Walk in Forgiveness
ICS Daily Devotions
Matthew 6:12 (NKJV) And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
Scripture says that when we confess our sins before God, He forgives us and cleanses us from all our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). God forgives and forgets about our sins and trespasses because of the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ. That’s how liberating it is for a sinner to know that God has forgiven and wiped away the records, and God wants us to do likewise to our fellowmen.
When we say our prayers daily, this portion of the Lord’s Prayer helps us to remember that we are sinners who are imperfect in our ways and who require the forgiveness of God. At the same time, it reminds us to forgive and release our debtors from our hearts, and extend grace, mercy and love toward them just as we have received from the Heavenly Father. In Matthew 18:21-35, the Bible records the story of a servant who was forgiven a debt by his master. Yet, he refused to forgive an insignificant amount owed to him by a fellow countryman. Consequently, this man was delivered to the torturer until he paid his dues because he had refused to forgive his fellow countrymen. Therefore, God expects us to forgive those who have sinned, wronged and offended us daily.
Living a consecrated life means walking in God’s will, holiness, and righteousness. These submissions to Christ’s Lordship would not be possible if we had not genuinely decided to live our lives for Him. We are still imperfect though we are seen as righteous and holy in Christ. Therefore, we need to deal with the flesh daily because our flesh will want to take offence towards what is said and done towards us, hold grudges, and not forgive our debtors. However, the pre-requisite is for us to forgive our debtors so that God will forgive us.
Matthew 6:14-15 (NKJV) “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
This portion of the Lord’s Prayer helps us to forgive those who have offended us, regardless of whether they have apologised or not. Consecration has to do with being set apart for holiness and righteousness, so if we don’t consecrate our lives to God, we will find it difficult to forgive those who have offended us. When we consecrate our lives to God, we consider that our “old men” have been crucified with Christ, and we have risen to a new life. Therefore, we can walk in the Spirit and love, and reign in the flesh and control our emotions.
These two verses serve as a daily reminder to declutter what’s in our hearts. They also help us to decide to forgive. Forgiving someone takes a lot of dying to self, but it is possible since we have the nature of God in our hearts.
Sermon Series: Lord, teach us to pray
