Sunday January 24th, 2021
« “If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you.” »
23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him.
24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.
25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.
26 But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’
27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
28 But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.
29 His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded.
30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
31 When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened.
32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me.
33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’
34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”
A person holding grudge can be likened to one consuming poison yet expecting another fellow to die in his/her stead.
– When you hold a grudge against someone, you are killing yourself gradually.
– When you refuse to forgive someone who wronged you, you have only opened the door to hurt and more hurt. While the fellow on the other hand may be living his/her life in peace, you keep hurting each time you see or remember him/her.
Many people have died of hypertension because they refused to forgive someone who offended them.
It is for your own good that you forgive the individual who offended you.
Don’t give anyone a license to keep hurting you; let them go.
From our Bible reading and memory verse of today, it is evident that whenever someone is holding a grudge against another, God will bypass the offender and refuse to forgive the one holding the grudge.
Imagine going to hell just because you refused to forgive someone who offended you, only for that fellow to repent and end up in Heaven.
Luke 6:37 tells us that if you condemn someone, God will condemn you too. James 2:12-13 NLT says:
« So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you. »
God will neither answer the prayer nor accept the gift of anyone living in unforgiveness because the sacrifice of a sinner is an abomination to Him (Proverbs 15:8).
God wants you to forgive everyone who has offended you, because only then would you obtain mercy from Him. Mark 11:25 NLT
« But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.»
Application – Forgive anyone who has offended you today, then pray for them. Blessing them also as you do.
Author – Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
Freely you received, freely you must give (Math 10:8) , kindly share this devotion, and the Lord will bless you for it.
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