_{by Trent - (originally posted on August 29, 2005)}
It has been said (and I agree) that you don't rule your believing; your believing rules you.

So, if I convince you that a hungry bear is outside waiting to eat you, and you believe me and make up your mind to never go outside, then because you believe it ... it is AS IF that is true ... whether it is fiction or truth that a bear is outside.

Here is the problem when it comes to believing that you must ask to be forgiven in order for you to be forgiven ... believing THAT makes it true for you in a real experiential way. When you work for what you have, it is AS IF you do not have it. And those that are hard at work trying to gain forgiveness ... it is AS IF they lack forgiveness ... even if they do not.

Here is a clue from the Bible: There is not a single person (neither sinner nor saint) that has been recorded ASKING for forgiveness after the death of Christ on the cross. Nobody at all ... yet this belief is central to many mainstream denominations. WHY? This false teaching is imprisoning people, and making a false notion AS IF it were true for them.

"Lay your burdens upon Me. There is no load I can not bear. Beloved, why do you ask of your sins and their forgiveness? Do you not know they were forgiven before the foundation of the earth through My Son, the Christ. He knew you then and knows you yet still. I have forgiven you, yet you have not. Confess all in your heart, and feel My presence, and My forgiveness will come into you and give you peace." -The Father