Bible Discussion Thread

I was wondering can a former thief repent of his past sins and pay back the people that he stole from? and how can he do this in a graceful manner without revealing that he stole from them? or causing problems or causing people to judge him negatively. How can a former thief pay back for his sins without revealing himself?

AliBaba

If you are a Christain than let the spirit of God lead you in all manner. God's spirit will lead you in the right way, and want you need to do on this matter, when you get saved you naturally want to make things right. Brother Adam told the truth, if you do send or try to make things right (the wrong) than take some time pray and seek God's face on this matter before you act in the flesh. Flesh can cause more damage than it can fix and it may put you in a place you don't want to be.

God Bless

stay prayed up and ready to go up

cowboy

Alibaba Took some time to pray and review what you said, you may be surprised if you send in a letter

I.E. money order or your choice and state that you apologize for what you did and your a Christian and,

endeavoring to make right some wrongs so here's part of my wrongs without giving details.

Great witness and they Will be surprised more than angry, I would be. Food for Thought

Hi Alibaba First God Bless brother welcome to the household, second your sins are forgiven by God through Christ

part of that deliverance is forgetting the past and walking in the new creation in you Christ, but idf what your thinking

about doing is tugging at your heart God will show you a way. See you in the Air.

Hi Alibaba Get addresses money Orders made to cash, just an idea.

Hi AliBaba,

I just noticed your question and would be happy to share my input based on what you shared.

If you are a Christian (Christ follower) and have genuinely asked God for forgiveness I believe you are completely forgiven and that you should also forgive yourself and release any burden you carry.

However, it my opinion that you should do what you can to right wrongs, but its usually not possible to completely make up for sins (wrongs) you have commited against people that hurt them. Even if someone stole from someone and secretly sent it back anonymously after a period of time, you still never know how much harm and problems and stress that may have caused that person. I believe in doing as best as you can and making things right to the best of your ability. And I believe the next best thing one can do is forgive others. It's possible some of the victims may have known or suspected it was you and it's possible some have forgiven you.

You probably know what it's like to be hurt, and I think the next best thing you can do is 'pay it forward' by forgiving anyone who has stolen or done wrong to you in some way, either in the past, present, or future. It would show great growth and maturity to do that. I will share the Bible references related to this that come to mind:

Matthew 18:21-35 the parable of the unforgiving servant.

Matthew 6:14, Matthew 7:2

It seems your questions are about forgiveness: of others forgiving you, you forgiving yourself, and you forgiving others. This is my opinion based on what you shared and I hope you find it useful. God bless...

So I will say it like this: If I have no job, and not enough money to pay back someone, how can I do it? And if the person that I owe the money to is gone already or moved, how will I pay them back?

For example if I worked for a company for a long time, But added additional hours to my timesheet which i didn't do or if I was lazy at a job and took breaks when I should have been working How can I pay back those companies which I am no longer employed at? and don't really have a good rapport with. And I don't even have any idea how much overtime I stole? And since these are big companies, they have already switched ownership at times as well. And How do i pay companies back for all the so called "FREE" stuff at work, you know free stick it notes or free keyboard or whatevers? IN my defense, I got lazy at the job because I saw no potential for advancing my career. So I started to study at the job for a better career. But sometimes, I'll admit I also took breaks to go to a bakery to eat.

Though I have been forgiven of my thievery, I really would like to be able to find a way to return the funds. For I do not have good sleep because I am kind of continually reminded of my past mistakes. and I don't feel good about my past mistakes.

And if I follow Christ from a long distance while hating and reviling him at times and possibly blaming him for stuff that I myself am at fault for but can't see because I follow from a DISTANCE, can you pray for me to make peace with GOD? Cause I really need to resolve my issues.

I will pray for you Alibaba.

Alibaba First and great commandment is First to learn to love God with all your heart soul mind and strength,

and love your neighbor as yourself. That being said get your walk together first then you can help others.

Hello, you can't pay anyone back if you don't have money to do so. Definitely do not get into further debt to do so. When you're back on your feet, have food, shelter for yourself and have the funds to payback then that is the time. If people move you either do research to find them and risk mailing money to the wrong person, or you accept that you can't pay it back. You can pay someone else you don't owe money to or give to a charity.

Link - This page has a list of growth steps I thought were helpful if your goal is to draw closer to God. It sounds like you could benefit from forgiving God, in addition to yourself, and others. God bless...