That is why we keep on talking to God about you since the day we heard about you. We ask him that you may know everything he wants you to do. We ask him that you may be very wise and that the Spirit will help you to understand.
We ask him that you will live the way the Lord wants you to live, so that you will please him in everything you do. We ask that you will do everything that is good. We ask that you will see the fruit from what you do. We ask that you will know more and more about God. God has wonderful power. And we ask him to give you all the strength you need to go through all your troubles, to be very patient in them, and to be happy. Thank the Father who has made us ready to be with the people of God who live in his light. (WE)
Colossians 1:9-12
| DAY 17—We open ourselves to Heaven’s blessings. |
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It takes a work of faith to forgive others. The Lord will give us this faith if we come before Him like the beggar of which Jesus spoke when He said, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven—Matthew 5:3.
Forgiveness opens all the blessings of Heaven’s Kingdom to us. This passage from Luke points us toward this good way.
Luke 6:36,37—Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven...
(MSG) 35-38 "I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we're at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind. "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don't condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you'll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity."
Luke 17:3-5—Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, 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. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
(MSG) "Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him. If he responds, forgive him. Even if it's personal against you and repeated seven times through the day, and seven times he says, 'I'm sorry, I won't do it again,' forgive him." The apostles came up and said to the Master, "Give us more faith."To always be a kind and forgiving person requires that the Lord gives us the faith to live this way. We need this faith in order to truly believe that the one we forgive will not turn and rend us again. Even so, the Lord expects us to continue forgiving. We will be this way till it simply becomes our nature to be always forgiving. Like leaven in the Kingdom, what we are will eventually spread to others. Until the Lord returns there will always be many wrongs that must be forgiven. Then the wrongs will be gone. They won’t be here always requiring forgiveness. But, the actual Laws of the Kingdom can begin working and spreading in our homes, even now.
We learn to contend with the wicked one, and to prevail.—Psalm 10:1-18OUR GREAT LORD, what wonders open unto us when we submit to Your will and discover the ways of Your Kingdom. Please keep my family and these others whose names I call before Your Throne filled with that desire for Your Kingdom I once saw in so prevalent in them. Show all of us the ways of Your Kingdom for this time in which we are now being privileged to live. Help us find our way through the maze of trouble that surrounds us. Teach us how to live when there seems to be no way of living at all.
Berean Ministries
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Elk Park, NC 28622-0038
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