Past Devotions
This weeks devotions: Sunday – Monday – Tuesday – Wednesday – Thursday – Friday
Daily Devotional Materials
Twentieth Sunday after Trinity
– Saturday –
Devotion*
Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? – I say not unto thee, until seven times, but until seventy times seven. – Matthew 18:21-22.
Here we have Peter’s question and Jesus’ answer. We are to be ready to forgive at all times. How often has our gracious God forgiven us? Daily and richly! It cannot be counted. How many times have we sinned against our God; how many times has He, through His Gospel, reassured us of His certain, free, and full forgiveness? How often have our fellow Christians sinned against us? Those sins against us are as nothing compared with our innumerable offenses against God. Should we sinners be less ready to forgive than the holy and merciful God Himself? Could we, who would not be able to be guilt-free and truly happy without the forgiveness which God has given to us for Jesus’ sake; —could we, according to our “new man” (Ephesians 4:24), refuse to forgive others? The Savior has taught us in Luke 17: “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against him, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying: ‘I repent;’ thou shalt forgive him” (vv. 3-4). Jesus gave a strong warning to us when He said in Matthew 6: “If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (v. 15). No one can remain a Christian who places himself in persistent opposition to these words of the Savior by willfully refusing to forgive another person who wants and needs his forgiveness. The Apostle Paul gave this timeless counsel in Ephesians 4: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [yelling] and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice; and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).
PRAYER – Lord Jesus, again I come to Thee for Thy divine help. Help me against my sin-corrupted flesh, which fights against the Holy Spirit working through Thy Word in my heart and life. Strengthen my new man through Thy precious Gospel. Work in me an ever greater willingness to forgive those who repent of their sins against me, ever remembering how my God has forgiven me on account of Thy perfect and completed ransom, once for all. Amen.
If Thy beloved Son, O God, had not to earth descended; and in our mortal flesh and blood, had not sin’s power ended; then this poor, wretched soul of mine, in hell eternally would pine, because of its transgression.
But now I find sweet peace and rest, despair no more reigns o’er me; no more am I by sin opprest, for Christ has borne sin for me; upon the cross for me He died, that reconciled I might abide, with Thee, my God forever. TLH, 375, 1-2
* Adapted and revised from original publication
PRINT EDITION
Bible Reading
Weekly Reading Theme: Sanctification
1 Peter 1:3-25
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Additional Material
PDF Print Edition. – The print editions can be of benefit to those who are receiving the web page based devotions as a convenient means for sharing in the family circle during home devotional reading, for individual bible study time, or for sharing with friends, co-workers etc.The objective of the print edition is to keep its size to one standard size sheet of paper per day in an abbreviated format, it has also been designed with a wide left hand margin for use in a three ring binder if you choose to retain them for the entire year.
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