Jesus now shares the challenge of faith and prayer… forgiveness. We seek it from God and trust that He will always forgive. We owe it to those who have sinned against us… but that is sometimes harder for us to give. They hurt us. They betrayed us. They didn’t respect us… and so much more. Yet, we have done that and so much more… to God. He still forgives. We should do the same. AND, we even pray that He not lead us (or allow us) to go through temptations. We ALL get tempted… yet, we can walk (or RUN) away from it. It is when we stay too long in the temptation that we then yield to sin. Remove the temptation… run away from the sin. THEN, He will forgive again… and again… and again…. etc.
Please give this verse to anyone who is tempted AND who needs forgiveness… (yes, that is ALL of us). Ask them if they have needed to forgive someone… a lot. Ask how hard that was and how they felt afterwards. Listen to how they respond. Let them know that we are to forgive freely, just as we have been freely forgiven by God. It means that our hurt or pain or disappointment or more is put behind us… so that we can move forward. You cannot truly live a joyful life in Him if you are dragging with you all the sins and hurts that you have not forgiven… even where you must forgive yourself. ALWAYS Take Time For God’s Word© throughout each day or as you pray for forgiveness or at 11:04 am or pm. Continue to add this verse to the Reminder on your phone with the Lord’s Prayer. The Gospel of Luke is a shorter version of the Lord’s Prayer than what we find in the Gospel of Matthew 6:9-13. So, if you thought you were missing a few words from Luke’s account, you were correct. It is great if you want to also copy in the five verses from Matthew into a separate reminder for 6:09 pm. You may even want to copy in the version of the Lord’s Prayer that you find in your church’s hymnals which includes the closing phrase [“For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever (and ever). Amen”] The key is to remember it often and recite it in your mind to stay closer to God as you remain constant (and consistent) in prayer.
As we near the end of our monthly prayer cycle list, we lift up in prayers all of those who are part of our prison system… guards, staff, prisoners, families of the prisoners and families of the victims. Jesus often stated our need to care for prisoners. Paul was a prisoner on multiple occasions. He wrote his various letters while a prisoner. We pray for Prison Fellowship (Lansdowne, VA) as they continue to minister to those in prison and to those released from prison. Forgiveness and avoiding temptations are a BIG part of the ministry. They have had great success in helping to keep people from returning to prison. When Christ sets you free, you are free indeed! Support them if you can. Stay blessed always and in ALL ways. Pass it on through forgiveness to those who have hurt you… AND to those whom you may have hurt… then let God have ALL those sins to wipe them clean… now and forever!
