The Magnitude of God's Forgiveness

FAITH:

Matthew 18: 10-35
10 "Be careful. Don't think these little children are worth nothing. I tell you that they have angels in heaven who are always with my Father in heaven. 11 The Son of Man came to save lost people.
12 "If a man has a hundred sheep but one of the sheep gets lost, he will leave the other ninety-nine on the hill and go to look for the lost sheep. 13 I tell you the truth, if he finds it he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that were never lost. 14 In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want any of these little children to be lost.
15 "If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again. 16 But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. 'Every case may be proved by two or three witnesses.' 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector.
18 "I tell you the truth, the things you don't allow on earth will be the things God does not allow. And the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows. 19 "Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them."
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, when my fellow believer sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?"
22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven.
23 "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. 24 When the king began to collect his money, a servant who owed him several million dollars was brought to him. 25 But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant's wife and children. Then the money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.
26 "But the servant fell on his knees and begged, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.' 27 The master felt sorry for his servant and told him he did not have to pay it back. Then he let the servant go free.
28 "Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed him around the neck and said, 'Pay me the money you owe me!'
29 "The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.'
30 "But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened.
32 "Then the master called his servant in and said, 'You evil servant! Because you begged me to forget what you owed, I told you that you did not have to pay anything. 33 You should have showed mercy to that other servant, just as I showed mercy to you.' 34 The master was very angry and put the servant in prison to be punished until he could pay everything he owed.
35 "This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."

A lot of us live with a hidden fear that God is angry at us. Somewhere, sometime, some Sunday school class or some television show convinced us that God has a whip behind his back, a paddle in his back pocket, and he's going to nail us when we've gone too far. No concept could be more wrong! You Savior's Father is very fond of you and only wants to share his love with you.

Could you use the genuine fresh air of God's forgiveness? Would you love to stand in the approval of God again? How do you do it? By genuinely admitting to God that you've made a mistake, knowing that God loves you more than he hates your mistakes. And knowing that he will forgive those mistakes.

Does the Word of God say, "There is limited or some condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus"? No. It says, "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Think of it---regardless of our sin, we are not guilty.

FRIENDS:

Father, we are not perfect but we are yours. we're not what we should be, but we do claim your salvation and your grace. We ask you to make us every day more and more into the image of your Son. We stand amazed that you would have such mercy upon us to forgive us time and time again. Thank you for the immeasurable depth of your grace. In Jesus' name, Amen.

DAILY BIBLE CHALLENGE
3. LUKE 21:1-19; HEBREWS 2:1-9; PROVERBS 19:15-29; ISAIAH 6-8
4. LUKE 21: 20-28; HEBREWS 2:10-18; PROVERBS 20:1-15; ISAIAH 9-10

FOOD:

Beef Stroganoff Casserole in the Crock Pot

2 lbs chuck roast, cubed in 2-3 inch cubes
Approx 6 oz uncooked wide egg noodles
16 oz can condensed mushroom soup
8 oz can beef broth, fill empty can with warm water and add to crock pot.
4 oz sour cream
1 tsp salt, pepper to taste

Method
In crock pot add meat cubes, salt and pepper, and then uncooked noodles on top of meat. Then add beef broth, water, sour cream, and mushroom soup. Cook on medium heat for at least 6 hours, covered. There is no need to stir or mix ingredients. The soup, broth & water will make a tasty broth with the sour cream, meat and noodles.
Notes: Make sure you place the meat and noodles in the crock pot first so the noodles absorb the sauce and cook evenly. This recipe can also be made exactly the same way using an 8 oz bag of frozen meatballs, just as delicious! Number of Servings: 4-6

FUN:

There was once a small boy who banged a drum all day and loved every moment of it. He would not be quiet, no matter what anyone else said or did. Various attempts were made to do something about the child.

One person told the boy that he would, if he continued to make so much noise, perforate his eardrums. This reasoning was too advanced for the child, who was neither a scientist nor a scholar.

A second person told him that drum beating was a sacred activity and should be carried out only on special occasions. The third person offered the neighbors plugs for their ears; a fourth gave the boy a book; a fifth gave the neighbors books that described a method of controlling anger through biofeedback; a sixth person gave the boy meditation exercises to make him placid and docile. None of these attempts worked.

Eventually, a wise person came along with an effective motivation. He looked at the situation, handed the child a hammer and chisel, and asked, "I wonder what's inside the drum?"