Daily Devotional: Thursday, Dec 17
Speaker: Ben Sigman
Theme: Receiving Forgiveness
Weekend Music links on iTunes: Salvation is Here by Hillsong United; Joy to the World arranged by Chris Tomlin; Let Us Adore by Hillsong; Oh Come All Ye Faithful arranged by Chris Tomlin.
Read: 1 John 1:9 and Romans 12:19
Think: After Sunday's sermon, I was thinking about forgiveness and really trying to figure out the difference between forgiveness and Christian forgiveness. The definition of forgiveness in the dictionary is "to grant pardon for or remission of an offense."
In defining Christian forgiveness, we are typically asking God to forgive us for our sins. In 1 John 1:9 it states... "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." We can sin against God directly and/or sin against God when dealing with others. In those situations we need to ask God for forgiveness as well as asking for forgiveness our fellow man.
I don't know about you, but the first thing I think about when someone says or does something against me or my family- is not typically forgiveness. That is my sin nature at work but the Lord says, "Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord." (Romans 12:19.)
A very humbling example of Christian forgiveness is when I see family members of slain children telling others that they have forgiven the killer for what they have done. WOW! I have seen this on several occasions and I can't believe the strength of their faith to do such a thing. So if these families are forgiving the murders of their own children, how come it takes me days to get over someone cutting me off in traffic or someone hurting my pride?
Do: We all know that we sin, and that others will sin against us. Prepare for the day to receive others forgiveness and be truly compassionate towards them. Choose not to take revenge and allow God's will to be done.
Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, provide me the strength to consistently ask for your forgiveness of my sins, and to ask for forgiveness of others when my sin hurts them. Lord help me show compassion and understanding when I need to extend forgiveness towards those who sin against me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church. |
