No One is Exempt. Be Quick About This.
Gary Keesee • June 23, 2020
It was Father’s Day, and I was frustrated.
We were visiting Drenda’s parents and going to church with them. We were running behind, and my son Tom, who was about four-years-old at the time, couldn’t find his shoes.
Not again. We don’t have time for this.
Tom was always losing his shoes. It was the last straw. A four-year-old should know better, right?
His big sister found his shoes, and we loaded into our van to get to church. Tom was in the backseat still crying. At the time, I remember thinking it was good for him. He needed to learn a lesson.
Man, the Holy Spirit completely nailed me as the pastor read from God’s Word and shared what it meant to be a good father. The Holy Spirit whispered to me, Gary, you have a problem. You have to deal with this.
Then, I was the one crying. And I was the first one at the altar. I knew I needed help. I knew I needed God to teach me how to be a good father.
Service ended, and we were waiting for the children to be released. I spotted Tom right away. He was jumping up and down in the crowd of kids.
He was looking for me.
When he spotted me, his little face just lit up, and he ran directly to me and hugged my leg and started crying again.
Now, this is where I always fall apart when I tell this story. Because even after all of these years, it’s still a painful reminder of the way I was.
Tom looked up at me and said, “Daddy, I’m sorry I lost my shoe.”
Then, Tom showed me what was in his little hand.
The little guy had drawn me a Father’s Day picture to try to make me happy, to try to make me happy with him.
I was so wrong.
I picked Tom up and hugged him and told him, “No, Tom. Your daddy is wrong. I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?”
This lesson I learned the hard way—ask for forgiveness and forgive—goes hand-in-hand with Lesson #4 from 6 Things I Learned the Hard Way, “You can’t do it alone.” Because people get on each other’s nerves. We don’t see eye-to-eye. We talk too much. We get things wrong. We do things that offend each other.
We must be quick to ask for forgiveness and quick to forgive.
Why?
Unforgiveness stops the Kingdom of God in your life. That alone should prevent forgiving others from ever being optional for you.
In Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus tells the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.
And if stopping the Kingdom from advancing in your life, separating yourself from God, and giving the enemy an advantage over you aren’t enough to make you go around forgiving everyone for everything, you should also know that unforgiveness is poison. It will eat at you from the inside out like a spiritual cancer. It will affect your health and every other relationship in your life whether you intend it to or not.
It’s life and death.
Jesus told us to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12) And He didn’t mean financial debts.
We’re expected to love others. There are multiple Scriptures that also tell us to feed our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless them that curse us, and do good to those who mistreat us. Why? Because if you can feed someone and do good toward them, it demonstrates that you have no unforgiveness toward them.
See, Satan doesn’t have to tempt you to murder someone or steal. He just has to get you offended and walking in unforgiveness. Then, he has you outside of love and outside of God’s legal jurisdiction. That’s why 1 Peter 3 says that husbands and wives need to walk in love with each other and not to let unforgiveness hinder their prayers.
We have the potential to pick up an offense every single day, multiple times a day—in traffic, with our family and friends, at our jobs, in line at the post office. In fact, offense is the most effective way the enemy pulls people out of the Kingdom of God’s legal jurisdiction. And he’s not going to stop trying. He’ll keep using people to try to get you walking in unforgiveness, and he’ll use you to offend others. No one is exempt. He even tried it with Jesus.
Don’t give in.
We were visiting Drenda’s parents and going to church with them. We were running behind, and my son Tom, who was about four-years-old at the time, couldn’t find his shoes.
Not again. We don’t have time for this.
Tom was always losing his shoes. It was the last straw. A four-year-old should know better, right?
So, I talked to Tom, and I was harsh. I didn’t use bad language, but I did say things like I can’t believe you always do this, and why can’t you just....
He cried.
My words and actions made Tom cry. He cried hard.
His big sister found his shoes, and we loaded into our van to get to church. Tom was in the backseat still crying. At the time, I remember thinking it was good for him. He needed to learn a lesson.
So, he went in to the kids area at church still crying, and I went in to the adult area without us saying a word to each other.
Remember, it was Father's Day?
Then, I was the one crying. And I was the first one at the altar. I knew I needed help. I knew I needed God to teach me how to be a good father.
Service ended, and we were waiting for the children to be released. I spotted Tom right away. He was jumping up and down in the crowd of kids.
He was looking for me.
When he spotted me, his little face just lit up, and he ran directly to me and hugged my leg and started crying again.
Now, this is where I always fall apart when I tell this story. Because even after all of these years, it’s still a painful reminder of the way I was.
Tom looked up at me and said, “Daddy, I’m sorry I lost my shoe.”
The little guy had sat through the whole church service thinking there was something wrong with him; that his daddy was mad at him; that he can never get things right. I had made him feel condemned because he misplaced his shoes.
I can’t even find my keys a lot of days and I made a four-year-old feel condemned.
Then, Tom showed me what was in his little hand.
The little guy had drawn me a Father’s Day picture to try to make me happy, to try to make me happy with him.
I was so wrong.
I picked Tom up and hugged him and told him, “No, Tom. Your daddy is wrong. I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?”
This lesson I learned the hard way—ask for forgiveness and forgive—goes hand-in-hand with Lesson #4 from 6 Things I Learned the Hard Way, “You can’t do it alone.” Because people get on each other’s nerves. We don’t see eye-to-eye. We talk too much. We get things wrong. We do things that offend each other.
We must be quick to ask for forgiveness and quick to forgive.
Why?
Jesus instructed us in Mark 11:22-25 to:
Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
Unforgiveness stops the Kingdom of God in your life. That alone should prevent forgiving others from ever being optional for you.
In Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus tells the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.
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 servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand 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. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.'
The servant's master took pity on him, canceled 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. 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, and I will pay you back.'
"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 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.”
You and I are represented by the servant who had all of his debt forgiven.
And, just like that guy, we have absolutely no excuse not to forgive others after all that we’ve been forgiven for.
If we don’t forgive, we separate ourselves from God and give Satan an advantage over us (2 Corinthians 2:10-11).
And if stopping the Kingdom from advancing in your life, separating yourself from God, and giving the enemy an advantage over you aren’t enough to make you go around forgiving everyone for everything, you should also know that unforgiveness is poison. It will eat at you from the inside out like a spiritual cancer. It will affect your health and every other relationship in your life whether you intend it to or not.
It’s life and death.
You must deal with it on both
sides. Ephesians 4:26-27 says not to let the sun go down on your anger or give the devil any such foothold or opportunity.
Say you’re sorry to those you’ve hurt or offended, and forgive others quickly when you’ve been hurt or offended, whether they’ve said they were sorry or not.
Jesus told us to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12) And He didn’t mean financial debts.
Romans 13:8-10 says,
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
We’re expected to love others. There are multiple Scriptures that also tell us to feed our enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless them that curse us, and do good to those who mistreat us. Why? Because if you can feed someone and do good toward them, it demonstrates that you have no unforgiveness toward them.
See, Satan doesn’t have to tempt you to murder someone or steal. He just has to get you offended and walking in unforgiveness. Then, he has you outside of love and outside of God’s legal jurisdiction. That’s why 1 Peter 3 says that husbands and wives need to walk in love with each other and not to let unforgiveness hinder their prayers.
We have the potential to pick up an offense every single day, multiple times a day—in traffic, with our family and friends, at our jobs, in line at the post office. In fact, offense is the most effective way the enemy pulls people out of the Kingdom of God’s legal jurisdiction. And he’s not going to stop trying. He’ll keep using people to try to get you walking in unforgiveness, and he’ll use you to offend others. No one is exempt. He even tried it with Jesus.
Don’t give in.
Ask God to help you overlook offenses and be quick to ask for forgiveness and forgive.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Excerpted from Gary's book 6 Things I Learned the Hard Way, a small book guaranteed to make a big impact on your life.
Reading Time 5 mins 59 secs – Most of us have asked it, sometimes out loud, sometimes in frustration: Are we there yet? Not just about a trip but about life. Calling. Direction. The future. The problem isn’t that you want clarity. The problem is thinking God will hand you the whole map up front. Proverbs instructs us to give careful thought to the paths our feet are on and to be steadfast in all our ways. This isn’t passive language. It assumes intentional movement, focused direction, and refusal to drift. Staying on the right path requires attention and discipline, not just belief. That means the focus isn’t anxiety about the destination; it’s attention to the path under your feet today. Look Straight Ahead Proverbs gives a simple instruction that’s easy to skip over: “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Do not turn to the right or the left” (Proverbs 4:25, 27a, NIV). So, what are you supposed to look at? You’re not meant to stare at fear, compare lanes, or obsess over what might happen way in the future. You’re meant to keep your gaze fixed where God is leading you now and to keep your foot from evil by refusing distractions that pull you off course. God’s Word is described as a lamp: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105, NIV). A lamp doesn’t show you everything. It shows you just enough, a few steps ahead. That’s exactly how God often leads, especially when you’re going somewhere you’ve never been before. That’s why Abraham’s story in Hebrews 11 is so relatable. Abraham obeyed and proceeded, even though he did not know where he was going. And if we’re honest, neither do we. When the Water Doesn’t Part Until Your Feet Touch It Joshua 3 shows what trusting God often looks like. The Jordan was at flood stage. It wasn’t a convenient crossing. But the instruction was still to move forward. And the river didn’t part while they stood on the bank thinking about it. It parted when the priests’ feet touched the water. God’s path often requires motion before you see the breakthrough. The same principle shows up with Peter. He didn’t walk on water; he walked on the word. When Jesus said “come,” that word carried him. You may feel like you’re facing impossible valleys, things that seem like they have no way around them, but if God said “go,” then the obstacle is not proof you missed Him. Sometimes, it’s part of the plan. Don’t Misread the Process Many believers get discouraged because they mistake the beginning for the end. They assume that if God spoke, it should happen immediately. But Scripture shows something else: God often leads with glimpses and dreams, not full explanations. He gives you enough to move and enough to hold on to. That’s why many people quit too early—not because they don’t love God, but because they don’t understand the process. Joseph: Dreams, Training, and the “Pharaoh Moment” Joseph had two dreams at 17. Then life took a hard turn: betrayal, slavery, false accusation, and prison. And yet later, Joseph said something shocking to his brothers: “It was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you” (Genesis 45:5b, NIV). That means the path, including the painful parts, was not random. It was preparation. Joseph couldn’t have gone straight to the palace. He needed training, exposure, language, protocol, and wisdom. God positioned him in the house of a high-ranking official so he could learn what he’d need later. Then came the moment everything was aimed toward: standing before Pharaoh. When that moment arrived, Joseph didn’t just interpret a dream; he had a plan. And the plan seemed good to Pharaoh. There’s a practical takeaway here: sometimes God develops you in places you don’t enjoy so you’ll have something to offer when the door opens. Your faithfulness now can become your credibility later. When You Don’t Like Your Job, You Might Be in Training It’s easy to say, “I hate my job.” But a hard season doesn’t automatically mean you’re off track. Sometimes the question is: Can God trust you where you are? Can He trust your integrity when nobody’s impressed? Can He trust your obedience when you don’t feel like it? Can He trust you to stay out of sin when it would be easier to compromise? This is the kind of training that happens before anyone knows your name. And when you consistently show up with excellence and bring solutions, your gift becomes visible. The value is sometimes found in the training season. You’re being prepared for a season to come, and everything you learned in that training season will not be wasted. Sometimes the First Step Is to Sit After a message about vision and purpose, people can get anxious: “I need to do something right now.” But sometimes wisdom says: be still and sit for a minute. Many people come to Christ carrying an “earth curse system” mindset of work, labor, perform, and strive because that’s all they’ve known. But learning the Kingdom takes time. Identity comes before assignment. Simple Ways to Stay on the Path This Week Fix your gaze. Stop demanding the full map. Stay faithful to today. Keep moving. Don’t get stuck replaying the lies of the enemy. Step in before you see it. Some waters part after your feet touch them. Honor the process. Training seasons are not wasted seasons. Write it down. Keep a record of dreams, words, and reminders from God. A Simple Prayer Father, Thank You for leading me on the right path. Help me fix my gaze straight ahead and follow You one step at a time. Give me the courage to move forward even when I can only see a few feet in front of me. Strengthen me in the process, teach me what I need to learn, guard my integrity, and keep me steady when I feel delayed or discouraged. Remind me of what You’ve spoken to me through Your Word, through dreams, and through moments you’ve marked in my life. I choose to stay on the path and trust You with the destination. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.
Reading Time 3 mins 59 secs – A new year isn’t just a change on the calendar; it is an opportunity for alignment. God is always moving, always advancing His Kingdom, and always inviting His people to come into agreement with what He’s already established. Scripture tells us that God’s throne is established in heaven and His Kingdom rules over all. That means heaven is not distant, theoretical, or reserved for later. The Kingdom of God is active, present, and meant to be experienced now. When you understand that you are a citizen of God’s Kingdom—not someday, but today—it changes how you think, how you pray, and how you live. You stop reacting to life from the outside and start governing from the inside. This is how heaven touches Earth. You Were Created to Rule, Not Struggle From the beginning, God gave humanity authority. He didn’t create people to survive on Earth; He created them to steward it. Dominion was always part of God’s design. Genesis tells us that mankind was created in God’s image and crowned with glory and honor. That crown wasn’t symbolic. It represented authority backed by heaven itself: authority to subdue, to bring order, and to enforce God’s will in the earth. Although that authority was lost through rebellion, Jesus legally restored it. Colossians reminds us that we were rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of God’s Son. You are not waiting to enter the Kingdom. You are living in it now. Citizenship Changes Everything Citizenship isn’t just identity. It’s access. When you were born again, you didn’t just receive forgiveness; you received legal standing in God’s Kingdom. Ephesians tells us plainly that we are no longer strangers or outsiders but citizens and members of God’s household. That means the benefits of the Kingdom belong to you now, not later. As a citizen, you have: A right to provision. A right to healing. A right to wisdom and direction. A right to peace and freedom. You don’t approach God as a beggar hoping for mercy. You approach Him as a son or daughter who understands covenant. That perspective alone will change how you pray. Stop Running. Start Seeking. Jesus told us not to run after provision the way the world does. Anxiety-driven effort is not Kingdom living. Instead, He instructed us to seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness. Seeking the Kingdom doesn’t mean begging God to do something He already said yes. It means learning how the Kingdom operates and aligning your life with its laws. In God’s system: Seed produces harvest. Faith releases authority. Agreement allows heaven to move. Truth drives out fear. Everything you need already exists within the Kingdom structure. The issue is rarely whether God is willing; it’s whether we understand how to receive. Understanding Produces Confidence Many believers love God deeply but live unsure of their rights. That uncertainty shows up in prayer filled with desperation instead of confidence. Scripture tells us that when we ask according to God’s will, He hears us, and if He hears us, we already have what we’ve asked. That’s not hope; that’s assurance. Confidence grows when you stop allowing vague ideas about God to shape your thinking and start grounding your life in what His Word actually says. You are not disconnected from heaven. You are not powerless. You are not at the mercy of circumstances. You are a citizen with authority. Agreement Unlocks Heaven on Earth Jesus demonstrated how the Kingdom works everywhere He went. He didn’t plead with the Father to act. He acted in agreement with the Father’s will. When people received healing, freedom, or restoration, it wasn’t because God suddenly decided to intervene. It was because someone came into agreement with what heaven had already established. Heaven moves when faith agrees. Heaven advances when truth is believed. Heaven manifests when authority is exercised. Disagreement—whether through fear, doubt, or false teaching—blocks what God desires to release. Agreement opens the door. Simple Ways to Align with the Kingdom This Year If you want to experience heaven on Earth more fully, start with these practical steps: Renew your thinking daily. Keep God’s Word in front of you morning and night. Truth recalibrates faith. Pray with confidence, not panic. Stop begging. Start agreeing. Expect God’s direction. He knows what you need and how to lead you there. Guard what you believe. Don’t entertain ideas that contradict God’s character or promises. Act on what you know. Authority works when it’s exercised. A Simple Prayer Father, Thank You that I am a citizen of Your Kingdom and a member of your household. I choose to align my thinking, my words, and my actions with what You have already established. I release every old mindset that limits Your work in my life. Teach me how Your Kingdom operates. Lead me by Your Spirit. Let this be a year of clarity, confidence, and forward movement. I receive what You have already given and step into the life You’ve prepared for me. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.
Reading Time 4 mins 6 secs – Thankfulness isn’t just good manners; it’s a spiritual posture. It’s how your faith stays strong, your heart stays aligned, and your life stays connected to what God is doing. In a world that constantly pulls on your emotions, drains your joy, and fills the air with fear and pressure, thanksgiving becomes how you stay connected to the victory Jesus has already won for you. Second Corinthians 2:14 reminds us that God always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through our lives, He spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere we go. That’s not just poetic language. That’s a description of your life in the Kingdom. You were designed to walk in victory, carry the fragrance of heaven into every room, walk in faith and not fear, and bring evidence of God’s goodness wherever you go. And the doorway into that life? A thankful heart. Thankfulness Is Your Position of Strength You don’t wait until you see victory to thank God. In the Kingdom of God, thankfulness comes before the breakthrough. First Corinthians 15:57 reminds us that God gives us victory through Jesus. Not someday, not eventually, but as a present, active reality. When you say, “Thank You, Lord, for leading me into victory in this situation,” you are aligning your heart with what God has already spoken. You are: Agreeing with His Word. Positioning yourself to receive. Stepping into alignment with His promises. Philippians 4:6 tells us to bring every request to God with thanksgiving. Gratitude is not the result of answered prayer; it’s part of how we pray. If someone handed you a check and you said, “I’ll see if it clears, and then I’ll thank you,” how eager would they be to bless you again? In the same way, when we approach God with “Father, thank You that You always lead me into victory,” we’re not pretending. We’re trusting His character before we see the outcome. That is faith. Gratitude Changes the Atmosphere You don’t just walk into a room; you carry an atmosphere. We’ve all stepped into places that felt heavy, tense, or anxious without anyone saying a word. But God designed you to carry something different: Peace instead of pressure Freedom instead of fear Victory instead of defeat A sound mind instead of anxiety When you adopt a posture of thanksgiving rather than one of complaint, your home changes, your conversations change. Psalm 100 reminds us that we enter God’s presence with thanksgiving and praise. Gratitude isn’t just something we do; it’s how we step into His presence and shift the atmosphere around us. How We Limit God When We Forget to Say “Thank You” Psalm 78 tells us that the people of Israel limited God not because His power failed but because they refused to agree with Him. God wanted to bless them. He had good plans for them. But instead of aligning with His promises, they complained, focused on what they saw instead of what He said, and talked more about giants than about God. Grumbling doesn’t just make you miserable; it closes your hands. Thankfulness opens them. The same is true for every promise in your life—provision, wisdom, direction, breakthrough, and peace. Ask yourself: Am I agreeing with God or resisting Him with my words? Do I talk more about the problem or about His promise? Have I been limiting God by withholding my thankfulness? Simple Ways to Practice Thankfulness Every Day You don’t have to wait for Sunday to live a thankful life. You can practice gratitude right where you are. Start with these 5 simple rhythms: Thank Him before you see the answer. When you pray, don’t just ask. Take time to thank the Lord that the answer to your promise is already yes. Guard the atmosphere of your home. If voices, media, or conversations are feeding fear and heaviness, turn them off. Make room for worship, the Word, and encouragement. Say “thank you” out loud. To God. To people. For big things and small things. Train your heart to respond with gratitude instead of suspicion or resistance. Worship on purpose. You don’t need a worship team to praise. Turn on worship in your car, your kitchen, your living room. Lift your voice. Let His presence fill your space. Check your heart often. If thankfulness and gratitude haven’t been on your heart much, don’t condemn yourself; just correct your course. Let God restore your joy. A Simple Prayer Father, Thank You that in Christ You always lead me into victory. I repent for every time I’ve complained, drifted, or agreed more with fear than with your Word. Today, I choose to be thankful. I say “yes” and “thank You” to Your promises, Your plans, and Your goodness. Restore to me the joy of my salvation. Lift off all heaviness. Fill me fresh with Your Spirit. Let my life carry peace instead of pressure, praise instead of complaining, faith instead of fear. I receive Your wisdom, Your strength, and Your direction for every situation I’m facing. In Jesus’s name, I pray. Amen.