TODAY’S
WORD FOR TUESDAY OCTOBER 15, 2013.
FORGIVENESS
DEFINITION:
The
act of granting pardon for an offense or sin; acquittal; offering the chance to
recover from mistakes.
SCRIPTURE:
Forgive
whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord
forgave you. Colossians 3:13
Blessed
is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Psalm 32:1.
Be
kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as God
forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
KNOWLEDGE
AND EXPERIENCE:
In
the Lord's Prayer as written in Matthew 6, Jesus said: "Forgive us our
trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us." How can we
expect to be forgiven when we are unwilling to forgive? This is what
forgiveness is all about. When one does wrong it is right for that person to
then ask for forgiveness. Unfortunately, that very rarely happens. The reason
being is that it is humbling to have to admit we are wrong and have to ask for
forgiveness. The end result, if we do not ask for forgiveness, is a rift in a
relationship.
Don't
let pride keep you from doing the right thing. How do you feel when you are
wronged? Naturally it upsets you and the normal reaction is to want to get
even. Most people can give you a score of reasons why they feel they should not
forgive someone for a wrong. Excuses are not acceptable to God. God has set the
unsurpassable example of forgiveness when He forgave us of our sins by sending
His Son to pay the penalty for our sins.
Unless we have personally asked God to forgive us our sins and accepted
Jesus as our Savior, our un-forgiven-sin stands between us and God.
No
matter how many sins we have committed or how great they are, Jesus has paid
the penalty for each and every one. There is no sin too big for God to forgive.
When we consider how much God has forgiven us how can we not forgive others.
When we are unwilling to forgive others who might harm us in word or deed, we
set ourselves above Christ’s law of love.
Forgiveness
is the key to our relationship with God and to our relationship with others. In
Acts 26:18 it reads: "that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an
inheritance among those that are sanctified by faith in Me." What greater inheritance can one have then to
spend an eternity with God in heaven? It really is that simple. But we have to
make the choice and ask God to forgive us from our sins.
We
have given you three scriptures above that make it very clear from God's Word
that we need to have a spirit of forgiveness as believers. This is not an
option but is expected by God. A free and generous attitude of forgiveness
should come as an out flowing of love for one another just as God has loved us.
LEARNING:
Our
memory verse for this week is found in I Timothy 2:5.
For
there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
PRAYER:
Today
I ask You to forgive me for my sins and for the times I have failed You. Help
me to learn afresh to forgive those that sin against me just as You forgave me.
Help me to set an example for my family and friends as to what it means to
forgive and give my family a spirit of forgiveness to all that have treated us
unkindly. Thank You for teaching me to pray as You said: "Our Father in
heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as
it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as
we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from
the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever."
Amen
