Tuesday October 19, 2010

Read Hosea 14:1-4, Matthew 6:9-15, Matthew 18:21-35

My sin against God is far greater than all the combined sins committed against me by my fellow man. That’s a huge statement  to make. But as you ponder the holiness of God and His majesty you’ll understand that sinning against an awesome God is a very serious thing indeed. As I stand before God, trusting in the work of Jesus on my behalf I come to the realisation that God has taken upon Himself the punishment and wrath meant for my sins against Himself. He has chosen to love me freely, to adopt me as His son, to share with me the inheritance fitting only for Jesus (His only begotten Son). God has chosen to not remember my sins and iniquities. God has chosen to lavish me with love, with grace, with mercy and with forgiveness. God has chosen to treat me as a beloved child that is perfectly right with Himself rather than as a sinner deserving of wrath and condemnation.

It is clear from Scripture that I am to treat others the way that God has treated me. I am to share with others that which God has given to me. If I have drunk freely and deeply from His well of forgiveness, I am to have a deep well of forgiveness for others.

But in reality I see so many hurt Christians. I see so many believers holding onto unforgiveness. I see so much pain and agony in the heart of too many believers. Joy is strangled as the algae of unforgiveness grows and pollutes every aspect of their life. How and where do I see this? In their posture and body language; in their speech and tone; in their lack of joy; in their words, their gossip and snide remarks; in their eyes that ache for love and acceptance.

My brother or sister in Christ, are you holding onto unforgiveness? Can you see bitterness in your heart? Can you hear words of hurt or tones of unforgiveness in your own speech? Can you sense that your joy is deflated and anger, bitterness and possibly even hatred are growing? Is your first reaction negative? Do you rarely have words of encouragement? Are you angry at many, many people? You need to come to Christ and let go of the hurt and the pain. You need to drink deeply from the well of His forgiveness. You need to be refreshed and renewed by His love for you, His unlimited and unbounded love for you personally. You need to be broken by His grace and mercy. You need to be transformed by His personal goodness towards you. You need to soak up the forgiveness of God through Christ so that you can reflect His love and share His forgiveness with others.

Prayer:-

ÿ There is a great need for Christ-imitating forgiveness to be offered and sought within the Christian community. Pray that our weekend away will allow people the opportunity to do just that. Pray that we’ll see the love of Jesus growing and maturing among us.

ÿ Pray for Dave and Kristy Richards as they settle into New Zealand. Pray that they will have a smooth transition and that God would show them quickly and clearly the work that He has for them to do in that country.