forgiveness

²¹At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, "Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?"

²²Jesus replied, "Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.

^{23 -25}"The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants. As he got under way, one servant was brought before him who had run up a debt of a hundred thousand dollars. He couldn't pay up, so the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market.

^{26 -27}"The poor wretch threw himself at the king's feet and begged, 'Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.' Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt.

²⁸"The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, 'Pay up. Now!'

^{29 -31}"The poor wretch threw himself down and begged, 'Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.' But he wouldn't do it. He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid. When the other servants saw this going on, they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king.

^{32 -35}"The king summoned the man and said, 'You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. Shouldn't you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?' The king was furious and put the screws to the man until he paid back his entire debt. And that's exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn't forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy."

Matthew 18

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

18:21-35 Though we live wholly on mercy and forgiveness, we are backward to forgive the offences of our brethren. This parable shows how much provocation God has from his family on earth, and how untoward his servants are. There are three things in the parable: 1. The master's wonderful clemency. The debt of sin is so great, that we are not able to pay it. See here what every sin deserves; this is the wages of sin, to be sold as a slave. It is the folly of many who are under strong convictions of their sins, to fancy they can make God satisfaction for the wrong they have done him. 2. The servant's unreasonable severity toward his fellow-servant, notwithstanding his lord's clemency toward him. Not that we may make light of wronging our neighbour, for that is also a sin against God; but we should not aggravate our neighbour's wronging us, nor study revenge. Let our complaints, both of the wickedness of the wicked, and of the afflictions of the afflicted, be brought to God, and left with him. 3. The master reproved his servant's cruelty. The greatness of sin magnifies the riches of pardoning mercy; and the comfortable sense of pardoning mercy, does much to dispose our hearts to forgive our brethren. We are not to suppose that God actually forgives men, and afterwards reckons their guilt to them to condemn them; but this latter part of the parable shows the false conclusions many draw as to their sins being pardoned, though their after-conduct shows that they never entered into the spirit, or experienced the sanctifying grace of the gospel. We do not forgive our offending brother aright, if we do not forgive from the heart. Yet this is not enough; we must seek the welfare even of those who offend us. How justly will those be condemned, who, though they bear the Christian name, persist in unmerciful treatment of their brethren! The humbled sinner relies only on free, abounding mercy, through the ransom of the death of Christ. Let us seek more and more for the renewing grace of God, to teach us to forgive others as we hope for forgiveness from him.

encouragement

lately i've been really attacked. more and more of those discouraging thoughts enter my mind. poisoning thoughts, really. these questions plague me. "what's the point?" "why even try?" "do they even care?" i drown in these. "it's no use." "nothing you do makes any difference whatsoever." "just give up." i've been unfairly comparing wb with other churches and that's a poisoning thought. in the sense that i think, why can't our church be like that? what's wrong with us?? i learned those are the wrong questions. i've learned that the questions i should be asking are, what does God want for our church? not "what do i want for this church." i took my mind off of God, and it really messed me up. i need to keep my mind on God always. He has to be the center of everything. there's no real point if He isn't. i had lunches and phone calls with friends and i found encouragement and wisdom. God blesses different ministries in different ways. be grateful for the ministry that we do have. put your all into it all the while having God back you up all the way and He will bless it. it isn't our job to change people's hearts. it's our job to offer the invitation. God does the rest. no matter how hard it seems, we need to push on. but we have to make sure our own mind, body, and soul are in tip top shape before we can help others. will taught me this cool analogy. we're like a cup. and we want to be filled with God. whatever overflows should be our ministry. to put our all into ministry without being first filled with God is a trap. we find ourselves furiously shaking the cup for some drop of God's blessing and miracles but to no avail! we're not filled with Him, so how can we possibly expect God's blessing to come out of us? how can we show people what God's love is like if we're not experiencing it ourselves?? it just doesn't make sense! that's when we get burnt out. that's what happened to me! i learned it the hard way. but i think it's something that i had to learn because i know the dangers of it now and how scary it is to not have God prominent in my heart. right now i'm trying to just be still and know that He is God. i'm filling myself up with Him. the only thing that really satisfies. i find comfort and strength in Him. to know that everything is in His hands. that He is watching out for me. to know that His love is never-ending and His love is always here. it's up to us to acknowledge it or not. i took time to finally just worship and read the Word and spend time with my Father. He was here all along. tears came to my eyes. He was saying to me, "I'm here. I was just waiting for you to look at me. I would never leave you. How could you ever think that? I'll never forsake you. you are mine, and i am yours. don't forget that, thien. i love you." i needed that. i think everyone needs that. those who believe and those who don't. to know that God truly and genuinely cares about them. and it's our mission to go out into the world and let them know that they are loved. everyone deserves to be loved even if they've done things that make it seem like they don't. God loved us when we were undeserving. so if Holy Spirit lives in us, we are called to love like that. to love with generous, sacrificial hearts. not scared of rejection and shame. because we've been saved from that. we've found acceptance and honor. we're called to love the easy to love. and we're also called to love the undeserving. those who hate us. those who hate God. this is the love that God had for us, and this is the love we have to offer for those who were just like us at one point before we were saved. those who are indifferent. those who are angry. those who are questioning. those who are confused. those who are hurting. those who are lost. those who were just like us. it's our calling to go out and share this love we found. we will endure criticism and questions we can't answer. but be encouraged because God delights in our passion for Him. He smiles when we are willing to risk our own reputations and our desires for Him. and He is standing there. holding our hands. always.

¹⁰"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.

^11-12"Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don't like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

^14-16"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Matthew 5

let's be the light that God wants us to be. by living generous lives, people will see God in us. and they'll want to know Him more. and that's when He is glorified. let's be God's light.

What do I see..

..when i look at the cross?

something more

i'm tired of living for myself. how far can my self take me? my self is flawed, selfish, greedy, egotistical, materialistic, self-absorbed. my self is all about me, me, me. and i'm honestly kind of sick of it. to satisfy myself, i never really satisfy. i always want something more. something more exciting, more fun, more satisfying. i don't want to care about my self anymore. it's never really gotten me anywhere but to a place of more want. once i achieve something, i want something else. i want what i can't have. it's scary to think that our culture preys on that. buy this food processor you don't need and a bike you won't ever ride. pop culture tells us to not be happy with what we already have. we could have something newer, something better. that dingy old computer you have, go and get a new one. throw that old one away, it's not good enough for you. and we completely overlook the fact that we're in the top 8% of people in the entire world who own computers. it's amazing, really. why can't we just be satisfied with what we already have? why can't we be content? maybe it's built in. something in our hearts that desires more. but we've been filling it up with the wrong things. things that don't last. things that will fade in time. i want something that will last. i'm tired of spending money on "temporary" things. i want something that will last forever. maybe money can't buy us that. i've found myself growing this past year. and i don't want to go back to that ignorant teenager i was back in high school. i want to keep growing in knowledge and in faith. i find myself wanting to give money away. i'm tired of buying things for my self. i'd rather give it away to make someone else happy. but then i realize that happiness will be wilted away in our culture. someone will say that my gift is not good enough or something better will come along and it will be thrown aside. again, i'm brought back to filling others up with the wrong thing. i want to give love. i want to give neverending, all-encompassing, everlasting love. but i don't have that, remember? but i do have something. i have love that has been given to me. love that lasts forever. the love of the One who died for me. that loved me so much that He would sacriifice Himself for me. even though i am not deserving, selfish, egotistical, self-absorbed. even though i don't appreciate. He still gave His life for me. it breaks my heart that i would forget that amazing but simple truth. JESUS DIED FOR ME. He looked past my flaws and my failures and said, "I love you so much." nothing can ever take that away. and that satisfies me. but i won't stop there. no. not even close. i'm not going to let my selfishness hold me in one place and keep this love for myself. i want to give it away to as many people as i can reach. i want people to know that they are loved. even though they've failed, cheated, lied, hurt. they are loved. we take this fact for granted. we forget and we do things that totally disregard that fact. and yet He still forgives us. every single time. i'm tired of being a complacent, sheltered, safe christian. above all else i want to be a Christ follower. a man who truly loves and follow God and God only. not the ways of the world. i'm tired of living an orange county life. i can't do it. i'm sick of all the commercials, advertisements, celebrities, clothes, shopping. i want to live in a place where people need me. where they aren't soaked up in the tv and computer screens. and then i realize that they need me much as those in the impoverished countries do. they're lost in a sea of clutteredness. whereas those in africa or vietnam or found in a sea of desolation. i want to do what i can here and do what i can there. it's a daunting task. but i'd give up my life for it. i'm tired of thinking in my mind, "if Jesus came into my life right now and told me to leave everything, would i really do it?" i want to think, "if Jesus came into my life right now, i would run as fast as i could after Him." to drop everything and go. i think it's a scary question for anyone who follows God. would you really up and leave your job or school to live for Jesus. many of us would hesitate. i don't want to hesitate. if He called me. i want to bolt right after Him and fall in His arms. i want to get people to that point somehow. and i find myself getting frustrated. why can't they see where i'm coming from? why can't they live their lives for God truly even though they say they do? why aren't their hearts broken but also rejoiced when they see that cross and the sacrifice that was made for them? and i realize. it's not up to me. i can't do anything in my own power. i can't change their hearts. only He can. all i can do is try my best and leave the rest up to God. and one day. we can all rise up as one and say, "This is our God."

You got me when I was an unformed youth, God, and taught me everything I know. Now I'm telling the world your wonders; I'll keep at it until I'm old and gray. God, don't walk off and leave me until I get out the news of your strong right arm to this world, news of your power to the world yet to come, your famous and righteous ways, O God. God, you've done it all! Who is quite like you? You, who made me stare trouble in the face, turn me around; now let me look life in the face. I've been to the bottom; bring me up, streaming with honors; turn to me, be tender to me, and I'll take up the lute and thank you to the tune of your faithfulness, God. I'll make music for you on a harp, holy One of Israel. When I open up in song to you, I let out lungsful of praise, my rescued life a song. All day long I'm chanting about you and your righteous ways, while those who tried to do me in slink off looking ashamed.

Psalm 71:17-24

passion

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 2:42-47

listen to the math

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