Daily Reading: Colossians 3
...bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.(Colossians 3.13-14)
Devotional Thought: Jesus told a story about a man who could not repay his creditor millions of dollars. The creditor, who was also the king, had mercy and forgave all the debt. This same man then went out and found someone who owed him a few dollars. He had that poor man dragged into court and thrown into jail!
He forgot how much grace he had been given.
As we deal with one another in the church, we must never forget how much grace we have been given. How can you and I do anything less than...
· Bear with one another. Did you know that not everybody sees things like you do? Not everybody likes the same things that you do? Not everybody does things the way you do? Did you know that that's OK? Don't get so uptight about the ways we are different. Instead celebrate the things we have in common!
· Forgive one another. I know that there are actual wrongs, and we need the grace of God to forgive them. But, much of the un-forgiveness that we carry about in our hearts is due to a perceived wrong. Try to get on the other side of the issue and you will realize that much of what you are angry about is not that grievous. You actually may discover its humorous!
· Put on love. How do we do that? Intentionally. We must act in loving ways. Feelings follow actions. "If your brother is hungry," feed him. Lonely... speak to him. Different... accept him. Isolated... include him.
When the king in Jesus' parable heard about what had happened, he cancelled the cancelling of the debt and threw the scoundrel into prison. Something to consider!
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the amazing grace that you have shown to me. When I am tempted to be impatient and unforgiving, help me to remember your love to me and to have this same love for my brothers and sisters. Amen.
Psalm of the Day: 21.8-13
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them as a blazing oven when you appear. The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from among the children of man.
11 Though they plan evil against you, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.
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