Peter asked Jesus just how many times he had to forgive someone, and he used the Old Testament number of seven. (Genesis 4:24) But Jesus answered Peter’s question by saying, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” So it’s not really about numbers, it’s more about our response to that transgression against us. When we forgive someone, we’re letting go of resentment…we’re refusing to take offense…and we’re not allowing a root of bitterness to grow. For just as God forgives us, we must forgive others. (Matthew 6:14-15)
Tag: daily encouraging devotion
Matthew 6:11 ” Give us today our daily bread.”
In this verse of the Lord’s Prayer, we’re told to ask for our regular allotment of bread in order to sustain and support our life. And as Proverbs 30:8 implores, not too much, that I turn my back on You God…or too little, that I steal and dishonor Your name. But we’re also asking for more than ordinary bread, for in Lamentations 3:23-24, it tells us God’s compassion towards us is new every morning, and that He is our daily portion. This daily spiritual bread is shown in John, the 6th Chapter, when Jesus calls Himself the “Bread of Life”.
Matthew 6:10 ” Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Psalm 40:8 tells us, “I desire ( or choose) to do Your will O my God.” We even see Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane praying, “Yet not as I will (want), but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39) When we seek God’s will… we desire that which pleases God and thus will create joy within us…for we will find ourselves in the center of His will…and it’s the very best place to be.
Matthew 6:9 ” This, then is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.”
In Luke 11:1 it tells us that the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him to teach them how to pray. This verse is the start then of what we call The Lord’s Prayer….undoubtedly the most perfect prayer we could ever utter. The prayer starts off by firmly placing the focus God, our heavenly Father. Jeremiah 3:19 tells us that God wants us to call Him Father, but not like any earthly father…for we are to revere His authority and divinity in light of redemption.
Matthew 6:8 ” …for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”
Sometimes our prayers sound more like a toddler in a toy store…”I want that, and that, and that, and Oh, that!” God willingly listens to all our wishes and desires, but only He knows what we really need. And sometimes what we want and what we need are very far apart. So just remember, God understands and loves you far more than you can ever imagine…that only He can see “around the corner” of the future…and that He has only your best interest at heart. God may not give you everything you want, but He will give you everything you need.
Psalm 4:4 ” In your anger do not sin: when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.” Selah
I am my worst critic. I lie in bed at night annoyed with myself that I didn’t accomplish everything I should have. Or I’m aggravated at myself for not speaking up when I could have. I react with self-loathing as I play back the events of the day… as the “I should have, I could have, I would have’s” run in a loop through my mind. What’s so sad is… most times, I’m beating myself up over things no one else even knows about. They’re things that are only important to me…so why am I so perturbed? In a word…it’s guilt. Self-directed anger is fueled by guilt…and it doesn’t need to be guilt heaped on us from someone else…for we can do that all by ourselves! But this guilt-ridden self-anger can be changed by the last few words of this verse…for it says to “search your hearts and be silent. Selah” That means we listen and not speak, allowing the Holy Spirit to whisper truth into our heart and mind. It means then we pause and ponder these truths not allowing our mind to race negatively. It’s positive reinforcement, Holy Spirit style.
Genesis 31:42 ” If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would of surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night He rebuked you.”
Jacob had worked for his father-in-law, Laban, for 20 difficult years. But despite all the wrongful things done to him, Jacob knew God was watching over and defending him. We sometimes feel like God doesn’t see the injustices inflicted upon us…or the suffering we’ve endured at the hands of others. But He does, for God is with us not only in everything we do…but He also sees all the injustices that have been done to us. We just need to remember that the battle is His, and He will defend and vindicate us.
Luke 14:26 ” If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be My disciple.”
The Greek word here for “hate” doesn’t mean we must despise our family in order to follow Jesus. What it just means is that we love them less than we love God. It’s called being set apart. So to this, we are to separate ourselves “morally” from the world view and others that don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. In Isaiah 52:11, God tells us to, “Come out from them (the world) and be separate.” To be set apart for Christ means that we have our priorities correct…God is first, our family is second, the world is third. For when you make God the most significant person in you life, you are less likely to allow compromise to creep in. And when God is your everything, you are much better equipped to love those around you more effectively.
Philippians 2:7-8 ” But He made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
When Jesus came to earth He made the greatest sacrifice of self-abnegation and self-denial possible. He humbled Himself and renounced His Divinity. In other words, Jesus went out of Himself in order to enter into fellowship with us. So why are we so against doing the work to enter into relationship with Him? We’d like Jesus to just save, change, and sanctify us without lifting a finger in the process. Or we’d rather bargain with Him first – (“You do this for me first God, and maybe then I’ll start working on myself.”) The bottom line is that we also must go out of ourselves in order to enter into a right relationship with God…and waiting around until He does all the work in our lives (that we need to be doing) will never happen.
Proverbs 1:23 ” If you had responded to My rebuke, I would have poured out My heart to you and made My thoughts known to you.”
The Amplified Bible pens the above Scripture this way, ” If you will turn (repent) and give heed to My reproof, behold, I (Wisdom) will pour out My Spirit upon you. I will make My words known to you.” This admonishment then is two-pronged. First, we must stop and agree with God we’re going down the wrong path. Now our stubborn carnal nature will usually reject this idea at first…that’s because nobody likes to be told they’re wrong! But it’s the second part of this Scripture that’s even more important. For if we do turn back to God, He promises not only a renewed relationship with Him, but an outpouring of His Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding…that we may know Him more intimately.
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