Forgive. Forgive. Forgive.

Ask and Receive the Grace to Forgive. 

"Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

"Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. 

"At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. 

"When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt.

 Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ 

"Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18: 21 - 35).

Tuesday March 14th 2023 in the 3rd Week of Lent. 

Forgiveness. Forgiveness. Forgiveness. Only God can mend a broken egg. How many times has God mended me? 

I have unusual experiences of brokenness and mending. Here are three examples with Forgiveness:

1. I was unjustly fired from my job. It caused me a couple of years anguish and real poverty. I forgave the managers who conspired against me. 

2. Someone took the house I built without compensation. I forgave this person. 

3. When my father died, a close friend did not commiserate with me. I did not forgive this person for years. Many years after, the person lost the mother and father almost back to back. I did not send condolence messages. It was time for sweet revenge. 

The Lord is rich in mercy. He healed my heart. Now I pray for people who offended me every day. 

Four steps I learned about forgiveness:

1. Forgive immediately. 

2. Forgive every offense no matter what. 

3. Pray every day for the person who offended you until the poison of unforgivenness drains from your heart. 

4. Ask God to grant grace to everyone you offended to forgive you. 

Lent is the Season to seek forgiveness and obtain the grace to forgive. 

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com