A brief prayer is offered that you can add to your daily
prayers this week. The scripture is from our Sunday Service Bulletin for
today.
Gospel Reading: Matthew
18:21-35 (English Standard Version)
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how
often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as
seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not
say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven
may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants24 When
he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten
thousand talents.25 And since he could not pay, his
master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all
that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the
servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me,
and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity
for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the
debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he
found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and
seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So
his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and
I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him
in prison until he should pay the debt.31 When his
fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and
they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then
his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all
that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And
should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on
you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to
the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So
also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your
brother from your heart.”
Devotion: The
Unforgiving Servant
The message here is straightforward: as God forgives we
should forgive. Think of it as sharing God’s forgiveness. As believers we share
other aspects of His Kingdom. In our worship service we share God’s peace; we also
share words of praise as we sing together; and we also share a communal meal in
the Lord’s Supper. Think of the other things we share: promise of support at a
baptism or a marriage. What can we share
with unbelievers or unchurched folks we know? We can invite them to worship or to
participate in one of our ministries. A personal invitation to share the good
news is one of the most important, lifesaving things you can do for an
unbeliever.
We pray: Lord help me
find an opportunity and the courage to share the good news of your gift of
eternal life. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment