Forgetting Your Own Good Deeds

Yesterday, we talked about what it means to “forget” when other people do bad deeds to us. Today, I want to address forgetting when we do good deeds to others. In other words, once our own good deeds are done, they’re done. Forget them. No need to drop little hints on how thoughtful we were. Just as we refuse to keep score of how people have offended us, we don’t keep score of all we’ve done for them.

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Can We Really Ever Forget?

A question flashes through my head as I write these words: can our minds actually allow us to forget? The way God has made us with that internal filing system we call “memory”—it is doubtful we can fully forget even the things we want to forget.

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Forgiving and Forgetting

“I’ll forgive . . . but I’ll never forget.” We say and hear that so much that it’s easy to shrug it off as “only natural.” That’s the problem! It is the most natural response we can expect. Not supernatural. It also can result in tragic consequences.

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How to Make Forgiveness Happen

There is enough in the past few days’ worth of devotionals to keep us thinking (and forgiving) for weeks. But there are a couple of specific applications that need to be considered. First, focus fully on God’s forgiveness of you. Don’t hurry through this. Think of how vast, how extensive His mercy has been extended toward you, like David did when he wrote “Hymn 103.”

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When You Are the Offended, Part 2

Yesterday we read Jesus’s parable of the king who forgave his servant—who then refused to forgive a fellow-servant. (You may want to read it again from Matthew 18:23–35.) From this parable, we learned that to refuse to forgive is hypocritical.

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When You Are the Offender, Part 1

Matthew 5:23–24 describes in a nutshell the correct response and procedure to follow when we have been in the wrong and have offended someone. “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering . . .

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A Reason to Forgive

When wrong has been done against another person, there are only two possibilities of blame. But whether we are responsible for the offense or we are the recipients of it, the first move is always ours. The true servant doesn’t keep score.

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God’s Forgiveness of Us

When on the cross Jesus Christ paid in full the penalty of our sin, God’s wrath was expressed against Him—the One who took our place. God was therefore satisfied in the epochal sacrifice . . . allowing all who would turn, in faith, to the Son of God to be totally, once-for-all, forgiven. Christ’s blood washed away our sin. And from the moment we believe in Him, we stand forgiven, relieved of guilt, before a satisfied God, thereby freeing Him to shower upon us His grace and love.

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God’s Required Course: Forgiveness

Late one spring Aaron was praying about having a significant ministry the following summer. He asked God for a position to open up on some church staff or Christian organization. Nothing happened. Summer arrived, still nothing. Days turned into weeks, and Aaron finally faced reality—he needed any job he could find. He checked the want ads, and the only thing that seemed a possibility was driving a bus in the south side of Chicago . . . nothing to brag about, but it would help with tuition in the fall. After learning the route, he was on his own—a rookie driver in a dangerous section of the city. It wasn’t long before Aaron realized just how dangerous his job really was.

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Turning to God

The composer of Psalm 137 acknowledged the sorrow of his situation, recognizing that Judah had brought this chastisement upon themselves. But he didn’t stay in the doldrums. He turned from the past to focus on God’s unchangeable character, His faithfulness to fulfill promises, His desire to extend mercy with every opportunity. Finally, he turned his eyes to the horizon to anticipate the future.

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