January 17, 2021: SOAP #4063:  Genesis 42-43; Psalm 5; Luke 17

SCRIPTURE:  Luke (NIV) 17:3 So watch yourselves. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

OBSERVATION:   It takes faith to forgive. 

APPLICATION:    It takes faith that God has forgiven me.  Being forgiven with the Great Forgiver living inside me, I am not given a choice, I must forgive. 

It takes faith that God will work in my feelings.  I must understand that forgetting is a process, but forgiveness is a choice.  When I choose God’s way, I can count on Him to help me.  As I meditate on what God has done for me, the many times He has forgiven me, the hurt of the memories fade and soon become like something I read in a book instead of personally suffered. 

It takes faith that God works through all things for good.  The process that brought us to owning the house in which we live, started with our rent being raised $100/month not once, but twice in one year!  There was anger; there was hurt feelings; we had been wronged.  But God used it for good! 

PRAYER:  Great Forgiver, you are my Lord; you are working to make me like you.  When I sin and you forgive me, you do not hold me at arm’s length away, but you draw me near to your heart.  Help me do the same to those who sin against me. Amen. 

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity! 

My personal SOAP saga:  It has been nine days since the doctor drained 2.4 liters of fluid from my chest.  I have had no return of symptoms of fluid restricting my lungs.  I give God praise and I give thanks to all who have prayed for me!  God is the victor!  To Him be the glory! Tuesday I will go to the VA Hospital to get a readout of my CPAC use then take it to the clinic so they can finish my CDL physical.  A week from Monday I will have a chest x-ray and visit with the doctor to verify what God has done.