Tag: forgiveness is key
“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
Scripture reading for January 26th: Matthew 18
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1) Jesus responded to that inquiry by calling a child to stand in their midst. “And He said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4) Jesus went on to warn the disciples about causing one of these little ones to go astray. “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matthew 19:6)
Jesus taught his disciples that the answer to becoming great involved humility like a child in the followers of Jesus. This humility would be expressed in their care and treatment of “little ones” in the faith, new believers in Jesus! They must welcome them, forgive them, search them out when they go astray, and work on keeping right relationships! Being forgiven has responsibility that comes with it!
Jesus concluded His answer with a story about a king that settled an account with a servant that owed him an amount of money far beyond his capacity to repay. The king forgave the man the debt. This man found a man that owed him a small amount of money and when he couldn’t pay, had him thrown into prison. When the king heard about it, he put that man in jail and threw away the key! “This is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” Matthew 18:35
Watch yourselves!
Scripture reading for April 14th: Luke 16:19-17:10
“Jesus said to His disciples; “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves.'” (Luke 17:1-2) The world we live in is fallen and there are many opportunities to sin and break God’s eternal law. People are ‘sinners’ by nature, born with a propensity to sin until that is remedied by a new birth. (Psalm 51:5)
Jesus warned His followers about the future judgment for those causing sin in ‘little ones.’ In other accounts, the ‘little ones’ were small children. Some feel that this also applied to new believers who were young in the ways of Christ. Jesus talked about a millstone being tied around the neck of any person who would cause sin in these little ones. A millstone was a large round stone used to grind grain and it usually weighed several hundred pounds. You can imagine the difficulties swimming a person would have with one of these tied to their neck! This word picture helps us understand the desperate state of a person causing a little one to sin!
Jesus told His followers to “Watch yourselves!” First this means to be personally watchful and examine our own lives for causes of sin. Jesus pointed out lack of forgiveness in the next part of this teaching as a big problem causing others to sin. (Luke 17:3-4) We must let go of offenses. Failure to forgive is cited by Jesus several times as a hindrance for prayer and here as a cause of stumbling for ‘little ones’. (Matthew 6:14, Mark 11:25, Luke 11:4)
Second, we must be watchful for others and especially the ‘little ones.’ Jesus tells us that we must watch out for others as well as ourselves. Love your neighbor as yourself is the second part of the great commandment that now fulfills all the commandments. Children and ‘little ones’ are so precious to the Lord and must be loved, nurtured and protected from causes of sin. Examine your own life and the ‘little ones’ around you. Are you leading them towards Jesus by your life and testimony? Today is a great day to repent! God will forgive!
Pattern of Powerful Prayer!
Scripture reading for January 7th: Matthew 6, Psalms 5:7-12, Proverbs 2:1-8
Jesus was anointed of God by the Holy Spirit to teach. In this sermon, He taught on prayer, fasting, and giving as well as living a life of contentment instead of worry. These are all tied together in that a life of prayer and generosity will lead to a life of true contentment! Seeking first God’s kingdom and His righteousness leads to all we need being added to our life by God! (Matthew 6:38)
Prayer is our conversation and interaction with God the Father who made us and also created the universe. Sin has cut off the relationship and our ability to talk and listen to God because of our own selfishness. We can even try to use prayer, fasting and giving in selfish ways. They can be all about us and drawing attention to our devotion to God instead of as an act of worship in response to God’s goodness or direction to us. Motives of the heart are important as we pray or give.
Jesus taught his disciples a model prayer that we call the “Lord’s Prayer”. Jesus never intended that we just say this prayer in mindless repetition, but taught a timeless pattern of prayer that would help with motives and having a right heart in communicating with God. The prayer starts with relationship–“Our Father in heaven”. His very name and title brings reverence and respect–“hallowed be Your Name”. We are children of our heavenly Father but must show respect as we would for our earthly father (or should).
The next petition concerns a desire for God’s will to be done on earth as in heaven. This is not fatalism, but an aligning of our wills with God’s will and a recognition that we are open to do His will here on earth and enforce it in our circle of influence by faith. We are dependent on God, however, for our daily bread and ask for our needs from Him.
Forgiveness is asked for, but with recognition that we must forgive others. This thought is reinforced, because it is one of the biggest stumbling blocks of our flesh. We are constantly under temptation and need God’s help and deliverance from the source of temptation, the “evil one”.
These elements are the Lord’s instructions for powerful prayer! Let’s apply these principles daily as we move forward by Spirit-inspired prayer!