GOD’S WORD FOR JULY 27

We are reading from a daily devotional  called “Running To Win” written by Erwin Lutzer  and the late, great D.L. Moody.   Erwin Lutzer is a light in our day as D.L. Moody was in his.  Besides his many ministries, and many books, Pastor Lutzer was Senior Pastor at Moody Church in Chicago for 36 years and now serves as Pastor Emeritus there.  He is  Chancelor and a former professor at Moody Bible Institute, where he taught Theology and Ministry and now has numerous radio teachings.

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BE RID OF THE PAIN

Matthew 18:21-22

“Then Peter came up to him,  “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  As many as seven times?  Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

D.L. MOODY

Peter did not seem to think that HE was in danger of falling into sin;  his question was, “How often should I forgive MY BROTHER?”  But very soon we hear that Peter has fallen.  I can imagine that when he did fall, the sweet thought came to him of what the Master had said.

The voice of sin may be loud, but the voice of forgiveness is louder.

ERWIN LUTZER

Jesus was essentially commanding unlimited forgiveness if your brother sins against you.  I don’t need to tell you that we live in a hurting world.  Many of those hurts come from within our own families, and yes, we are often hurt by the wider family of God too.  Aren’t you sometimes shocked at what Christians do to one another?

But let me clarify.  There is a difference between forgiveness and reconciliation.  If someone sins against us, we must forgive them; if we do not forgive, we will live in our own torture chamber.  Bitterness has deep and dark roots.  We do ourselves a favor when we confess and forsake bitterness.

This doesn’t mean we have to be reconciled to people who repeatedly sin against us.  Trust, once shattered, cannot easily be restored.  Reconciliation is difficult, and in some instances, impossible.

Moody also applied this verse to God’s relationship with us. Yes, it is true that God has forgiven us seventy times seven…and in His case, He does receive us back to Himself.

Whatever you don’t forgive, you pass on.  Release your bitterness to Christ.

PRAYER

Father, please help me to be willing to forgive just as, in Christ, You forgave me.

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Galatians 5:1

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

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Micah 7:18-19

Who is a God like You,

Pardoning iniquity

And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?

He does not retain His anger forever,

Because He delights in mercy.

He will again have compassion on us,

And will subdue our iniquities.

You will cast all our sins

Into the depths of the sea

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Psalm 32:5

I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my iniquity I have not hidden.

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

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Colossians 3:13

    “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

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Mark 11:25

    “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

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Ephesians 4:32

    “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

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2 Corinthians 2:10-11

    “If you forgive anyone, I also forgive them. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”

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