HIGHER EVERYDAY MONDAY AUGUST 07, 2023 DO NOT FORGET TO FORGIVE

 HIGHER EVERYDAY

MONDAY AUGUST 07, 2023

DO NOT FORGET TO FORGIVE

MEMORY VERSE: "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven"(Matthew 18:21, 22).

TEXT: MATTHEW 18:21-27

Forgiveness is the act of pardoning an offender. In the Bible, the Greek word translated “forgiveness” literally means “to let go,” as when a person does not demand debt repayment. In His parable of the unmerciful slave, Jesus equated forgiveness with cancelling a debt (Matthew 18:23-35).When Didier was 11 years old, he witnessed his mother, a street vendor in Colombia, shot 38 times. This drama led him down a path of alcohol, drugs, and crime as he struggled with what he had witnessed. Didier found out who his mother’s killer was, and intended to retaliate, but after a friend brought him to church, he got saved and changed his mind. Instead, he forgave his mother’s murderer. One day, he saw the man sitting on a street corner and approached him. Didier embraced him and told him that he had forgiven him.

Christian youth, avoid grudges and forgive offenders. Jesus, in our text, instructed Peter to forgive as often as 490 times a day. It takes a transformed heart to forgive. Forgiveness provides good health and peace of mind. Beloved, forgive!

PRAYER: Lord, help me to love and forgive others.

CHALLENGE: Forgiveness, an expression of love.