DEVOTIONAL

Prayer: Father I come to you in all humility acknowledging there is no one like you, for you are the one true living God. Help me to grow to love you more than anything else in the world and teach me your ways and as I come before your throne of grace and mercy, I confess and acknowledge I have sinned against you in thought and deed, today I ask to forgive me and, in your grace, purify my heart, cleanse me from all unrighteousness. And in your great love lead me and help me to walk in the paths of righteousness, so that I may bring glory to you the one triune God I now receive your forgiveness and mercy in the name of my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ 

Scripture Reading for Prayer and Praise: Exodus 15:2

"The LORD is my strength and my defence; he has become my salvation.” He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”

Worship Song Sung or Said: I Worship You, Almighty God (Don Moen)

https://youtu.be/M1LuvL8gKek

I worship You,

Almighty God

There is none like You

I worship You, 

O Prince of Peace,

That is what I want to do

I give You praise 

For You are my righteousness.

I worship You,

Almighty God 

There is none like You

There is none like You

There is none like You.

God’s Word for Today: Matthew 18:21-35

"21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times? 22 Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” 23 Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.” 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him.” 25 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.” 26 At this the servant fell on his knees before him.” ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.”’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.” 28 But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.” He grabbed him and began to choke him.” ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.” 29 His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.”’ 30 But he refused.” Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.” 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.” 32 Then the master called the servant in.” ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.” 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.” 35 This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”                                                                                            

Devotional/Study: 

Today I want to look at a very important virtue in our lives; Forgiveness. A friend I know was devastated after his two daughters were killed in a bomb blast in a park in the city of Lahore in Pakistan. One of his daughters died in the park. The other daughter who was around 14 years of age was taken to hospital and eventually died in the hospital. 

When I first met him a few days after the incident he was inconsolable. In fact, he had no tears left in him. He was very broken and hurting father. Recently I met up with him in Pakistan and asked how he felt towards the bomber. I could see the pain and hurt; however, he said he had forgiven him because that is what God would have wanted him to do. I am sure this was very difficult for him.

He said this with a broken heart but I could feel there was no bitterness or hatred in his voice. It did seem that in his journey of forgiveness he had found peace in the midst of the pain and hurt. I think in life when we forgive, we can discover two things. The first thing you may discover is the deep hurt and pain that is buried deep down in your heart and need of the love and healing touch of God. The second thing you discover and experience is the joy and freedom and peace that forgiveness brings. It’s a peace that comes from God.

Forgiveness is a small word but it’s a word that can set your heart free when you are able to forgive someone who has hurt and wounded your inner being. Forgiveness is so needed in this world and in our relationships. Forgiveness is the key that brings healing and wholeness and peace into our hearts and helps us to live a life without bitterness, resentment and even hatred.

We all want to be forgiven and want people to forgive us if we have wronged them. But sometimes we find it hard and a struggle to forgive those who may have hurt us. It’s not easy to forgive but it is the way of Jesus and central to our faith. I would want to say it’s hard to live a life of peace and wholeness without living a life that is willing to forgive. 

In our reading today Jesus tells a story about forgiveness. Leading up to this parable, Jesus had been teaching on reconciliation, unity and forgiveness. Then Peter who was listening to Jesus asks Him a very important question, we read in Matt 18:21-22 "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times? Jesus replies by saying, Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” 

Was Jesus meaning that we must forgive 77 times and then stop? No of course not He means that there is no end to forgiveness. To drive home his teaching about forgiveness, Jesus than tells a story about a servant who owed a king lots of money, it was so much that there was no way the servant could pay this money back. The king threatened to sell him and his whole family into slavery until the debt was paid. 

The servant begged the king for a chance to repay the debt. The king showed mercy and forgave the huge debt the servant owed. However, this servant forgets all about how he was treated by the king and goes and finds a fellow servant who owed him a smaller amount of money and demands the debt to be repaid immediately. 

The fellow servant falls on his knees and begs and says, "be patient with me, and I will pay you back.” But the first servant refuses to show him any mercy and has him thrown into prison until he could repay the debt, When the king found out what had happened, he was really angry that the man he had shown mercy was not willing to forgive and show mercy to his fellow servant. So, the king put the first servant in prison until he could pay all that he owed.  As Jesus finished this story, he concludes with a warning, he says "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” v35

I believe Jesus told this story to illustrate the need for unlimited forgiveness and mercy. He wanted his hearers to see that forgiveness was a way living, loving and being. I expect most of us here today recognize that forgiveness is not easy. I remember a few years I was working for a charity and fell out with the director. He really hurt me.  I prayed constantly Lord, please help me to forgive and want to forgive. It took some time but I did I come to that place where I was able to forgive and love. 

I think most of us could tell stories of being hurt within our relationships. When we look at our own lives somewhere along the line, we have been hurt by someone in some sort of way. When we are hurt, betrayed, abused, offended or disappointed by those close to us, we can easily feel resentful and angry and become bitter. If unforgiveness is in our heart, we will never know true freedom. Forgiveness isn’t denying the pain and hurt we have experienced in our lives and it doesn’t mean we ignore or excuse the bad or injustice that has been done to us. 

It does not mean pretending that you were never hurt. It does not mean overlooking abuse. The problem is that if we don’t forgive, we will allow resentment and anger to control our emotions, which in turn will affect our health and relationships.  So how do we begin to forgive? There is no easy road to forgiveness. Paal calls us in Ephesians 4:32 "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” 

I have discovered in my own life that Forgiveness is the only way forward to a life of peace A well-known Christian author said When you forgive others, you free yourself of the sin of unforgiveness and you open the flood gates of God's blessing and He forgives you. 

Forgiveness begins the healing process and releases us from resentment, anger and bitterness and enables us to be spiritually healthy.  But also, when we forgive someone, we release them, we set them free from our resentment and anger and release them into a place of peace. When we forgive, it brings healing to our soul and takes out of a place of darkness into light and freedom. Forgiveness is therefore the key to spiritual unity in the church and in our relationships. 

So where do we begin the process of forgiveness. It begins with recognition and thanksgiving that we have been forgiven by God and that is what the cross is all about. When Jesus came into the world and died for us. He did that so that you and I could be forgiven and given a new life and start. And to forgive we must acknowledge before God that we hold a grudge or we are hurt against someone else and that we have not forgiven that person. 

We should ask God for His help in being reconciled and enabling us to forgive completely whatever wrong has been done and we must also pray for those who have offended us, asking God’s blessings on them. Brothers and sisters, the message God gives us is very plain, as the Lord has forgiven you and me, so we must forgive. Jesus said in Matthew 6:12 "forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” 

Pause for Thought: Are their people you need to forgive? Today is the day for all of us to humble ourselves and get things right with God and with others. Gods calls us to seek forgiveness and offer forgiveness. 

Let's now allow the Holy Spirit to search our hearts to show if we need to forgive someone and when He shows us, do whatever you feel God is calling you to do. Maybe that may be for you to go to that person in Christ and make things right. 

Personal Prayers: