Wednesday April 20, 2011

Speaker: Ben Sigman

Theme: What every parent needs

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Run - Hillsong, All Because of Jesus - Fee, Lead Me To The Cross - Hillsong, Arms Open Wide - Hillsong

Read: Matthew 18:21-35

Think: You hear it all the time- "forgive and forget!" If you do this, all your problems will go away and you'll live happily ever after. So, every time your spouse or somebody close to you hurts you, you forgive them then eventually you forget. You then realize that it was only a temporary amnesia and what you once had forgotten creeps up at the most "convenient" times.

As humans, we love keeping records of how somebody has hurt us or even better- how you've done somebody so well. The danger of this is that it hinders your ability to forgive, often creates grudges (whether expressed or not) and it tends to be used for manipulation purposes i.e. guilt trips! 

When you want somebody to do you a favor, you suddenly point out the fact that you did something for them many years ago or when you hurt somebody, you forget to say "sorry" and instead, remind them the last time they hurt you. 

It's obvious that none of this comes from a spirit of love, rather, it comes from a place of revenge and pridefulness which causes more division than reconciliation. 

The bottom line is. If you want to keep fighting, arguing and eventually turn numb towards one another- keep doing this. If you want to restore your relationship, learn how to forgive- truly forgive and if you don't know what that looks like, take a look at the life of Jesus. 

Do: Write down a person's name that you haven't yet forgiven and also what they did to hurt you. Pray over this name and ask God to soften your heart towards this person. Once you have come to a place of forgiveness, contact this person via phone, email, FB and tell them that you forgive them. 

Pray: God, please help me to forgive others just as you have forgiven me. 

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.