In the previous devotions I covered the following
portion of The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread.
Today we cover the next phrase in sequence: And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along
with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one
another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Therefore, as
God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
انْزِعُوا
عَنْكُمْ كُلَّ حِقْدٍ وَنَقْمَةٍ وَغَضَبٍ وَصَخَبٍ وَسُبَابٍ وَكَلَّ شَرٍّ.
وَكُونُوا لُطَفَاءَ بَعْضُكُمْ نَحْوَ بَعْضٍ، شَفُوقِينَ، مُسَامِحِينَ
بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضاً كَمَا سَامَحَكُمُ اللهُ فِي الْمَسِيحِ.
فَالبَسُوا ثَوباً يَلِيقُ بِأبناءٍ
مُختارِينَ وَمُقَدَّسِينَ وَمَحبُوبِيْنَ مِنَ اللهِ: ثَوبَ الشَّفَقَةِ،
وَاللُّطفِ، وَالتَّواضُعِ، وَالوَداعَةِ، وَالصَّبْرِ.
Ephesians 4:31-32,
Colossians 3:12
In the Jewish writings it is common to call sins
"debts"; and the phrase, of forgiving, is used both of God and men.
While we are to forgive the monetary debts of the poor who cannot pay, we are
also to forgive those have done us wrong and to pray to God to forgive them
also.
I find it easier to understand this phrase of The
Lord’s prayer as follows: Lord please teach me, help me, and strengthen me to
forgive others in the same way You have forgiven me.
It has been said that forgiving others is the most
selfish thing you can do for yourself, because it releases you of all the
anguish and negative bitter feelings you hang onto when you don’t forgive.
These feelings continue to hurt you until you forgive. It has also been said
that non-forgiveness is like taking poison and hoping the other person will
die. Jesus’ teaching to forgive our enemies is not such a tough thing when we
realize it’s for our own good.
I invite you to repeat the following
prayer for yourself:
Abba Father, thank You for Your
abundant blessings and Your deep, everlasting
and inseparable love. LORD, I pray that out of Your glorious riches You strengthen me with power
through Your Spirit in my inner being, so that I can forgive my debtors as You
have forgiven me and to pray for them. Help me God to get rid of all
bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of
malice. Strengthen me so that I can clothe myself with compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness and patience. God I praise You, revere You, worship
You, I stand in awe of You, and glorify Your Holy Name. I declare to the
world that Christ is my Lord and Saviour. In the name
of the King of kings and Lord of lords, in the Holy Name of Your only
begotten Son Jesus, I pray to You Father. To Jesus be the power, the
glory, the majesty and the dominion forever and ever and unto ages of all ages.
Amen.
Jesus loves you,
In Him,
Wagdi Henein
No comments:
Post a Comment