about it at all. It means that I won't hold a grudge or think or take things into my own hands, right? I'm gonna continue to document, I'm gonna continue to come on here and provide updates as to what's going on. You know, I'll selectively provide updates about certain things. Certain things I'll provide in real time, other things I may have to wait to provide, you know, information as to what's going on for a variety of reasons, but I will continue to document, right? Releasing it doesn't mean that I won't continue to speak out. So, but I will do things as God leads me. I will pray and I will obey and I will lead, I will yield when necessary, and I will take action when necessary. As the Bible says, faith without works is dead. So, you know, there comes a time when we have to actually act and not just pray and pray and pray and pray. We have to, there comes a point where we have to take action and obey, and you know, delayed obedience is disobedience. And so, you know, I'm choosing to obey God with launching my Christian ministry, destined for greatness ministry, but I'm also choosing to obey God and launching this diary, this docuseries. You know, I believe that God also led me to speak out and to do this docuseries. And so, with all that being said, I want to begin in reflecting on the word forgiveness, right? Let's jump into the actual topic of the day. This was a very long introduction, but I felt like it was necessary for me to go through all of that. What is forgiveness? So let's start with clarity, right? So forgiveness isn't forgetting, it's not pretending, it's not silence, it's a spiritual transaction, a legal act of release that clears the courtroom of your soul. In Hebrew, the word nasa means to lift or carry away. In Greek, aphesis means to send away or to release. Also is another word which means to cancel a debt or to show grace. So forgiveness is how we remove spiritual residue and reclaim clarity. Matthew 6 says, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Psalms 103 says, as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Luke 17 says, if they sin against you seven times in a day, forgive them. But hold up, wait a minute. Let's look at this scripture more closely. Let's look at Luke 17, verse 3 to 4. And this is from the New Authorized King James Version, and this is in red front, which indicates that Christ is speaking here. So verse 3 says, Take heed to yourselves. If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times a day, and seven times in a day, turn again to thee, saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him. So basically the the first thing that I want to highlight, it's not just saying if your brother sins and he repents, you know, rebuke him. It's saying if he you heard it, like I read it word for word. If he sins against thee and he doesn't repent, you know, rebuke, rebuke him. And it's saying, if he does, then if he does repent, you know, forgive him. So it's not just if they sin and it's specifically if they sin against you, and it's also saying there's a condition here, right? Wait a minute. It's there's also a condition. So the condition is if he repents. Key word. So the Bible is not telling us to take unlimited abuse. He, you know, it's saying to forgive if they repent for the sin that they have committed against you. And repent is not only asking for forgiveness, it's to turn away from whatever it is that you're doing. In my case, the sin persists, right? The attacks, the targeting, whatever you may call it, it persists. There's no repentance, there's no apology, there's no acknowledgement. So I should be rebuking what's happening, and I should be rebuking those who are actually doing those things to me, right? So I technically don't have to forgive if I'm basing it on chapter three. Excuse me, if I'm basing it on verse three of this of Luke 17, right? Technically, I don't have to forgive. I can rebuke every single person or thing, you know, according to that chapter. But with all that being said, I'm still releasing everything. I'm releasing everyone to God, I'm releasing everyone to the courts of heaven, regardless if they stop, regardless if they repent, regardless if they ask for forgiveness. It's above me now. It's above me now. The situation and the accuser of the brethren is in better hands when I release it to God, and I'll also be better off for it. And that's because unforgiveness isn't just emotional, it's legal. And I'll tell you why. Unforgiveness gives the enemy permission to continue to accuse you, to continue to torment you, to continue to block breakthrough and bring up your past, bring up past mistakes, try to anchor you in your past, hold any little thing above your head, right? And so Matthew 18 tells the story of the unforgiving servant who was handed over to tormentors. Revelation 12 calls Satan the accuser of the brethren day and night. So I just want to take a moment here to read that passage, the full passage for Matthew 18, 21 to 35. This part of the scripture is titled The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. And this is actually, I'm reading from the NIV. And so verse 21 says, Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servant. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him 10,000 talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant fell on his knees before him. I count that, like just him falling on his knees, I count that as a form of repentance. So it says here in verse 26, the servant fell on his knees before him. Be patient with me, he begged, and I will pay back everything. The servant's master took pity on him, cancelled the debt, and let him go. But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. I don't know if I'm pronouncing that right. He grabbed him and began to choke him. Pay back what you owe me, he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, Be patient with me. I will pay you back. So here you see the first guy who owed money, he asked for forgiveness. He said, you know, be patient with me. And he was granted that patience, and his debt was canceled. So this other guy is also asking for him to be patient, which is also him essentially, you know, asking for forgiveness. It's a form of repentance, in my opinion. If I, you know, I'm making a parallel to Luke chapter 17. So the servant said, Be patient with me and I will pay you back. But he refused, and this is verse 30. But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. You wicked servant, he said, I canceled all that all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you? In anger, his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart. This is the word of the Lord, Matthew 18, 21 through 35. So essentially, when we hold on to offenses, we leave the courtroom door open, right? We give the enemy legal ground to operate and we delay heaven's intervention. Not because God is unwilling, but because we haven't released the case to him, right? So I mean, if I would continue to do like I see Paula's, you know, this is a very similar scripture to Luke uh chapter 17, but I believe that this scripture actually emphasizes there's still a condition, right? Because even though it's implied, because he he did ask for forgiveness and he asked for patience. But I think here there's like an emphasis on forgiveness, right? Lest you be tortured. So the man repented, the debtor repented, but I think here the emphasis is more on forgiveness lest you be tortured, which we don't really see in Luke 17. So releasing the case to heaven, I believe, is the right way to go. Forgiving, releasing the case to heaven. In my case, I'm saying, look, they don't have to repent, they don't have to turn away from what they're doing, they can continue to do what they're doing. I'm releasing it to God. God says, Cast your cares on me because my burden is light and my yoke is easy. And so I'm surrendering everything to God. When you release your case to heaven, forgiveness basically, then you're essentially transferring jurisdiction, right? Isaiah 41 says, present your case. Daniel 7 says, the court was seated and the books were open. Romans 12 says, Vengeance is mine, I will repay. So God is the judge, Christ is our advocate, and you in your situation, you're the witness in your own situation. So when you forgive, you're not saying it. Didn't matter or it didn't happen or it didn't hurt me. You're saying I trust that God will handle it. I trust, you know, that God is going to handle it in a better way than I ever could, right? You're removing the legal ground that the enemy would try to claim over you, and basically you're activating heaven's flow. So that basically releases you from any torment, any torture, anything that the enemy can try to do because otherwise you'll give them legal ground, right? The spiritual realm is all about legalities. Again, we are super natural, super and natural. Everything that happens in the natural realm is basically a reflection of what happens in the spiritual realm. So, you know, I'm releasing it to God. I'm not giving the enemy any legal ground in the spiritual realm or in the natural realm. And so, with all that being said, that doesn't mean that judgment won't come, right? And it doesn't mean that judgment will come. It just means that I'm no longer, as a person, as an individual, I'm no longer the one that's going to decide that, right? I'm surrendering the case to the court of heaven. I'm surrendering it to God. And whatever God chooses, through his mercy, justice, or both, is his will. So may his will be done. May his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And so in my personal situation, I've had to forgive while the offense continued, right? You all know that if you've been listening to this podcast for the past two seasons, you know that this is still happening. And it's, you know, uh in some instances, certain things have escalated, right? And so I've had to release people, I've had to release situations and things to God, right? Even though they were still happening, even though there were no, there was no repentance, even though I had every right to rebuke, you know, what was happening and, you know, who was actually sinning against me. You know, I I believe, I don't remember, I think it was in the last episode I mentioned about, you know, acting, you know, out of temperance and not using the fruit of the spirit. And so that's what can happen if you let, you know, the unforgiveness fester and things like that. But, you know, sometimes it's there's a time for everything, right? God says it's okay to be angry, but don't sin, right? So, you know, I I've I've had I've had to speak my truth while still healing, right? I'm still healing, I'm still coping with everything that is happening. And so, as a natural human being, if someone is harming you, if they're doing the unthinkable to you, you're going to be angry, you're gonna be upset, you're gonna actually want judgment, you're gonna want them to be held accountable. But, and it's okay to want that, but I think it needs to be aligned with what God and how God wants it to be done, right? And so if we can use those two scriptures, specifically Matthew and Luke, and see how it's done, then I think we'll be in alignment with the word of God. So here, through the grace of God, I'm actually learning to observe this more and more, and to try to apply forgiveness even when they don't repent. I know, you know, I highlighted the fact that if they repent, if they repent, you have to forgive them. But I'm saying in my case, because these people, they're not repenting. They are like, they're holding on, they're like, you know, they're like, yeah, we're gonna continue to attack you. They're not repenting. So look, I'm gonna release it to God anyways. And I know that, you know, things will work out. I believe that every time I forgive, heaven will move. And I know that it's not always instantly, but it's strategic, you know, it's according to God's plan, according to his purpose, according to his timing. And so, you know, I know at times, sometimes I might not feel at peace right away, I might be upset, but you know, I do believe that things are shifting and will shift as a result of releasing every offense, every hurt, every attack, every spiritual attack, every attack in the natural, every technological attack, every smear campaign, everything that has been done against me to harm me, to hurt me, to derail me, to obstruct me. You know, I'm releasing it to God. And the accuser as a result, lose they the accuser loses its grip. And I will fully get my voice back. And fully, God said he will give me double for my trouble, and in some instances, seven times. So I'm believing in that, and so you know, with with that said, I want to close with this declaration. I forgive not to excuse, but to release, I remove every legal ground, I shut the door to the accuser, I present my case in heaven's court, I trust Jehovah the judge, I lean on Christ the Advocate. Oh Heavenly Father, let justice speak, let healing come, let restoration begin in Jesus' mighty name. Amen, amen, amen. Teleo, Teleo, Teleo. Thank you for listening. This is the Dire-Rie of a Sane Black Woman. I am Marie, your host, and I will be back soon.