Passage of the Day:
“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive,’ ” Acts 20:32-35.
Reflection:
I became an avid pen pal to numerous individuals following my father’s relocation to Ohio from Delaware. Before I had access to a cell phone, I kept in touch with friends over the summer, writing as much as I could. After attending a couple of mission trips in consecutive summers, my number of correspondences grew to nearly 50. While I spent a small fortune on stamps, writing become my top hobby, reaching out to all of my friends. One of the girls that I met on a mission trip to John’s Island, South Carolina, stopped writing me once the fall semester began. Despite not receiving a return letter, I wrote another letter in October and one more in November as a last-ditch effort to stay in touch. While I was hesitant to write that final letter, the Holy Spirit prompted me to write one more time. Nearly 4 months after writing my first letter, I received am update from her. Apparently, she had the worst first semester in college imaginable, losing her best friend in a car accident. After reading this heart-breaking story, this letter instantly became one of my most memorable Christmas presents ever, touched by the blessing of giving.
Prayerful Action:
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times, Matthew 18:21-22.
Learning to Love this December as God Loves You:
As America embraces analytics, information resulting from the systematic analysis of data or statistics, percentages have been tabulated for the success rate of almost every situation that you encounter. Perhaps, Peter was thinking about analytics when he approached Jesus with a question about forgiveness. After Jesus provides an outline for Church Discipline, when and how to approach a Christian caught in the act of sin in Matthew 18:15-20, Peter thinks that 7 is a good starting number when it comes to forgiveness. However, learning to love to like God involves forgiving an infinite number of times. If love keeps no record of wrongs, 1 Corinthians 13:5, Christians are called to keep forgiving their brothers and sisters. As you keep extending grace, maybe you’ll experience a similar blessing from this individual when they turn their lives around.
Song of the Day:
Final Thoughts:
The model for forgiveness is the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. Rather than hold a grudge, this father waited on his front porch daily, hoping and praying for his wayward son to return. When Christians begin publicly displaying this type of forgiveness and love, the blessings of giving someone another chance will be reaped.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 