Matthew 18:21-22 “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”

We know that when we forgive others we do not negate their responsibility in the sin. In addition we know that forgiveness is always an act of grace that requires a choice on the part of the one granting the forgiveness.

In light of all of this Peter asks a common question, “How many times?” Jesus then responds with a universal answer “As many as it takes!”

Stop trying to justify an unforgiving spirit.  Stop keeping a list of the offenses of others.

Questions for today:
1. How many times have you needed to be forgiven yourself?
2. How many times has Christ forgiven you?

Let us not excuse, ignore or in any way justify sin in others and certainly not in ourselves.
Yet let us respond with the grace of a forgiven heart.

Let us respond like Christ responded to us! (Ephesians 4:32)

1 Peter 2:20. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.

We all, from time to time, suffer from the wrong we do. That's life!

Yet there are times when in doing and for doing right we suffer.

At those moments we must, with extreme caution, examine our response.

We are called  to patiently endure. Not to quit God's calling or course for our lives.

Today let’s  anticipate  that suffering is the expected companion of a righteous life.

In doing so let us commit to continue doing what is right and responding with a Christ-like heart.

Hint: One of the ways to keep our hearts right is to pray for those who treat us wrongly.  This will help keep our hearts from bitterness and our spirit  from anger. 

Matthew 5:44 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you;”


Have you ever been mistreated, rejected or simply hurt by the actions of others?

How did or how are you responding?

The right response is always from the inside out!

We must make four choices in our response to those who hurt us.

#1 – Choose to love – Love is always a choice.
#2 – Choose to bless – To speak well of someone.
#3 – Choose to “do good” – To act rightly toward others.  
#4 – Choose to pray – Asking God to lead them into the blessedness of His will for their lives.

Note: Praying for those who have hurt you is the most revealing test of your right or wrong response.
You cannot stay hurt or angry at someone you are praying for!


Today, regardless of others' choices, let us choose to do and be right.