If These Walls Could Talk
Luke 19: 28 – 40
Have you ever visited one of our many national historic sites, only to gaze around in wonder, and contemplate the words “If these walls could talk…”
Most recently, this past summer I had the privilege of attending our National Association’s Annual Meeting in Plymouth. I remember walking from the Conference Center to Memorial Hall that Sunday Morning and just gazing over the waterfront at Plymouth Harbor, and imagining what it must have been like Three Hundred and Eighty Eight years ago, in the year 1620. Certainly the shops and buildings that I walked past were not there at that time… nor was the young man who was trying to sell me a souvenir Pilgrim Hat…
I tried valiantly to put myself into the mindset of imagining what the Pilgrims must have endured that first winter in the new world, just as my Del’s Frozen Lemonade started melting… And it was very humbling to realize that there were things right in my vicinity which were here when the Pilgrim Fathers disembarked into what is now Plymouth…
While the Mayflower II, now docked at the State Pier in Plymouth, was built in the 1950s as a replica of the original Mayflower which was dismantled in England in the latter 1620s, it serves as a conversation starter, and it evokes vivid imagination of what life might have been life during the Pilgrims’ crossing from Southampton, England. If only those walls could talk…
Our text for this morning deals with one of the most fascinating stories in the New Testament. We join Jesus as he is starting the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, one week prior to his crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection. His disciples are surrounding him, and generally making a ruckus as they are praising him… And this really gets under the skin of the religious leader in Jerusalem, and so a couple of the Pharisees try to get him to tell his disciples to keep it down.
Jesus’ answer really takes the Pharisees by surprise… But he said, "If they kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise."
I have a very dear friend who really gets into praise and worship. Every so often he will say “I don’t want any stones to do my praising for me…”
It makes me wonder every so often, would we have to have the stones do our praising for us? Will our legacy be that we were so caught up in worship and praise that we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we experienced God’s presence in church this morning? If only these walls could talk…
The whole idea of wondering what they would say if only they could talk is nothing new… Paul the Apostle raised the idea when he encourages us in Hebrews 12: 1 – 3 (I like the way this reads in the Message Translation) “Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”
Paul is telling us to listen for that massive throng of people who had gone before us, who are cheering us on from the Grandstands of Heaven, as we press on toward the finish line! Notice how he encourages us to study what Jesus did, and focus on the things that Jesus focused on…
That brings us to this morning. This morning is Rally Sunday, the official kickoff for the Sunday School. This is also the official kickoff for the fall season, and the crisp, cool air brings back many memories of homecomings, and of new beginnings.
There are those among us this morning who have been students in the Sunday School here at First Congregational Church, going back twenty, thirty, forty, fifty and even sixty years… These people are here today to encourage each of our Sunday School Students, and Sunday School Teachers to study to show yourself approved by God. These people stand today because they are not ashamed of the Gospel… because they know that it is the Power of God for Salvation. These people stand as testimony to the fact that God’s hand was moving among these people then… he is moving among us today… and for generations to come, until the day of Christ’s return, his hand will still move among his children.
Years from today, the lessons that you are going to be learning in Sunday School will continue to be with you. The Bible Memory Verses that your teachers will be sharing with you are filled with wisdom which will serve you as you make decisions, and as you seek to know the Will of God for your lives. These teachers are making an investment into your future because they love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.
I wonder what these walls would tell us if they could talk. I can only imagine what they would tell us about the faithfulness of the saints who have come through this place before, echoing back to the first days of this church… back in 1696. I also wonder what these walls would say 100 years from now, if they could bear witness to the things that we have said and done here.
Let it be said of us that the Lord was our passion
That with gladness we bore every cross we were given
That we fought the good fight, that we finished the course
Knowing within us the power of the risen Lord
Let it be said of us: we were marked by forgivness
We were known by our love, and delighted in meekness
We were ruled by His peace, heeding unity's call
Joined as one body that Christ would be seen by all
Let the cross be our glory and the Lord be our song, by mercy made holy, by the spirit made strong,
Let the cross be our glory and the Lord be our song til' the likeness of Jesus be through us made known,
Let the cross be our glory and the Lord be our song.
I Bid You Peace,
Dr. Ken+
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
An Epistle From A Very Dear Friend
Dear Reader;
Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Inspiration and Lessons are found just about everywhere you look. God surprises us by speaking to us through different avenues... It may be through the scripture, or it may be through a gorgeous sunset, or a ray of sunshine. This particular ray of sunshine came through a letter from a very dear friend. Margarete and I were classmates in High School, and today, several years later, we are brother and sister in Christ.
Her words convey great depth and insight.
I pray that you are blessed by the following exchange which I title "An Epistle From A Very Dear Friend"
I Bid You Peace...
Dr.Ken+
*****************************************************************************
Margarete’s Epistle
What's up doc?? LOL Had to say it. I really am proud of you! Tthat is quite an accomplishment. You should definitely celebrate!! I am sure your family is thrilled for you. I actually like to hear about your work and your opinions on how things are going in that liberal area you are in.....we just shoot em in Texas! LOLYa know, just this weekend, I discovered some things about life. Sounds very philosophical, I know, but admittedly, there were pitchers of Margaritas involved...but, I realized that we are all in this life....just trying to get our way through it. Nobody has some magic pill, or religion, that is just going to solve all our problems and make it all go away. So, we all have to find our way. Another life lesson...if ppl are living in an apt complex at our age or older....most likely they have a story. Last Saturday Bob and I were sitting out on our patio and just chatting...a neighbor came by. She has always been nice, but we REALLY talked and learned a little about each other's story that night. Someone I really never would have thought had THAT big of problems...WOW, was I wrong. My first judgement/impression ....dead wrong. She leaves...another lady that I have barely said hi too...came out and I just started chatting...next thing I know....we are sitting out on the lawn...(LONG story there) and a few other ladies joined us and we were sharing a bottle of wine (or two,.....Margaritas to come) And we somehow got on the subject of church. And, this tatooed lady that I had not talked to much...told me she grew up pentecostal and was trying to find a church here. I was blown away..it hit me then that we have all just got to get through somehow. BTW, it was about three AM at this point....and we were sitting here just having this deep discussion on life...and lo and behold I hear this hissing sound...and I am like what the heck....Then I felt wet....as did the rest of us ....and we realized at that moment the sprinkler system had come on!! We got soaked...so we decided since we were already wet...to go to the pool. Long night, (which is NOT the norm for me) But...I decided that ...ya know we are just all in this together...and we have to muddle thru as best we can. I tell you all of this to set up something I read yesterday....a friend of mine sent me this thing on Revelation and told me to look up this verse...so, I did...and on the next page in my Bible, there was a devotion that caught my eye, Titled "Are You Coping or Conquering?" So, I went on to read the first paragraph.."Life is hard, and most people get throught it simply by coping. If ppl are unhappy in marriage, parenthood, career of friendships, they mostly do the best they can. They Cope. But is this the way God wants believers to live?" Paul once referred to life as a race. The goal is not merely to finish the race, but to WIN,to Conquer. Talk about hitting me square between the eyes! The devotional goes...on and I won't quote it all...but one of the final paragraphs says to read Romans 8:35-39. "and allow these beautiful words of hope to flood your soul. You are an overcomer because of Jesus Christ. "Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." And, 1Jn 5:5 "The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world""When trials, troubles, persecutions, disasters or attacks come, don't give in to fear. God will supply the strength you need to overcome in your adversity; he gives you the strength to overcome in your adversity. Notice that little word "in." God does not usually deliver you out of adversity; he gives you the strength to overcome in (or through) the adversity."God truly has a sense of humor...because I had decided...ya know, I can just muddle through this on my own...But, alas, we do all have our stories...just like you do ...but you were humbled through the eyes of your mother...and found your way back. I hope you do not forget those roots..and I am sure AHS was good training for you...and I do hope you let people know your story as well. It has merit....most of the time you took the high road...but sometimes you took the detour as well...but God brought you through it! As I know he will me too! As Christians, we all have to start being more real with each other, sharing our stories and becoming authentic and letting our light shine!! (Margaritas optional!!)Anyway, rambled on enough....take care, Doc!!
Margarete
**************************************************************************
Hi, Margarete...
Sorry I hadn't gotten back to you before now... It's been a hectic few days around here. Sort of the order of "three weddings and a funeral... and a series of meetings... annual conference... and the like...
Nevertheless, I had not forgotten about you and your latest musings.
I am very impressed (and very proud of you) for your epiphany over a pitcher (or three) of margaritas. It reminds me of the different settings in which Jesus taught his disciples. He (almost) never taught them in a formal worship setting (I think as modern theologians we tend to get it wrong), but rather around the table, or in the back yard around the grill, or even later in the evening sipping a margarita. (I hope that doesn't sound too 'out there', does it?) Or maybe he was walking down a road with a couple of guys... or hanging around a watering hole... it happened, and people just wandered in and out of the unfolding story of Jesus.
Even the disciples were looking for some magic pill to swallow... or some quick fix that would put an end to the problem, but that was not the case... A couple of bottles of wine later, and the disciples were awed by the profound teachings of a few simple words from the master.
Jesus did not preach a sermon... he just turned toward one of the disciples, and would start with "Hey, John... (or Simon, or Andrew...), did you ever consider the lillies of the field?" I can imagine John must have had a quizzical look on his face, "Uh, no... I hadn't..." And Jesus would weave an intricately beautiful picture of a lilly in the field... and then draw a remarkable corollary between that lilly and something in the kingdom of heaven... and then he would wrap it up by applying the imagery to our life. Not preaching... just a conversation between friends.
By the end of the evening (or, in some cases, by the time the sun came up a while later, and they were still parked on the front lawn), it would dawn on the group that they had been in the presence of some profound wisdom. I can imagine them sitting there, and one of them would sum up the experience by saying "Wow, man..."
I enjoyed reading your epistle (I think I'm going to save a copy of your letter to disk and title it "Margarete's Epistle"). The learned lesson that Kingdom Living means more than merely surviving (or muddling through) is a lesson that most of the people we deal with on a daily basis need to learn.
Your point of sharing the title of that devotional was well received. The Question is "are you coping, or conquering?" I believe that Paul said it best... "We are more than conquerors through him who loved us first."
And that is as it should be. If our lives belong to HIM, then our calling must be to do more than just muddle through or merely survive... Our calling is to wake up to the fact that HE calls us from glory unto glory, and to realize that He has already given us the victory in each situation that we encounter.
I am grateful to be your friend, and I am humbled to be your Brother in Christ.
Peace, Love and Blessings...
Doc+
Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Inspiration and Lessons are found just about everywhere you look. God surprises us by speaking to us through different avenues... It may be through the scripture, or it may be through a gorgeous sunset, or a ray of sunshine. This particular ray of sunshine came through a letter from a very dear friend. Margarete and I were classmates in High School, and today, several years later, we are brother and sister in Christ.
Her words convey great depth and insight.
I pray that you are blessed by the following exchange which I title "An Epistle From A Very Dear Friend"
I Bid You Peace...
Dr.Ken+
*****************************************************************************
Margarete’s Epistle
What's up doc?? LOL Had to say it. I really am proud of you! Tthat is quite an accomplishment. You should definitely celebrate!! I am sure your family is thrilled for you. I actually like to hear about your work and your opinions on how things are going in that liberal area you are in.....we just shoot em in Texas! LOLYa know, just this weekend, I discovered some things about life. Sounds very philosophical, I know, but admittedly, there were pitchers of Margaritas involved...but, I realized that we are all in this life....just trying to get our way through it. Nobody has some magic pill, or religion, that is just going to solve all our problems and make it all go away. So, we all have to find our way. Another life lesson...if ppl are living in an apt complex at our age or older....most likely they have a story. Last Saturday Bob and I were sitting out on our patio and just chatting...a neighbor came by. She has always been nice, but we REALLY talked and learned a little about each other's story that night. Someone I really never would have thought had THAT big of problems...WOW, was I wrong. My first judgement/impression ....dead wrong. She leaves...another lady that I have barely said hi too...came out and I just started chatting...next thing I know....we are sitting out on the lawn...(LONG story there) and a few other ladies joined us and we were sharing a bottle of wine (or two,.....Margaritas to come) And we somehow got on the subject of church. And, this tatooed lady that I had not talked to much...told me she grew up pentecostal and was trying to find a church here. I was blown away..it hit me then that we have all just got to get through somehow. BTW, it was about three AM at this point....and we were sitting here just having this deep discussion on life...and lo and behold I hear this hissing sound...and I am like what the heck....Then I felt wet....as did the rest of us ....and we realized at that moment the sprinkler system had come on!! We got soaked...so we decided since we were already wet...to go to the pool. Long night, (which is NOT the norm for me) But...I decided that ...ya know we are just all in this together...and we have to muddle thru as best we can. I tell you all of this to set up something I read yesterday....a friend of mine sent me this thing on Revelation and told me to look up this verse...so, I did...and on the next page in my Bible, there was a devotion that caught my eye, Titled "Are You Coping or Conquering?" So, I went on to read the first paragraph.."Life is hard, and most people get throught it simply by coping. If ppl are unhappy in marriage, parenthood, career of friendships, they mostly do the best they can. They Cope. But is this the way God wants believers to live?" Paul once referred to life as a race. The goal is not merely to finish the race, but to WIN,to Conquer. Talk about hitting me square between the eyes! The devotional goes...on and I won't quote it all...but one of the final paragraphs says to read Romans 8:35-39. "and allow these beautiful words of hope to flood your soul. You are an overcomer because of Jesus Christ. "Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." And, 1Jn 5:5 "The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world""When trials, troubles, persecutions, disasters or attacks come, don't give in to fear. God will supply the strength you need to overcome in your adversity; he gives you the strength to overcome in your adversity. Notice that little word "in." God does not usually deliver you out of adversity; he gives you the strength to overcome in (or through) the adversity."God truly has a sense of humor...because I had decided...ya know, I can just muddle through this on my own...But, alas, we do all have our stories...just like you do ...but you were humbled through the eyes of your mother...and found your way back. I hope you do not forget those roots..and I am sure AHS was good training for you...and I do hope you let people know your story as well. It has merit....most of the time you took the high road...but sometimes you took the detour as well...but God brought you through it! As I know he will me too! As Christians, we all have to start being more real with each other, sharing our stories and becoming authentic and letting our light shine!! (Margaritas optional!!)Anyway, rambled on enough....take care, Doc!!
Margarete
**************************************************************************
Hi, Margarete...
Sorry I hadn't gotten back to you before now... It's been a hectic few days around here. Sort of the order of "three weddings and a funeral... and a series of meetings... annual conference... and the like...
Nevertheless, I had not forgotten about you and your latest musings.
I am very impressed (and very proud of you) for your epiphany over a pitcher (or three) of margaritas. It reminds me of the different settings in which Jesus taught his disciples. He (almost) never taught them in a formal worship setting (I think as modern theologians we tend to get it wrong), but rather around the table, or in the back yard around the grill, or even later in the evening sipping a margarita. (I hope that doesn't sound too 'out there', does it?) Or maybe he was walking down a road with a couple of guys... or hanging around a watering hole... it happened, and people just wandered in and out of the unfolding story of Jesus.
Even the disciples were looking for some magic pill to swallow... or some quick fix that would put an end to the problem, but that was not the case... A couple of bottles of wine later, and the disciples were awed by the profound teachings of a few simple words from the master.
Jesus did not preach a sermon... he just turned toward one of the disciples, and would start with "Hey, John... (or Simon, or Andrew...), did you ever consider the lillies of the field?" I can imagine John must have had a quizzical look on his face, "Uh, no... I hadn't..." And Jesus would weave an intricately beautiful picture of a lilly in the field... and then draw a remarkable corollary between that lilly and something in the kingdom of heaven... and then he would wrap it up by applying the imagery to our life. Not preaching... just a conversation between friends.
By the end of the evening (or, in some cases, by the time the sun came up a while later, and they were still parked on the front lawn), it would dawn on the group that they had been in the presence of some profound wisdom. I can imagine them sitting there, and one of them would sum up the experience by saying "Wow, man..."
I enjoyed reading your epistle (I think I'm going to save a copy of your letter to disk and title it "Margarete's Epistle"). The learned lesson that Kingdom Living means more than merely surviving (or muddling through) is a lesson that most of the people we deal with on a daily basis need to learn.
Your point of sharing the title of that devotional was well received. The Question is "are you coping, or conquering?" I believe that Paul said it best... "We are more than conquerors through him who loved us first."
And that is as it should be. If our lives belong to HIM, then our calling must be to do more than just muddle through or merely survive... Our calling is to wake up to the fact that HE calls us from glory unto glory, and to realize that He has already given us the victory in each situation that we encounter.
I am grateful to be your friend, and I am humbled to be your Brother in Christ.
Peace, Love and Blessings...
Doc+
Sunday, September 7, 2008
As We Forgive Those Who...
Matthew 18: 21 – 35
Matthew 5: 23 - 26
While the church is going to the field, reaching out to bring in new converts, Satan is taking them out the back door… back into unbelief… back into the world… through the Spirit of Unforgiveness…
The Spirit of Unforgiveness is doing more damage to the church today than any other tool or tactic that the enemy has in his arsenal…
In our texts today, we see very clearly that Forgiveness is important in the Kingdom of Heaven… and in fact, Jesus himself points to the idea of Forgiveness and the Kingdom.
Our texts today deal with Jesus’ parable of the Unforgiving Servant, and the importance of reconciling with your brother or sister before you come to the altar.
And so, in Matthew 18 we begin one of Jesus’ most important parables. The back-story to this parable is that Jesus was having a conversation with Peter about this important subject, they were talking about who was the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, and Jesus pointed to a little child, and said that unless you become like a little child… unless you have a child-like faith, you can never enter the Kingdom of Heaven… Then he turns around and compares his role as the Shepherd of our Souls to the story of a shepherd who is missing one of his sheep, and goes out and basically moves heaven and earth in order to find that one lost sheep.
Then Jesus offers a riveting commentary… he said that there is a way to settle disputes between members of God’s family… and there are ways NOT to settle disputes among the members of God’s family… and then, seizing an opportunity to teach on the subject of Forgiveness, he launches into the Parable of the Unforgiving (or Unmerciful) Servant…
Jesus started off his parables with the words “The Kingdom of Heaven is like… a King who wanted to settle accounts with his servants… some of his servants owed him money, and one servant in particular owed him $10,000… and he couldn’t pay. In verse 25, we see that the King ordered that the servant… and his wife… and his children… and all his possessions… be sold in order to pay the debt that he owed.
Because he could not pay, five different relationships were effected… 1.) The King… 2.) The Servant… 3.) The Servant’s Wife… 4.) The Servant’s Children… and 5.) The Servant’s possessions… because the servant owed a debt of forgiveness…
And he begged and pleaded with his master, the King… and the King took pity on him, and forgave him all that he owed… and the man left.
What happened next is really sad, and very deeply disturbing… The moment the servant leaves the palace, he sees a friend of his who owes him $1.00… and the Bible says that this servant grabbed the other man by the throat… and said “you pay me what you owe, or off to prison you go…” and he throws the man into prison.
Another servant of the King noticed this interchange, and quickly informed his Majesty, who quickly summoned the servant… and threw the book at him. “You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
Let’s not lose sight of the fact that the reach of an unforgiving spirit is deep… it penetrates deep into the soul… and its reach is far… it can reach across many miles, and it can reach across the chasm of many years… Unforgiveness effected everything he had… it effected every relationship he had… it jeopardized his marriage… his children… every possession that he owned… every friendship that he had…
We are either a blessing to one another…
Or we are an affliction to one another.
What you do affects your wife… your family… your children… everything…
Unforgiveness destroys everything until the restitution of forgiveness is made.
The thing about the relationships we have is that offenses are inevitable… disagreement is inevitable… but as members together of the Body of Christ, the message is that we are called upon to be agents of forgiveness and mercy.
We offended God so much, that if he demanded payment from us, we would be destroyed. But God… demonstrated his love for us in this, that while we were yet sinners, Christ Jesus died for us. God himself made a way for us to be forgiven… and then he tells us to turn around and share that forgiveness with the next person… and the next…
Remember the words of the Lord’s Prayer? “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us?” Jesus meant business when he taught us this lesson.
If you’ve ever said something like “Oh, I just can’t forgive that person for what he has done…” or if you’ve ever held a grudge to the point where it becomes an all-consuming obsession, remember what happened to the Unforgiving Servant. As a result of his act of unforgiveness, his debts were recalled… they had been dead, but they were brought back to life. The other thing is that his master, the King turned that servant over to his tormentors until the debt was paid in full.
Sadly enough, it really wasn’t the King who delivered the unforgiving servant to his tormentors… it was his own act of unforgivness that sealed the deal.
In Matthew 5: 23 – 26 we see something interesting… Jesus tells us to be reconciled with our brother or our sister before we come to the altar with our offering…
if there is any strife among you… reconcile with your brother or sister first… leave your offering before the altar, go to your brother or sister… then come together to the altar and make your offering.
I Bid You Peace...
Dr. Ken+
Matthew 5: 23 - 26
While the church is going to the field, reaching out to bring in new converts, Satan is taking them out the back door… back into unbelief… back into the world… through the Spirit of Unforgiveness…
The Spirit of Unforgiveness is doing more damage to the church today than any other tool or tactic that the enemy has in his arsenal…
In our texts today, we see very clearly that Forgiveness is important in the Kingdom of Heaven… and in fact, Jesus himself points to the idea of Forgiveness and the Kingdom.
Our texts today deal with Jesus’ parable of the Unforgiving Servant, and the importance of reconciling with your brother or sister before you come to the altar.
And so, in Matthew 18 we begin one of Jesus’ most important parables. The back-story to this parable is that Jesus was having a conversation with Peter about this important subject, they were talking about who was the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, and Jesus pointed to a little child, and said that unless you become like a little child… unless you have a child-like faith, you can never enter the Kingdom of Heaven… Then he turns around and compares his role as the Shepherd of our Souls to the story of a shepherd who is missing one of his sheep, and goes out and basically moves heaven and earth in order to find that one lost sheep.
Then Jesus offers a riveting commentary… he said that there is a way to settle disputes between members of God’s family… and there are ways NOT to settle disputes among the members of God’s family… and then, seizing an opportunity to teach on the subject of Forgiveness, he launches into the Parable of the Unforgiving (or Unmerciful) Servant…
Jesus started off his parables with the words “The Kingdom of Heaven is like… a King who wanted to settle accounts with his servants… some of his servants owed him money, and one servant in particular owed him $10,000… and he couldn’t pay. In verse 25, we see that the King ordered that the servant… and his wife… and his children… and all his possessions… be sold in order to pay the debt that he owed.
Because he could not pay, five different relationships were effected… 1.) The King… 2.) The Servant… 3.) The Servant’s Wife… 4.) The Servant’s Children… and 5.) The Servant’s possessions… because the servant owed a debt of forgiveness…
And he begged and pleaded with his master, the King… and the King took pity on him, and forgave him all that he owed… and the man left.
What happened next is really sad, and very deeply disturbing… The moment the servant leaves the palace, he sees a friend of his who owes him $1.00… and the Bible says that this servant grabbed the other man by the throat… and said “you pay me what you owe, or off to prison you go…” and he throws the man into prison.
Another servant of the King noticed this interchange, and quickly informed his Majesty, who quickly summoned the servant… and threw the book at him. “You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
Let’s not lose sight of the fact that the reach of an unforgiving spirit is deep… it penetrates deep into the soul… and its reach is far… it can reach across many miles, and it can reach across the chasm of many years… Unforgiveness effected everything he had… it effected every relationship he had… it jeopardized his marriage… his children… every possession that he owned… every friendship that he had…
We are either a blessing to one another…
Or we are an affliction to one another.
What you do affects your wife… your family… your children… everything…
Unforgiveness destroys everything until the restitution of forgiveness is made.
The thing about the relationships we have is that offenses are inevitable… disagreement is inevitable… but as members together of the Body of Christ, the message is that we are called upon to be agents of forgiveness and mercy.
We offended God so much, that if he demanded payment from us, we would be destroyed. But God… demonstrated his love for us in this, that while we were yet sinners, Christ Jesus died for us. God himself made a way for us to be forgiven… and then he tells us to turn around and share that forgiveness with the next person… and the next…
Remember the words of the Lord’s Prayer? “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us?” Jesus meant business when he taught us this lesson.
If you’ve ever said something like “Oh, I just can’t forgive that person for what he has done…” or if you’ve ever held a grudge to the point where it becomes an all-consuming obsession, remember what happened to the Unforgiving Servant. As a result of his act of unforgiveness, his debts were recalled… they had been dead, but they were brought back to life. The other thing is that his master, the King turned that servant over to his tormentors until the debt was paid in full.
Sadly enough, it really wasn’t the King who delivered the unforgiving servant to his tormentors… it was his own act of unforgivness that sealed the deal.
In Matthew 5: 23 – 26 we see something interesting… Jesus tells us to be reconciled with our brother or our sister before we come to the altar with our offering…
if there is any strife among you… reconcile with your brother or sister first… leave your offering before the altar, go to your brother or sister… then come together to the altar and make your offering.
I Bid You Peace...
Dr. Ken+
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