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1121 Matthew 17:26 Matthew 18:25 When Pe ter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Si mon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth col lect duty and tax es — from their own chil dren or from oth ers?” 26 “From oth ers,” Pe ter an swered. “Then the chil dren are ex empt,” Jesus said to him. 27 “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a fourdrach ma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven At that time the dis ci ples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the 18 great est in the king dom of heav en?” 2 He called a lit tle child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Tru ly I tell you, un less you change and be come like lit tle chil dren, you will nev er en ter the kingdom of heav en. 4 There fore, who ev er takes the low ly po si tion of this child is the greatest in the king dom of heav en. 5 And who ev er wel comes one such child in my name welcomes me. Causing to Stumble 6 “If any one caus es one of these lit tle ones — those who be lieve in me — to stumble, it would be bet ter for them to have a large mill stone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world be cause of the things that cause peo ple to stum ble! Such things must come, but woe to the per son through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot caus es you to stum ble, cut it off and throw it away. It is bet ter for you to en ter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eter nal fire. 9 And if your eye caus es you to stum ble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is bet ter for you to en ter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. The Parable of the Wandering Sheep 10 “See that you do not de spise one of these lit tle ones. For I tell you that their an gels in 1121 heav en al ways see the face of my Fa ther in heav en. [11] a 12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hun dred sheep, and one of them wan ders away, will he not leave the nine tynine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off ? 13 And if he finds it, tru ly I tell you, he is hap pi er about that one sheep than about the nine tynine that did not wan der off. 14 In the same way your Fa ther in heaven is not will ing that any of these lit tle ones should per ish. Dealing With Sin in the Church 15 “If your broth er or sis ter b sins, c go and point out their fault, just be tween the two of you. If they lis ten to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not lis ten, take one or two oth ers along, so that ‘ev ery mat ter may be es tab lished by the tes ti mo ny of two or three wit ness es.’ d 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to lis ten even to the church, treat them as you would a pa gan or a tax col lec tor. 18 “Tru ly I tell you, what ev er you bind on earth will be e bound in heav en, and whatev er you loose on earth will be e loosed in heav en. 19 “Again, tru ly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about any thing they ask for, it will be done for them by my Fa ther in heaven. 20 For where two or three gath er in my name, there am I with them.” The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant 21 Then Pe ter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I for give my broth er or sis ter who sins against me? Up to sev en times?” 22 Jesus an swered, “I tell you, not sev en times, but sev en tysev en times. f 23 “There fore, the king dom of heav en is like a king who want ed to set tle ac counts with his ser vants. 24 As he be gan the set tlement, a man who owed him ten thou sand bags of gold g was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the mas ter or dered that he and his wife and his chil dren and all that he had be sold to re pay the debt. a 11 Some manuscripts include here the words of Luke 19:10. b 15 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a fellow disciple, whether man or woman; also in verses 21 and 35. c 15 Some manuscripts sins against you d 16 Deut. 19:15 e 18 Or will have been f 22 Or seventy times seven g 24 Greek ten thousand talents; a talent was worth about 20 years of a day laborer’s wages.
day235 just a little heart cleaning Then peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall i forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “i tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Matthew 18:21 – 22 More Verses to explore: Luke 6:37 – 38 1 Co rin thi ans 13:4 – 5 Ephesians 4:2 1122 by T. suZanne eLLer The broom swept briskly over the mahogany floors. I worked with so much energy it probably looked like I was a clean freak. In reality, I was trying to sweep away the lingering pain from harsh words a friend had spoken the day before. Thoughts about those words filled my mind that morning. Putting on some music, I took out the broom and asked God for his grace, because mine didn’t seem to be big enough at that moment. Forgiveness is a bridge I thought I had crossed, and yet I was there again. After working through an abusive, dysfunctional childhood and forgiving those involved, I knew the freedom that comes through forgiving others. So why was the small stuff tripping me up? Apparently my heart still needed healing. God sees my heart. He knows I have forgiven — and I will continue to become a forgiver as I meet life’s challenges. To do that, I have to give myself a little grace and also invite him into the process. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.” As I talked with my Savior, he settled in and made himself at home in the situation. My house got cleaned, and so did my heart. What happens when we are willing to forgive? It moves us one step away from the hurts of the past or the small stuff that tries to hold us down. It draws us close to a life lived in deep-seated faith marked by grace. Turn To page 1124 for your nexT devoTion.
Page 1 and 2: eal•life niv Bible devotional for
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents Alphabetical Orde
Page 5 and 6: 1096 Matthew 1:25 Matthew 3:4 1096
Page 11 and 12: 1102 Matthew 6:7 Matthew 7:5 1102 p
Page 13 and 14: day229 building faith “ask and it
Page 15 and 16: day230 first let me. . . another di
Page 19 and 20: day231 more than cookies “and if
Page 21 and 22: day232 role reversal “Whoever is
Page 29: day234 mean mom, kind mom Then Jesu
Page 33 and 34: day236 i don’t love my husband an
Page 35 and 36: day237 praying for the impossible W
Page 47 and 48: day240 at a distance Those who had
Page 51: 1142 Matthew 28:1 Matthew 28:20 114

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