Daily Bread 8-10-17

Luke 17:3,4

3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again unto thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

ref. - Mt 18:15 - Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

Lv 19:17 - Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.

1 Co 13:4 - Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.

Simple advice in a simple world? Not a chance. This is not advice but rather a commandment given to the disciples by the Son of God. It was not a suggestion but an order. Christ was not training students, he was training leaders. He told them to pay attention to themselves and their own actions. This meant that they are not to watch and wait for others to do their part but to perform what has been instructed to them. Many times we have an issue with someone but never confront them. Or, we have been offended by someone and never forgive them. Even though they have done their part, we cannot find it within ourselves to do our part. We say, "well, if they do their part, then I will do mine." But this is not what Christ commanded them and it is not what is commanded to us. He says to take heed to yourself. We must do our parts whether others do theirs or not. If we are the offended we must make those that have offended us aware of the offense, then the ball is in their court. If they do not accept or do their part, it is then that we are instructed to go to them before witnesses, then if nothing happens, the Church. But, rest assured , God is watching us to see how we handle things and how we act or react to the situation. If we are the offender, and are told of our offense, we must also submit to the commands and seek for forgiveness. If we are truly brothers and sisters, it is not a nice feeling to know that we have hurt those who are so close to us. But if we do not have this charity or love in us, we will feel nothing as our conscience has been seared and we do not feel as we should. We must not think if it as the end as we do have an intercessor for our souls. One who can change what is inside of us and create a heart of flesh from a heart of stone. He can create a Spirit within us of obedience and not disobedience. Seek first the kingdom of God. Seek for him to intervene within us and to remove the hatred or the envy, or whatever it is that has held us back. If there is faith and we can submit, the release and the answer will come and it is up to us not to fight it, but to embrace it. Let's not forget that he once forgave us from a multitude of sins and he has also forgiven us of the many slip ups we have made over our time serving him. We need to practice the same as this is confirmation that the same Spirit that dwells in Christ dwells in us. Forgive, and be forgiven, for it is the commandment of God in Jesus Christ! Have a great day!!!!