Matthew 6:9-15
By Bobbie Dicking
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Hello Precious People of God,
May is half gone and we have another round of holidays to demand our attention. Mother’s Day ,May Day, Cinco de Mayo and Memorial Day is fast approaching. Mothers were honor throughout the land (or not) and many of our churches were filled with visitors and special tribute events. And so, we are moving on. But I’m still stuck at Calvary’s hill listening to our Savor give His best lecture. We Christian Church folk have entitled it Jesus’ Seven Last Sayings From The Cross
The point that pierced my understanding a few days ago was “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”. I thought about how difficult it is for us to really forgive. The extra attention Jesus gave in explaining why we are to forgive our trespasses or debtors caught my mind. Jesus ask God to forgive the people who spit in His face, spit on Him, taunted Him, lied on Him, deserted Him, nailed large spikes in His hands and feet. I can name a few more painful thing people did to Jesus, but I think you get the picture.
The Bible tells us that Jesus was fully human and suffered the same way we suffered. And I reasoned, it is difficult, to say the least, it is hard for we humans to forgive. We struggle when people hurt us deeply. I thought Jesus, being fully human and suffering the same things we suffered should have had a few hard feelings about the mean, cruel things the people did to Him. Here it is…when He asked His Father to forgive them, Jesus was showing us what to do with our inability to forgive other. He told us by example that we should give it to God. He encouraged us to realize that God had forgiven them already.
O Precious Ones, be encouraged to give your unforgiving spirit to God. The prayer that Jesus taught we disciples begins, “Our Father”. We are instructed to pray to God in this prayer. We are told to pray “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”. Then, we are told that if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us. He could not forgive us. It was against the truth of His Word.
` We should then see that the unforgiveness that remains in our soul is a sin; a sin that must be forgiven by God when we request it from Him. FATHER, forgive them for me.
I know, precious ones that this may not be sitting well with you, but I tell you it emboldened my soul to take offenses of others to God and ask Him to forgive them in Jesus’ name. Jesus said if we ask in His name, we will get what we asked for. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
Until next time, Precious Ones