The Word for Today
With Bob Gass

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Don't Keep Score Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. - Colossians 3:13 TM

Jimmy drank too much at the party and embarrassed his wife Lisa. Next morning he felt bad and asked her to forgive him. She said she would, yet she kept bringing it up. One day, in discouragement, he said, "I thought you were going to forgive and forget." She said, "I have, I just don't want you to forget that I have forgiven and forgotten." Do you forgive like that?

Keeping score only works in competitive sports; it's disastrous in relationships. There's so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us, that we'll spend much of our lives learning to forgive and forget. And forgetting is harder when the offence is great. Small offences can be forgiven quickly; big ones require a healing process. But until you make the decision to forgive, the process can't even begin. How can you "Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you"? Paul answers, "Clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others" (Col 3:12-13 NLT). To practise this kind of forgiveness you must focus on a person's worth, not their weaknesses. You must turn your heart away from what was, to what can be.

You say, "Why should I forgive and forget?" (1) Because God's Word tells you to. (2) Because you yourself will continue to need forgiveness. (3) Because you weren't built to carry the stress that goes with resentment.

SoulFood Bible Readings: Lam 1:1 - 3:39, Luke 18:31-43, Ps 84, Pr 19:11

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This message from The Word for Today came from Rhema Broadcasting Group Incorporated in association with The Vine, New Zealand. "The Word for Today"® is copyright © Bob Gass Ministries.

Used under 'limited copy' permission by:

The Word for Today
With Bob Gass

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What's Choking You? Desires for... things... choke the Word. - Mark 4:19 NIV

In the parable of the sower Jesus said, "Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the Word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the Word, making it unfruitful" (Mark 4:18-19 NIV). Notice, the problem is not the sower or the seed, it's the soil. Jesus said they "hear the word", so we're talking about churchgoers with a pre-existing mindset that chokes every Scripture they hear, read, or try to apply. Jesus describes these thorns as: "The worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things" (Mark 4:19).

Do you remember the time when you thought the house you now live in, the career you now enjoy, and the investments you now have, would make all your worries go away? But no, the more you have, the more you have to lose, to protect, to maintain, and to worry about. That's "the deceitfulness of wealth". If your significance as a person or your sense of security is tied to anything other than your relationship with God, worry will choke the life right out of you. True happiness lies in trusting God for what you need, knowing if it's right He'll provide it, and if not He'll give you something better.

Chuck Swindoll writes, "We live among thorns because we've a quiet, respectable, secret love for them. I know. I've got the ugly scars to prove it. Each one a mute reminder of years trapped in the thicket; periodically I still have to yank a few." How about you - do you have some thorns you need to pull?

SoulFood Bible Readings: Lam 3:40 - 5:22, Luke 19:1-10, Ps 103:1-12, Pr 19:12-16

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Tell your friends about The Word For Today e-mail service. If you've been encouraged by The Word for Today, then your friends will be too. NZ - Click here, UK - Click here.

---

This message from The Word for Today came from Rhema Broadcasting Group Incorporated in association with The Vine, New Zealand. "The Word for Today"® is copyright © Bob Gass Ministries.

Used under 'limited copy' permission by: