Forgiveness

Read It: Matthew 18:21-35 ( NRSV)

21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. 

Learn It:

Today, as you may know, is September 11 and it has been 10 years since the attacks on the Twin Towers.  I think it is very profound and wonderful that today's Gospel reading is the text that Peter asks Jesus about forgiveness.  One of the helpful things to know is that 7 is a special number.  6 is the number of days that God created the world and on the seventh day he rested.  We also see the number 7 appear again and again in the Old Testament.  Seven has become the number for perfection, so when Peter asks how many times should I forgive he is picking the perfect number...he thinks anything more than that would be superfluous.  Jesus corrects him by telling him not 7 times but 77 times (or 70x7 which = 490!).  Either way to forgive someone that many times is great and meant to show that there is really no end to the amount of times we should forgive someone.

I know that many people still hurt from the attacks, but the power to forgive and heal from our past and from the injuries of others is something that is hard but very powerful.  The more we forgive the more we are able to move our lives forward and move forward God's Kingdom.  

Share It:

What does it mean to you to forgive someone?  What all needs to take place/happen so that you might feel you have forgiven someone?  What does it take for you to feel like someone truly forgives you for something you have done?  Why does it seem so hard to forgive at times?  Talk about these questions and anything else that may come up during your conversation.  

Live It:

Spend this week focusing on forgiveness.  Try to forgive someone without holding a grudge or holding it over them for very long.  At the same time make a genuine form of forgiveness.  Don't just tell them you forgive them for what they did but really reconcile your differences so that you both can return back to the relationship you had before whatever happened.  It may be harder and take more time but I think it'll be better in the long run.

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Why did I do that?

Read It:  Romans 7:15,24-25a (NLT)

15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.  

24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Learn It:

Just like last weeks devotion we find another wonderful text that really speaks to who we are as people.  That is probably what is so powerful about Paul as a writer, speaker, and servant of Christ...he knows what it is like to be someone who has messed up and done things that he shouldn't have done.  Paul was one of the main persecutors of Christianity from the beginning and now he is the main teller of the faith.  Even still, he doesn't always do the right thing and he admits his own failings so that he can show the Romans that people aren't perfect but it is God who is perfect and God through Jesus Christ that frees us from our lives that are dominated by sin.

Share It:

This week I am going to put a little pressure on the parents.  I would like the parents to share with their families times when they've done things they shouldn't have done.  What were things in your youth or young adulthood that you did when you knew you shouldn't have?  Share with your family to show that we all do our best but sometimes we slip up.  The rest of the family...as kids there are plenty of times when you don't always do as your told.  Share a time when you did that and felt terrible afterward.  This is a time not to judge or criticize but simply to hear the stories of how none of us are perfect, but in our imperfection God loves us still!

Live It:

This week when you realize you did something maybe you shouldn't have done take a moment and think about why you did it and then reflect on this verse.  Also if you encounter or learn about something that someone did and shouldn't have remind yourself...none of us are perfect...but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try!

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To Sin or Not to Sin

Read It: Romans 6:14-15 (NRSV)

 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 

Learn It:

What a great question.  Should we not worry about sinning because we know that we have been saved by grace?  If I'm already promised eternal life through God's grace and forgiveness then what is there to stop me from sinning?  Paul wants us to understand that living in a life of grace and God's forgiveness is a free gift, but if we go and show our lives to other people and in Paul's example God, then our life should reflect the gift given us.  So if we are people who love God then we should have examples and memories of ways we have lived that out. If, however, we have a life full of sin yet say we believe then maybe our true belief isn't what we claim it to be.  Don't just say you believe but live it out.  SAY and DO what you believe.  We don't perform acts of love to others to earn God's grace but we do it as a RESPONSE to that free gift of love and grace.

Share It:

What are the ways that you as a family live out your faith life?  What ways do you live under the grace of God and not under the law of sin?  What might be other ways in the future that you can respond to the grace God has given you?  In other words, what are ways that you can say THANK YOU to God for the gift of grace which tells us of God's love and forgiveness and everlasting life for us?  Share with your family about these ideas and more about living in God's amazing grace!

Live It:

This next week pick 1 thing you can do to live in God's grace and respond to it.  Help out a friend, send someone a note, give a hug, etc.  Make this time a time to live out the gifts God freely gives us.

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Advantages

Read It: Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV)

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

      6 Who, being in very nature God,

         did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

      7 rather, he made himself nothing

         by taking the very nature of a servant,

         being made in human likeness.

      8 And being found in appearance as a man,

         he humbled himself

         by becoming obedient to death—

         even death on a cross!

      9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

         and gave him the name that is above every name,

      10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

         in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

      11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

         to the glory of God the Father.

Learn It:

I am reading a book entitled He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado, and the last chapter I read was about how Jesus allowed the crown of thorns to be placed on his head.  One of the emphases he placed on this particular form of punishment was that Jesus chose to be one of us, he chose to be fully human.  He could have chosen to stop being beaten and he could have chosen to stop the people from spitting on him and he could have chosen to have the crown not placed on his head because besides being fully human he was fully God.  As our passage says Jesus didn't use his equality with God as an advantage, he didn't use it to avoid the uncomfortable or the difficult things he had to face, but instead gave himself to the world completely and gave himself to God's will completely.  Because of his obedience God lifted him above everyone so that we all might know that the true advantage that Jesus had was a Father in Heaven that loved him more than anything.

Share It:

Obviously Jesus had a greater advantage than any of us, being God's own son, but what are the advantages that you have being born into the family you were born into?  What sorts of privileges or rights do you have automatically for being born into the family, nation, town, race etc?  I know these are some tough questions but it's good to see the advantages we have in our life.  What are some of the disadvantages that we have?  Lastly, what are the advantages we have for being Children of God? Look at the passage again and see what honor and blessing it is to be a child of God.  It's quite a wonderful thing.

Live It:

Being a child of God has advantages.  We don't like to think of it that way so maybe think of it as a gift...call it a grace.  What can you do this week with that gift of grace...with the knowledge and advantage of grace that will make someone else's day or week or life a little (or a lot) better?  Think about how you can share with someone else the advantage of a relationship with God.  There are small and big ways that we can show people how much our Father in Heaven cares for them.  Here's a suggestion:  Show them the passage above...it's quite powerful!

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Grounded

Read It: Matthew 4:1-11 (NRSV)

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished.3The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,6saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” 7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor;9and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”10Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” 11Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Learn It:

The temptations of Jesus is a very famous passage and many people know all about Satan coming and tempting Jesus three times and Jesus denying every time. One of the best parts of this passage is a great example of how well Jesus knew scripture. When Jesus says that "One does not live by bread alone..." he is quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. Then again when Jesus says, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test," comes from Deuteronomy 6:16. When Jesus is tempted a third time he quotes, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him," which is a quote from Deuteronomy 6:13. Jesus was able to fend off temptation which is great, but the amazing example that he gives us is that he is able to do it so well by quoting the Bible.

Share It:

Look again at the first thing that Jesus is tempted with...food. Not all temptations in our lives are BIG things. What are some of the things that tempt you in your life? What are some of the ways that you have been able to resist that temptation? Have you ever used scripture to resist temptation? Talk with your family about some of these things and other ways that you are tempted either by friends or things.

Live It:

Spend some time as a family or by yourself and search through the Bible for some scriptures that you think would be great verses to say to yourself when you are experiencing times of temptation. You could also use the scriptures that Jesus used in the verses above. Write down or think about what ways that Word of God was able help you resist temptation. God's Word is a very powerful tool.

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