DAY 52, WHEN YOU NEED FORGIVENESS

The speaker discusses the importance of forgiveness in our relationship with God and others. They mention the Protestant Reformation and how Martin Luther emphasized salvation through faith and forgiveness rather than rituals and indulgences. The speaker explains that unforgiveness creates barriers in relationships and hinders answered prayers. They emphasize the need to forgive others in order to receive forgiveness from God and maintain a healthy relationship with Him. The speaker shares personal reflections on the power of forgiveness and encourages listeners to let go of hurts and betrayals in order to experience God's love and healing. The recording ends with a prayer for healing and a hymn. Welcome to Hope For Today Devotional. Our scripture text is drawn from Matthew Chapter 6 verse 12 to 15. Today we read these words, and forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us. If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. Our theme of meditation is When You Need Forgiveness. Today we celebrate the Protestant Reformation Day. It makes it exactly 505 years since the young German monk, pastor, and professor posted his 95 theses at the Wittenberg Church door. Yes Luther did this on October 31, 1517. Luther believed salvation was only as a result of the scripture, believing the gospel message by faith, receiving God's forgiveness, and beginning a relationship with God as Christ's follower and not a matter of performing rituals and buying indulgences or selling. This is directly related to the message of the kingdom of God which the Lord of the church preached earlier. The message of forgiveness is therefore the message of reformation. Our relationship with our heavenly Father begins on the subject of the controversy He has with us on the basis of our sin. However, that rebellious and disobedient attitude is soon melted into a lovely, forgiving relationship. Now here is how God's love is demonstrated. We read, Towards us, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And greater love has no man than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friends. Every true relationship is going to be tested. Our son-father relationship was intended to grow strong with every passing day. But the truth is it is not always the case as often obstacles come in between as it is in every relationship. If our relationship with our heavenly Father will remain healthy and we enjoy the hotline of prayer without ever having a busy signal from the throne of God, then forgiveness must become our legal tender. Today we shall therefore consider forgiveness in the context of our relationships, specifically our relationship with God and the prayer we raise up to Him. Let me first of all define forgiveness. In the Bible, forgiveness consistently means to lose or to remove a barrier to a relationship. In our context of this kingdom prayer, Jesus taught, it is forgiveness is concerning our relationship with God and the barrier of unforgiveness. There is nothing as difficult and damaging as the barrier of unforgiveness in any relationship, be it material, among colleagues, between parents and children, or between members in a community. In our verse of meditation, Jesus teaches clearly that even as children in a relationship with our heavenly Father, when we come to Him in prayer, if the barrier of unforgiveness is present, then such prayer cannot be answered. In such a case, Jesus therefore shows us the best way to continue having access to God and be assured of answered prayers daily. So we read in Matthew 6, 12, and forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. We now consider the sixth R in the kingdom prayer, which stands for release from guilt and condemnation before God. Jesus' warning is that if we shall continue to enjoy the forgiveness of God, then we must be ready to forgive others who sin against us. To refuse to forgive others, He continued, our heavenly Father will not forgive us also. Clearly, Jesus is saying, failure to forgive those who offend us leads to two consequences. Firstly, we shall not be forgiven by our heavenly Father in heaven, and secondly, our prayers will not be answered. But furthermore, not only does the disciple of Jesus suffer the above two consequences, but he experiences three more troubles. The troubles are well expressed in a quote by Hannah Moore, who said, forgiveness is the economy of the heart. Forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cause of hatred, and the waste of the spirit. When the heart is in such a condition due to unforgiveness, then, clearly, prayer of any kind becomes unpracticable. Any attempt to pray to God only receives the signal due to heart congestion. Please call no more, preferably call later. Dear friend, today's meditation on this Protestant Reformation Day reminds us, challenges us, and reminds us that if we shall grow to be true sons of our heavenly Father, not religious people, practicing religion, practicing rituals, but enjoy His continuous answer to our prayers, to provide our daily bread, receive forgiveness, come under His protection from the devil, and be released from every satanic temptation and seduction and deceit, deception, then we must, like Jesus and Stephen the martyr, say to all who offend us, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. May I ask you now, are you suffering from a deep hurt, a painful betrayer, deception from a close friend, a subtly taking advantage of you? Remember again, to refuse or fail to forgive such hurts you suffer will deprive you of answers to your prayers and a good relationship with your heavenly Father. Better both or, it will hurt you very badly and destroy your health. As a minister and disciple of Jesus, I am constantly becoming more and more conscious of the frightening thought of living, doing all, but possibly dying without God's forgiveness. This leaves me crying out for grace to be able to forgive and let go and ask that the Holy Spirit will constantly help me go over hurts, pain, betrayer, deception, insults, so as to continue to enjoy God's incredible friendship and relationship and eternal love demonstrated through His forgiveness. Catherine Paul Seifer said, and I quote, forgiveness will help you more than the person you forgive. On this Reformation Day, hope for today, devotionals, I cry to God to free as many as are struggling with a hurt, struggling with a deception, struggling with a betrayer, struggling with a terrible, difficult relationship so that they can enjoy fellowship with God and with other people in and out of the church. Let us pray. May God cause your spirit on this day to empower each listener to come to that point, surely, where there is, humanly speaking, such a terrible pain, terrible loss, terrible deception to let go into your hands that you might heal such a heart and there will be fresh, loving, energizing relationship with you and others. Thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. And that Thou didst me come, to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. Just as I am for a jet-light that reaches the end of the night, yeh-oh, I live in thee. I cry, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.