Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Laura Story singing Grace Abounds … poignantly singing of how God’s amazing/forgiving grace is there especially in those times when we need it most. … And then USE THIS LINK to hear the Christian classic Amazing Grace sung by Brooke Simpson, laying out the amazing forgiveness received by those of us who have received God’s forgiving grace and salvation.
Ravensbrück Concentration Camp in WW2
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Highlight Verse[s]: Luke 23:33-34 [NLT] ... 33 When they [i.e., Roman Soldiers] came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left. … 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
… After being unjustly nailed to the cross between two thieves, Jesus pronounces forgiveness on those who crucified Him.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Luke 23:32-43 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… Jesus from the cross declares His IMPOSSIBLE forgiving grace upon those who crucified Him - and that, dear friends, was more than the ignorant Romans; … it was our Lord’s pronouncing forgiveness for you and me.
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Reference Passage : … Matthew 6:14-15 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus teaches on the necessity for us to forgive others as God forgives us.
Reference Passage : … Matthew 18:21-22 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus teaches Peter - and us - that we must ALWAYS forgive others for the wrongs they do to us.
Reference Passage : … Colossians 3:12 [NLT] … 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
… Paul exhorts fellow Christians to forgive others the way Christ has forgiven us.
Reference Passage : … 1John 1:9 [NLT] … 9 But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
… God’s amazing promise of His amazing - forgiving - grace.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Winn Collier, uses an amazing story of forgiveness from a woman about to be killed in a WW2 concentration camp … to illustrate the way we must forgive others just as Christ forgave us from the cross. … The ODB author wrote: Liberators found the following prayer crumpled among the remains of the Ravensbrück concentration camp [see photo] where Nazis exterminated nearly 50,000 women: “O Lord, remember not only the men and women of goodwill, but also those of ill will. But do not remember the suffering they have inflicted upon us. Remember the fruits we brought thanks to this suffering—our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, the courage, the generosity, the greatness of heart which has grown out of this. And when they come to judgment, let all the fruits that we have borne be their forgiveness.”
I can’t imagine the fear and pain inflicted on the terrorized woman who wrote this prayer. I can’t imagine what kind of inexplicable grace these words required of her. She did the unthinkable: she sought God’s forgiveness for her oppressors.
Do we really need to forgive our offenders … EVERY time?!! … Well, if you believe, as I do, that God’s word is truth, the answer to that one is an unqualified … “YES!” Jesus, Who was (and is) the God- Man, taught it (see Matt. 6 and 18 passages). And then, of course, He modeled it from the cross [see highlight passage], … where He asked His Heavenly Father to forgive those who nailed Him to the cross.
And we know, of course, that Jesus, asking for God’s AMAZING GRACE of forgiveness from the cross, was asking His Father to forgive us - i.e., YOU and ME; because it was our sin that nailed our Lord to that cross.
So, today’s linked songs, our ODB devotional, and most certainly the Scriptures above cry out for us to extend the same kind of AMAZING FORGIVENESS to others that Jesus has offered to you and me. So, I ask, … to whom will we extend His “Amazing Grace” today?!!
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving me, and any repentant sinner, Your AMAZING GRACE of forgiveness.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here are will join me to bring our sins to the cross today for our Lord’s amazing grace of forgiveness and then offer it to others the way Jesus has offered it to us. Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.</ span>
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