Forgive Deeply & Quickly
Prayer 365 // 5 Keys to Forgiveness (Day 3)
More from this week:
Today's Scripture:
“If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.” The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you!" - Luke 17:3-6 NIV
Today's Devotional:
Our theme for this week of devotion and prayer is the "5 Keys to Forgiveness." This is a continuation from Sunday's message titled "The Rhythm of Forgiveness." And with these keys, we are going to open the door of our hearts to God as we forgive to be forgiven.
These are the 5 Keys to Forgiveness:
Today our focus is to Forgive Deeply & Quickly. In Luke 17:3-4 Jesus says “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.” What Jesus instructs us to do is clearly not easy but it's absolutely necessary. Because, remember, if we don't forgive, God cannot forgive us (Matthew 6:15).
In His example, Jesus says Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” Please understand that He is not giving a threshold for forgiveness, He’s not giving you the point where you can cut them off, instead He is shining light on the imperfect nature of man. There’s one thing for sure, everyone of us are going to make mistakes and more than likely it’ll be more than once in a day. His example displays a need to be willing to forgive as many times as needed even in a single day, showing our need to forgive both deeply and quickly.
We must forgive deeply, meaning we cannot just forgive with our mouths, but we must forgive with our hearts. If I were to tell you I forgive you and then two days later you make another mistake and I bitterly bring up what you did two days ago, that means I didn’t forgive deeply, it didn’t make it to my heart. I said it in my words but it didn’t manifest in my actions. Forgiveness must happen deep within the heart to avoid allowing bitterness to infect our bloodstream. Because when bitterness enters our hearts, it spreads to every area of our lives (Proverbs 4:23).
So not only should we forgive deeply, but we must forgive quickly. As we've already stated , man is not perfect. Any person that has made a mistake is bound to make another. If you are a parent, you are all too familiar with this truth. You may correct a child once and they say, "I'm sorry, I won't do it again..." but then moments later they do the very thing they just apologized for. For this reason we cannot hold grudges against children and nor can we hold grudges against people because chances are they are going to make a mistake again. So forgive deeply and quickly. I want to give you two tips on how to accomplish this:
1. Don’t focus on the number. This is for those who are analytical and are tempted to count how many times we forgive. Do not attempt to keep count of how many times you forgive a person. If you focus on the number, it’ll frustrate you. What this really shows is that if you’re keeping record, you’re still counting. Don’t focus on the number, instead focus on the motive.
2. Focus on the motive. What we do doesn’t matter as much as why we do it. What is your motive? What is the driving force behind your forgiveness? Because forgiveness is so unnatural to our flesh, we must look to God for our example. I remind us that Jesus’s sacrifice, the shedding of His blood, is key to our forgiveness with God. So let’s look at John 3:16 (NIV) - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” We find God’s motive for our forgiveness in the first six words “For God so loved the world…” Love is God’s motive. He loves us. He loves me and He loves you. No matter how messed up we are as a people, He still extends forgiveness because His love supersedes any mistake, twisted mindset or infected heart. Love is God’s motivation. In fact, Love is who He is and His love is unconditional.
Therefore, my prayer is that you would let love to be your motive. Not what they did. Not what happened to you in your past. Not your wounds. Not the voices of those around you. Let love be your motivation, the driving force of your forgiveness.
I'm praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
These are the 5 Keys to Forgiveness:
- Give Grace
- Rebuke
- Forgive Deeply and Quickly
- Forgive even if they don’t repent
- Pray for them
Today our focus is to Forgive Deeply & Quickly. In Luke 17:3-4 Jesus says “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.” What Jesus instructs us to do is clearly not easy but it's absolutely necessary. Because, remember, if we don't forgive, God cannot forgive us (Matthew 6:15).
In His example, Jesus says Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” Please understand that He is not giving a threshold for forgiveness, He’s not giving you the point where you can cut them off, instead He is shining light on the imperfect nature of man. There’s one thing for sure, everyone of us are going to make mistakes and more than likely it’ll be more than once in a day. His example displays a need to be willing to forgive as many times as needed even in a single day, showing our need to forgive both deeply and quickly.
We must forgive deeply, meaning we cannot just forgive with our mouths, but we must forgive with our hearts. If I were to tell you I forgive you and then two days later you make another mistake and I bitterly bring up what you did two days ago, that means I didn’t forgive deeply, it didn’t make it to my heart. I said it in my words but it didn’t manifest in my actions. Forgiveness must happen deep within the heart to avoid allowing bitterness to infect our bloodstream. Because when bitterness enters our hearts, it spreads to every area of our lives (Proverbs 4:23).
So not only should we forgive deeply, but we must forgive quickly. As we've already stated , man is not perfect. Any person that has made a mistake is bound to make another. If you are a parent, you are all too familiar with this truth. You may correct a child once and they say, "I'm sorry, I won't do it again..." but then moments later they do the very thing they just apologized for. For this reason we cannot hold grudges against children and nor can we hold grudges against people because chances are they are going to make a mistake again. So forgive deeply and quickly. I want to give you two tips on how to accomplish this:
1. Don’t focus on the number. This is for those who are analytical and are tempted to count how many times we forgive. Do not attempt to keep count of how many times you forgive a person. If you focus on the number, it’ll frustrate you. What this really shows is that if you’re keeping record, you’re still counting. Don’t focus on the number, instead focus on the motive.
2. Focus on the motive. What we do doesn’t matter as much as why we do it. What is your motive? What is the driving force behind your forgiveness? Because forgiveness is so unnatural to our flesh, we must look to God for our example. I remind us that Jesus’s sacrifice, the shedding of His blood, is key to our forgiveness with God. So let’s look at John 3:16 (NIV) - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” We find God’s motive for our forgiveness in the first six words “For God so loved the world…” Love is God’s motive. He loves us. He loves me and He loves you. No matter how messed up we are as a people, He still extends forgiveness because His love supersedes any mistake, twisted mindset or infected heart. Love is God’s motivation. In fact, Love is who He is and His love is unconditional.
Therefore, my prayer is that you would let love to be your motive. Not what they did. Not what happened to you in your past. Not your wounds. Not the voices of those around you. Let love be your motivation, the driving force of your forgiveness.
I'm praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
Did you know that Thryve Church prays together 365 days a year? Join us Monday-Friday at 6:30am & Saturdays at 8am for "Prayer at the Altar" by dialing 339- 207-7471 and then join us Sundays at 11am for Worship Service! Learn More