'forgiveness' Tagged Posts (Page 8)
Daily Devotions
John 1:15-18 “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” vs. 18 Through the centuries humans have been told that the study of religions will lead them to an understanding of God. And so we have done our work. We’ve dug into holy scriptures, listened to learned teachers, and probed deep into the intricacies of the world’s religions–and for the most part the search…
Daily Devotions
John 8:34-36 “Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin…So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.’” vss. 34, 36 Martin Luther was deeply aware of his own sin! Every day he battled to get the upper hand and be free of this hideous slavery. He used every tool that the Church provided, praying regularly, daily confessing his sins, and even abusing his body with penitential acts.…
Daily Devotions
Jeremiah 31:31-34 … “It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord.” vs. 32 Jeremiah compares the covenant between the Lord and the House of Israel to a marriage, one established by the Lord when their ancestors came out of Egypt. This covenant, sealed by the promises made…
Daily Devotions
Ezekiel 18:25-32 … “Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!” 31a The legal system of Israel was uncomplicated and relatively easy to understand. If people lived according to the law and did what was required by God they would be blessed. If they broke the law and lived according to the ways of wickedness they would be punished. The prophet believed their life choice…
Daily Devotions
Ezekiel 18:1-4 … “Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine: it is only the person who sins that shall die.” vs. 4 There was a proverb popular among the Israelites, “The parents have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth have been set on edge.” The point was clear: sometimes children end up paying for the sins of their parents. We would probably agree. We’ve all…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 18:23-35 … “And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” vss. 34-35 The parable of the unforgiving servant hits us squarely in the middle of our righteous indignation! The point is so clear. This rascal of a man had been forgiven a great debt and…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 18:21-22 … “Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’” vs. 21 Peter has had some ups and downs in his role as messianic advisor and wants Jesus to know that he has been paying attention. Following a conversation about forgiveness, he posits a plausible question, along with what he considers to be a generous possible answer. Poor guy! He…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 18:18-20 … “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” vs. 18 As the early Christian communities began to deal with internal disputes, Matthew laid out some guidelines based on his remembrance of Jesus’ teachings. They followed a logical progression, beginning with one on one conversations and ending with possible dismissal from the community. In other words, this was no small matter,…
Daily Devotions: May 1, 2020
May 1, 2020 1 Peter 2:22-25 … “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” vs. 24 In recent years there are many who have become uncomfortable with the traditional atonement theories. In particular, they don’t like the notion that Jesus took our punishment upon himself by dying on the cross, that somehow his death was the payment required for…
Daily Devotions: February 11, 2020
February 11, 2020 For full passage click: Psalm 119:1-4 … “Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.” vs. 1 Psalm 119 is a carefully composed poem of 22 stanzas, each of which begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Its 176 verses are intended to glorify the law and encourage readers to obey its commandments and ordinances. The Psalmist begins by observing that the reward for blamelessly walking in…
Daily Devotions: January 25, 2020
January 25, 2020 For full passage click: Matthew 4:12-17 … “From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” vs. 17 Soon after Jesus’ time in the wilderness, John the Baptist was arrested and imprisoned in Herod’s fortress at Machaerus, just east of the Dead Sea. When Jesus got word of John’s arrest he went north, back to Galilee where he’d come from, and he began his ministry. Initially, his message was identical…
Daily Devotions: January 10, 2020
January 10, 2020 For full passage click: Acts 10:39-43 … “All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” vs. 43 The book of Acts gives us a sense of the early Christian message through sermonic vignettes from Peter and Paul. In this one from Peter, we learn that the chief gift available to believers was the forgiveness of sins through the name of Jesus. Most of us have no…