Day 38
Bible Text: Jeremiah 31:34
“And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
You and I know how hard it is to forgive someone who has wronged us deeply. And how even harder it is to forget! But that’s exactly what God has done for you and me. On that historic day, when Jesus of Nazareth died on that cross, when the only innocent person to walk this earth was unjustly crucified for crimes he did not commit, that’s the day this NEW COVENANT was enacted. It was for our crimes (sins committed willfully and unconsciously) against God, that Jesus suffered.
Jesus gives an illustration (parable) of this event in Matthew 18:23-35. A servant owed his king “a million dollars” and couldn’t pay it back. When the servant pleaded for mercy, the king forgave that enormous debt! Like this servant, our debt was enormous and unpayable. And like the king, God forgave our debt, by paying for it with Jesus’ blood. Can you imagine how this changed the life of that servant, now freed from that unspeakable burden? You and I have been freed from an even heavier burden. That’s his love and mercy toward us.
Fully realizing what Jesus has done for us, changes everything! God has forgiven our debt and remembers our sin no more! He forgets our offenses forever! Incredible. As we take in the magnitude of this act of love, it causes us to live for God willingly, serving him with our whole lives. Will you let this reality sink in? Will you receive this free gift through faith in Jesus Christ, and live out of gratitude to him?
There’s a second part to Jesus’ parable in Matthew 18. This freed servant now goes to a fellow servant who owes him “a thousand dollars”, but refuses to forgive him, and throws him in prison. The king hears of this and revokes his mercy towards the original servant. Jesus’ point is, when we fully realize God’s mercy toward us, we are then to forgive others the relatively small offenses others have committed toward us. In light of what God has done for you, will you forgive others their debt towards you? This is one of the most heavenly acts you and I can do, demonstrating God’s mercy to another. Will you step into this flow - receiving his mercy, and offering it to others?
Prayer: Lord, let the magnitude of your forgiving and forgetting of my sin, sink in. Then help me forgive others, demonstrating your love in the lives of people around me. Give me supernatural power to do this, that these “offenders” around me may experience your vast love as well. In Jesus’ name.
By Pastor Kevin Schuessler
“And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
You and I know how hard it is to forgive someone who has wronged us deeply. And how even harder it is to forget! But that’s exactly what God has done for you and me. On that historic day, when Jesus of Nazareth died on that cross, when the only innocent person to walk this earth was unjustly crucified for crimes he did not commit, that’s the day this NEW COVENANT was enacted. It was for our crimes (sins committed willfully and unconsciously) against God, that Jesus suffered.
Jesus gives an illustration (parable) of this event in Matthew 18:23-35. A servant owed his king “a million dollars” and couldn’t pay it back. When the servant pleaded for mercy, the king forgave that enormous debt! Like this servant, our debt was enormous and unpayable. And like the king, God forgave our debt, by paying for it with Jesus’ blood. Can you imagine how this changed the life of that servant, now freed from that unspeakable burden? You and I have been freed from an even heavier burden. That’s his love and mercy toward us.
Fully realizing what Jesus has done for us, changes everything! God has forgiven our debt and remembers our sin no more! He forgets our offenses forever! Incredible. As we take in the magnitude of this act of love, it causes us to live for God willingly, serving him with our whole lives. Will you let this reality sink in? Will you receive this free gift through faith in Jesus Christ, and live out of gratitude to him?
There’s a second part to Jesus’ parable in Matthew 18. This freed servant now goes to a fellow servant who owes him “a thousand dollars”, but refuses to forgive him, and throws him in prison. The king hears of this and revokes his mercy towards the original servant. Jesus’ point is, when we fully realize God’s mercy toward us, we are then to forgive others the relatively small offenses others have committed toward us. In light of what God has done for you, will you forgive others their debt towards you? This is one of the most heavenly acts you and I can do, demonstrating God’s mercy to another. Will you step into this flow - receiving his mercy, and offering it to others?
Prayer: Lord, let the magnitude of your forgiving and forgetting of my sin, sink in. Then help me forgive others, demonstrating your love in the lives of people around me. Give me supernatural power to do this, that these “offenders” around me may experience your vast love as well. In Jesus’ name.
By Pastor Kevin Schuessler
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