Don't Be a Big Baby!
Wednesday's Devotion (3-28-07)
"But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you." Luke 6:27-28 (KJV)
At times it can even be hard to do good for those you don't even know, much less your enemies. Even though it is very hard, that is no reason to neglect doing it. There have been some mighty saints among us in the past: Mothers praying for their children's killer, those being killed praying for their own killer, etc. You name it, people have forgiven people for it. Yet at times, we find it difficult to forgive for the smallest things. Someone calls you a name and you hold a grudge. It's not alright to hold a grudge over anything, but if you look deep inside of yourself you might see that you hold grudges over some of the silliest things. We have to let all of our grudges go, from our silliest ones to our most serious ones. We need to give them to God.
I've heard that one of the easiest ways to forgive someone is to ask God to forgive them. Let's use Jesus as an example, when he was hanging on the cross he cried, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." Here is a dying man asking God to forgive His killers. Of course He isn't just any man, He's the Son of God, but He is giving us a great example of how we should act. He must've been one tough guy. I don't know anyone that's strong enough to go through what He did, and then still ask for forgiveness for those doing it to Him. It was our sin that did this to Him really, so when He asked forgiveness for those men He was also asking for our forgiveness. So, if He can forgive us for hanging Him on a cross, then who are we to hold a grudge against any man? I'm thinking of a song, the song is "The Hammer," by Ray Boltz. Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9-yg233-ac.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this message and for all things. Please forgive us of all our sins as we forgive all those who've wronged us. We also ask that you forgive those who have done evil to us. Draw them neigh unto you. Draw us closer as well, make us stronger so that we can forgive as you have. So that we can love as you have. In Jesus name. A-men!
God bless