Are You Keeping Score!

1 Chronicles 14; 1 Chronicles 15; Psalm 132; Matthew 18
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Scripture

Matthew 18

21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!
23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.
26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.
29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

Observation

I wonder if Peter was mad at a certain disciple when he asked Jesus the question about forgiveness. It was like he had someone in mind when he asked the question. Did you understand the answer that Jesus gave Peter? He said that the person was to forgive the other person an unlimited number of times just like our Heavenly Father has and does forgive us. We are supposed to have the same kind of heart as our Heavenly Father has and we are to have the same kind of love. It sounded like Peter wanted to know the exact number of times that he had to forgive a certain person so he could finally give that person what they deserved. Jesus says that if we do that then God will give us what we deserve. Ouch!

Application

I will keep on forgiving those close to me even though they don’t deserve forgiveness because that is how my Heavenly Father deals with me.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me to forgive people when they hurt me or and forgive them even when they hurt my family. Help me not to hold a grudge. Give me a big heart for people. Help me not to keep score with people and help me not to want to get even. Help me to forgive people even when they don’t deserve it because I don’t deserve your forgiveness but you have forgiven me. Thank you for forgiving me. Create in me a forgiving heart today. In Jesus Name Amen.

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