Daily Devotional, Year 3 – July 1 (Why Doesn’t My Christianity Work? Part 4: “Forgiving Others”)
By admin On February 16th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 3 – July 1
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Why Doesn’t My Christianity Work?
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Part 4:
“Forgiving Others”
This is a continuation of the February 4th devotional… Why Doesn’t My Christianity Work? Part 1
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“Then his lord…said unto him,
O thou wicked servant,
I forgave thee all that debt,
because thou desiredst me:
Shouldest not thou also have had compassion
on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
And his lord was wroth,
and delivered him to the tormentors,
till he should pay all that was due unto him.
So likewise shall My Heavenly Father do also unto you,
if ye from your hearts
forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”
Matthew 18:32-35
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Are you asking yourself the question, “Why doesn’t my Christianity work? Why can’t I study my Bible more? Why is my prayer-life so anemic?”
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Do you sit in church each week and smile, pay tithes, and bless, and sing, and pray, all the while knowing that your Christianity just isn’t working?
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Does your pastor constantly reassure his flock that you are all on the road to Heaven, and you try to hang on to that reassurance, only to be overwhelmed with doubts?
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Well, you are not alone! Probably most other church-goers, these days, are wondering the very same thing!
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Audience hands – cropped & altered – Wikimedia – Universal Public Domain
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FORGIVING OTHERS
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Here above, in today’s opening Bible passage is a very important aspect to having a successful Christian life.
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If we believe that God has forgiven us, then why in the world would we not forgive the debts of others?
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Too many Christians are harboring unforgiveness for the debts of others.
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And such unforgiveness should be a tell-tale sign that my Christianity is in trouble.
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ABOVE PICTURE: the accusing finger share-alike license www.signsofheaven.org
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FORGIVE US AS WE FORGIVE OTHERS
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Listen to the Lord’s Prayer…“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Matthew 6:12
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Once again, the Lord is holding out forgiveness conditional on our forgiveness for others who are indebted to us.
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FORGIVE AND FORGET!
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Now, if somebody is faithfully repaying us on a loan, that’s fine.
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But if we can see that the outstanding debt is taking its toll on that debtor, creating some mental or financial hardship, then perhaps I need to simply forgive and forget about it.
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THE LORD WILL REPAY!
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After all, doesn’t the Lord promise…“Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.” Ephesians 6:8
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Here we have full assurance that the Lord sees our every act of forgiveness and will repay our kindness with like kindness.
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A very simple concept!
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A MONKEY-WRENCH IN MY SALVATION!
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But there are many faithful church-attendees who want to exact justice from others.
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And this unforgiveness is like the proverbial “monkey wrench” in the gears of my Salvation!
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Listen again…“So likewise shall My Heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” Matthew 18:35
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So, whether it be some social blunder, or some act of neglect or rudeness, or even some financial debt gone unpaid, it makes no difference.
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Pilgrim’s Progress – 09, p29 – Obstinate – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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EVERLASTING LIFE WORTH INFINITELY MORE!
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The gift that Jesus wants to give us is worth infinitely more than any earthly debt. Everlasting life is of infinite value.
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And Christ paid for each and every sin I have and will ever commit!
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So why not take the attitude…“freely ye have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:8
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River of Water of Life – H. Melville – Wikimedia – US Public Domain
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HOLY SPIRIT IS THE SPIRIT OF FORGIVENESS
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While a church-goer claims he or she needs time to pray for forgiveness for another, the fact is, true forgiveness is a product of the indwelling Holy Spirit. In 
other words, forgiveness is an ongoing Spirit within a true worshiper of God. I don’t need to dredge anything up. Either I have that forgiveness already, or I need to question my own Salvation.
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For example, when Jesus was on the Cross, He didn’t need more time to say, “Father, forgive them”.
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Nor did Stephen, in Acts 7:60, need more time to say, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.”, regarding those who were stoning him.
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These both already had the Spirit of forgiveness dwelling within!
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Crucifixion darkness – Jesus on the Cross – Gustave Dore – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
Stephen Stoned Acts 7:57-60 – lavistachurchofchrist.org
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GOOD NEWS! MERCY-GATE STILL AJAR!
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The Good News is, that there is still time to repent of these things!
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How wonderful that God has left the door of mercy ajar, that we might enter in!
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But let’s not tarry! Let’s enter in that Narrow Gate!
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And be assured that your supposed unpaid debts from your debtors will be more than compensated for as we joyfully walk hand-in-hand with those former debtors through the Everlasting Gates of Heaven!
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TO READ PART 5, CLICK HERE…
October 25 (Why Doesn’t My Christianity Work? Part 5: “It’s Not How Much I Study, But Rather It’s ‘Why Do I Study?’”)
USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Give me a heart full of forgiveness and compassion…
Prayer – USMC – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Revelation 12 Woman & The Narrow Gate Stars (Orion’s Gate to Heaven)”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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WINTER CONSTELLATIONS
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This most amazing phenomenon is seen throughout the winter. Although it can be observed most of the winter, it is seen best when it is the western part of the sky, at winter’s end (The end of winter being the final scene of this heavenly Gospel story). Orion , the Dragon, and the Glorious White Horse are beginning to descend into the western horizon (sketch to right is Winter Constellations descending into western horizon. This can actually be seen as early as December, in the pre-dawn hours).
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And at this point it is apparent that the Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12 Constellation is veering toward the two bright stars, known as Castor and Pollux (sketch to left). But the Wide Gate Stars are composed of the two brightest stars of the Auriga Constellation, known as the star, Capella, and the star, Menkalinan. The two stars, Castor and Pollux, make up the concept of the Orion’s Narrow Gate Stars.
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This can even be observed into June in the western sky (for a short time just after dark). While a dark night is best for seeing the Woman Constellation, the 4 stars which comprise the Narrow Gate/Wide Gate Stars can be seen even under mediocre conditions. It begins with the Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12 Constellation (AKA Ursa Major) going towards these two doors.
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The sketch to left shows, the two doors are each composed of two bright stars. The two bright stars that comprise the Narrow Gate are the two brightest stars of the Orion the Reaper’s sickle. The two stars that comprise the ‘Wide Gate’ Stars are the two brightest stars of the wave of water that comes out of the Dragon Constellation’s mouth (for explanation of “Wave of Water”, just click here). The stars that make up the ‘Narrow Gate’ are about half 
the width of the Wide Gate (see sketch below left).
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(For more information on Orion’s sickle, just click here, “Orion The Reaper”. )
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Editor’s note: These sketches on this page are merely sketches. The stars are not in their exact place. However, they are close enough to find them in the night sky. But as with most stars, it takes persistence to finally locate them.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Revelation 12 Woman & The Narrow Gate Stars (Orion’s Gate to Heaven)”
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TOMORROW:
July 2 (Strong Delusion In Scripture, Part 8: “The 7 Stars of Revelation: the Church?”)
ABOVE PICTURE – 7 Stars Constellation as the Cross (aka Big Dipper) – winter – signsofheaven.org – not for commercial uses
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH 
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
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THIS STUDY #180 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain
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