MAY 17

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES

Mark 11:25

“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”

1 Peter 2:23

“who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

Ephesians 4:31-32

“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.  And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Matthew 6:12

“And forgive us our debts,  as we forgive our debtors.”

Matthew 5:44

“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,”

Romans 12:17-21

“Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.  If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.  Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.  Therefore   if your enemy is hungry, feed him;  If he is thirsty, give him a drink;  For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

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We will be reading from a book by Erwin Lutzer, President of Moody Bible Institute.  It’s a short book about Christ’s sacrifice for us.  It’s called simply, “For Us.”

John 18:12 – 19:16

(too long to post here, but encouraged reading)

Jesus had six trials before His crucifixion, and not one of them was fair.  Hired witnesses, violence, judges doing double-duty as prosecutors – never has the phrase “travesty of justice” been more true.

How did Jesus respond?  He knew He would never have a fair trial:  a fair trial would never have condemned Him to death.  But He was willing to trust God’s justice in God’s time, so He said in effect, “All of these injustices are going to be retried in heaven and My faith is so great I don’t need to see justice on Earth.”

You and I don’t always get justice, do we?  Not here on Earth, surrounded by fallen man.  When human justice fails, let’s take our example from Jesus.  Remember that injustice on Earth never escapes God’s attention.  Instead of saying, “God, move over, I’m going to even the score in my own way,”  Let’s conquer bitterness and entrust ourselves to Him who always judges justly.

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