TSP DAILY DEVOTIONAL
490 TIMES
5th February 2020
Dr. Phil Ransom-Bello
KEY SCRIPTURE/MEMORY VERSE:1 Peter 4:8 (AMPC)
Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].
Four hundred and ninety times.
That’s the number of times Jesus gave as the answer to Peter’s question when he asked how often he should forgive his brother’s offence. (Matthew 18:22)
If you consider the number of hours you’re probably awake in the day, say 16 hours perhaps, and you divide 490 times in 16 places, it comes down to forgiving every 2 minutes.
Does this mean Jesus actually expected him(and by extension, us) to forgive every 2 minutes?
Yes!
God’s love is displayed in His forgiveness.
In fact, God so loved us, that even when we were under the destructive influence of our wrongdoings, He forgave us and rescued us from that influence by giving us new life in Christ. (Ephesians 2:4,5)
Hear me, forgiveness is in your character as a believer to give. If you don’t apply it, then you are not giving yourself to change. Offences are so real and frequent just like we walk, talk, laugh and so there will almost always be offences.
You must practice forgiveness with everyone- your family, leaders, contemporaries etc. Practice doing it everywhere you go. Look for opportunities to forgive.
In Romans 5:1-5, scripture says the gift of our justification by faith causes us to have peace with God. The peace here refers to reconciliation i.e He forgave us and restored our relationship with Him. And because of this, we have a confident hope that we are saved. It’s a hope that will not disappoint(no matter what we go through or how many times we fall) because God’s love has been given to us through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Look, it is important you know this- You cannot love or express love by yourself.
A lot of people love when they have a little trigger of a reason to love.
So, I only love my brother because he gives or does something that makes me love him. That’s the way we are wired naturally to love. We are wired to respond not initiate. So it’s either you do something for me to respond to you or I do nothing because you did nothing. And so when it comes to the subject of love, people are predisposed to loving those they like. It’s easier. And maybe even easier to forgive those they like.
But that’s not the blueprint, is it? In fact, God’s love doesn’t just forgive, it forgets. (Isaiah 43;25)
Your standard for how you take dressing on how to love must come from Christ.
Your standard for forgiveness must come from how Christ forgave you.
God forgives because He is love and that same kind of love dwells in you (1 John 4:8), it is your new normal to forgive too. (Ephesians 4:32.)
REFLECTION
Is the love I express only a response to the love I receive from others or do I love like Christ?
DECLARATION
-I am loved by God.
-I am born of God. His nature is my nature.
-Because of God’s love, my sins are forgiven!
-His love has been dispensed lavishly in my heart.
-The Holy Spirit lives inside of me, therefore, I am empowered to love beyond reservations or inclinations.
-The love I have received from God is the same love I give to others.
– As I have been forgiven, I also forgive.
– This is my reality.
HEARING BY THE WORD
(Recommended Listening)
Listen to LOVE ~ The Series 1 >> Dr. Phil by The StandPoint Church on #SoundCloud
