09/11/2026
Friday Devotional
Matthew 18:21-22 (ESV)
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
It Cost
This week I’ve been thinking a lot about forgiveness, the truth is forgiveness is hard, it cost us something. If you’re ever going to walk in true forgiveness it’s going to require you to pay. In my own life I have struggled at times with forgiveness. While I have always thought I was a person of forgiveness it was not until I was confronted with my true feelings about an individual that it hit me that I really wasn’t. It’s hard to admit our inability to truly be like Jesus because we justify that we have the right to hate that person. I for one have lived my life this way for a long time. I felt that because this person had caused us so much pain and inflicted so much destruction that I could write them off and never communicate with them again. It was only when I came face to face with them again did I realize I had forgave them with my mouth but not in my heart. The truth is pain in what others do to us taints our heart which in turn affects our thinking. If there is one thing we need to do and that is walk in forgiveness, it’s not always easy, it carries a weight we have to cut loss, but in the end forgiveness is and always will be the right choice. Maybe your forgiveness will require you to go beyond what you feel you can do. Maybe your forgiveness comes by making amends and then letting them go from your life. No matter the case, the circumstances, or the ending, let forgiveness be the center of your life. Remember Peter asked the question and Jesus gave the answer, forgive!
Pastor Bret
Say this prayer:
Dear Lord help me to walk in forgiveness and let go of the hurt. I know that through you I can be a person who forgives. Thank you for all you do and for the victories I’m seeing in my life. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray, amen!
