Devotional for April 20

Let All the Earth Fear the Lord

13 The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.
14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.
16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Psalm 33:13-19 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

If you only workout when you feel like it, your workouts won’t be consistent enough for year to year improvement (Mark 4:26-32; Luke 9:61-62; Matthew 9:38). Wisdom takes counsel of faith, not of feelings (Proverbs 29:12; Jonah 2:8). Forgiving those who have hurt you can be harder to endure than even the toughest of workouts (Matthew 18:21-35). It is futile to try to forgive a serious wrong done to you in your own strength (Galatians 3:3-9). Turn to our Lord, who has commandment us to forgive, and He will grant you the change of heart you need (1 John 1:9; Psalm 28:6-9, 29:11). He will always answer the prayer that sincerely seeks to obey His will as written in His word (Matthew 12:20; Hebrews 4:12; Isaiah 55:11). Just as you want the Lord to remember his mercy and not your sins, discipline your own thoughts about whomever has hurt you (Isaiah 55:7). Let go of the anger and the pain (1 Peter 5:7). Remember that vengeance belongs to the Lord (Romans 12:19-20). Trusting in the Lord is a healing balm that never fails (2 Chronicles 7:14). If you have sincerely asked the Lord to enable you to forgive an offender from your heart, and persist in the exercise of giving them forgiveness in your thoughts, you will be able to let the hurt go (Philippians 2:13). Do this for your sake, especially when the offender is undeserving of forgiveness (Luke 6:32-36). The burden will be released and the wrong will lose its sting (Matthew 11:28-30).  

Question

How do we forgive others and please the God?

Answer

I am convince there is but one way to please God in all our ways (2 Corinthians 12:9-10), and that is by having faith in God (Mark 11:23-24) according to knowledge of the truth (John 17:17; Luke 10:42; Mark 11:22; Hebrews 11:6, 10:38; Romans 1:17; 1 Corinthians 16:13-14; Matthew 7:12; Matthew 22:36-40).

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

Almighty and everlasting God, grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. from the Book of Common Prayer