“When Jesus had finished these words, He left Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there” (Matthew 19:1-2).

Crowds were always following Jesus, but we are invited not to just be a part of a crowd looking for something, but in fellowship with Him.  If we will walk as His disciples, we will learn from Him how life was created to be lived.  Jesus does heal us, but it is not just for this life.  He calls for us to seek the greater life that He gives which leads to life eternal.  Do not be content with just being a part of the crowd but seek His righteousness.

Lord, I am often lost in my own world where I am content with just enough.  Let me never be content in this world but press on in faith to seek Your righteousness.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to understand that in You alone is there new life which leads to life eternal.  Help me to take the extra steps each day, doing what You give me to do, listening and obeying as Your Holy Spirit guides me.

Lead me, Lord Jesus, out of the rush of the crowds of this age to abide with You, wherever You may lead and walk in Your counsel.  You know all that I need.  You know the direction I need to go.  Help me to not settle for worldly ways, but continue on the path You have set before me as I become more and more what You are making of me.  Thank You Lord for reaching out and taking my hand.  May I always hold onto You as You lead me.  Amen.  

“And his master, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he would repay all that was owed him.  My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:34-35)

True judgement includes true justice.  Heaven will not allow wickedness through its doors.  Relationship is what we are called into.  Relationship is what the Lord is teaching us to have.  We do not trample over each other as those in the world do but work together side by side for the sake of the kingdom.  Do not let wickedness reside in your heart but learn how to forgive others as you have been forgiven.

Lord, this is often a difficult thing to do.  There are those who have hurt me deeply.  I do understand that when I harbor resentment at the hurt imposed by another, I allow them to continue to hurt me, and my effort to forgive often fails.  Guide me out of the pit so that I learn for my sake how to be truly forgiving.  Lead me up and out of the way of this world so that I see in others a glimpse of You.

Lord Jesus, I know everyone around me is a precious one for whom You died.  You love each one of us.  When I reach the end of myself and cannot forgive, come and lead me on to forgive others through faith in You.  Take me through the obstacles that get in the way and never let me stop searching the Father’s will for my life.  Through Your Holy Spirit, take me through the barrier of an unforgiving attitude so that I may forgive others as I have been forgiven.  Amen.

“Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’” (Matthew 18:33)

Will you not treat others as you are treated?  Are others beneath your dignity?  How we treat others reflects whether we have love within us.  Our salvation is based upon coming into the loving relationship of Trinity and then reflecting that love from deep within us to those around us.  If we do not have love, we are just so much “sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.”  We do need to learn how to have mercy upon others as the Lord has had mercy upon us.

Lord, You know where my heart has those secret places where I am nowhere near being like Jesus.  Continue to work deep within me to remove my selfish desires where I do not love others as You love me.  In my heart, I know it does no good to win prizes or gain advantages, for You have called me into a life that loves You above all things.  Teach me how to love my neighbor as I love myself.

Lord Jesus, I hear these words and I may understand them with my mind, but my heart is often far away.  Bring all of me into Your presence and lead me in Your goodness to realize that You will not stop helping me until I am filled with love as You are.  Take me from where I am to where I need to be.  Keep me on the way You know I need to go.  Guide me always on the narrow way of everlasting life, dear Savior.  Amen.

“So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their master all that had happened.  Then summoning him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me” (Matthew 18:31-32).

In this age, there are many who will do whatever it takes for their self-interest but have little or no compassion others.  This is one of the definitions of wickedness.  There are those of this age who will take every advantage, but do so in order to accumulate for themselves fame and fortune.  This kind of attitude may, for a time, gain what it is after, but it never succeeds in the end.  It merely tears down and destroys others.

Lord, the wickedness of this age is all around me.  I too have been infected.  Lead me away from this wickedness to have compassion on all those whom I encounter.  You care infinitely for each one of us and You have commanded that we love our neighbor as ourselves.  We shall be known by the kind of attitude we show others.  The Lord knows who we are and what will become of each one of us.

Lord, I do need Your grace and mercy for the many times that I have treated others poorly without caring about them.  Guide me in the way of living the new life You intend for me.  Help me to understand that things do not matter so much as I think, but people do.  Lead me away from the wickedness of this age to live into the new life for which You have redeemed me.  Keep me in the upward call of becoming like You, Lord Jesus.  Amen.

“So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’  But he was unwilling, and went and threw him in prison until he would pay back what was owed.” (Matthew 18:29-30)

We are tempted to take vengeance into our own hands.  Yes, the other may technically deserve it, but is it the best thing for them?  In this age, we step on top of each other.  Jesus is teaching us to care for one another.  It is not just a matter of giving everything away, but about being gracious and compassionate to others so that they may have the opportunity to walk in the salvation of our Lord.

Lord, I understand what You are saying here very well.  I understand it, but my heart, hurt by others, strikes back and wants what I feel is fair.  I want justice.  I do not even know what is just, so take me away from this place to where I am able to think, say, and live the reality of Your compassion for others for their sake.  Let me realize that others are watching me, and when I say I follow You, help me to be consistent with what You have taught me.

Holy Spirit, I need Your help.  Yes, I am a hypocrite; I say one thing and do another.  Guide me to neither be condescending, nor defensive, but honest in my thoughts, words, and deeds.  I am in debt to You, and daily I receive grace upon grace.  Guide me in the truth so that I humbly walk by faith, trusting in Your guidance for every situation.  Help me, Lord, to live the new life You are giving me.  Amen.

“And the master of that slave felt compassion, and he released him and forgave him the debt.  But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe!’” (Matthew 18:27-28)

We have been forgiven much, but do we forgive those who have a debt with us?  Many act just as this slave did, being cruel and unmerciful to others.  We can see this kind of behavior in others, but do we see it in ourselves?  This may be a parable, but we see it in the world all the time, especially in the church.  Learn how to listen to the Lord’s prayer and forgive as You have been forgiven.

Lord, You have taught us a very important principle which gets to the heart of the old Adam.  I want Your grace and mercy, but I do not always want to extend that grace and mercy to others.  You teach us that vengeance is Yours, but too often, I want retribution when offended.  Guide me away from the way of the old Adam to have a heart like Yours. I cannot do it, but You can put it in me.

Lord Jesus, I need You to rescue me from myself.  Take away the resentments that are in my heart.  Teach me how to forgive as I have been forgiven.  Lead me in the way of life You give so that I am willing to forgive every debt.  Lord, only You know what is needed in every situation.  Help me to live into the new life You have called me to live.  Guide me in Your goodness to show mercy to others as You have been merciful to me.  Amen.

“But since he did not have the means to repay, his master commanded that he be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment be made.  So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’” (Matthew 18:25-26)

How often do you and I plead with the Lord to have mercy and not give us what we deserve?  Are we as merciful with others as the Lord is with us?  Or are we more like the world which, like falcons coming in for the kill, swoop upon those who are down, attack them, and justify it in our minds.  We all are debtors before the Lord.  Our Lord does have patience with us, and so we should have it with others.

Lord, you have been patient with me and I do not know the extent of my debt to You.  This world’s poison is deep within me.  Help me to be rid of the dog-eat-dog way of this world so that I live with compassion for others as You have had compassion upon me.  I do not want to live in the way of the world, but with the love You have given me through grace.  Help me move into a renewed life. 

Holy Spirit, You know the deeper things in me that cause me to act the way of the world.  Confront me each time I go to a place where I do not have mercy and compassion.  Keep me from the self-justification that is almost instant from my lips when confronted.  Take me to the place where I am more and more like Jesus, truly caring about the welfare of others.  Amen.

“For this reason the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. And when he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him” (Matthew 18:23-24).

The Lord God created you.  He placed you where you are.  He gave you all your opportunities.  He has forgiven you through His own shed blood.  Everything you have comes from Him.  The amount of money in the parable is, for most of us, an unfathomable amount of debt.  We are in debt to the Lord more than we know.  We cannot repay the debt.  We must be redeemed.  We must be rescued.

Lord, help me to see clearly that any sinful sense of superiority I feel is nonsense.  You have redeemed me at the cost of Your own shed blood.  You bought me for a price higher than I can fathom.  You have redeemed all who repent and believe.  What kind of attitude should I have?  Lead me out of  arrogant self-righteousness to come to the place where I willingly see things as they are and live with gratitude.

Holy Spirit, minister to me and slay any haughtiness that is there.  Help me to see things with eyes of humble gratitude.  Let me see others as those equally forgiven.  You know the places where my heart needs to be renewed.  Lead me Lord, and create in me a forgiving heart that loves my neighbor.  Teach me the way to live each day and grant that I have a heart to live as You would have me live.  Amen.

“Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to seven times?”  Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21-22).

Every language has idioms.  This is one of them in Hebrew.  Seven is the number of perfection.  How many times?  Not just until you are perfect, as if it were about you, but as many times as necessary until your neighbor is also perfect.  It is not about becoming a flawless being.  Lucifer was that before he was cast out of heaven.  It is about being in relationship.  In this age, that can only happen with forgiveness.

Lord, You know how and where I harbor resentments and hold back forgiveness.  I remember things from long ago and I will not let them go.  The lack of forgiveness eats at me.  Teach me to forgive as I have been forgiven.  Let me see how silly it is to hold on to these things which only harm me.  Guide me out of the fog of this age to see that in eternity, there will be all kinds of people and one of the things we will hold in common is being both forgiven and having learned how to forgive.

Forgive me Lord Jesus for not living as You have taught me to live.  Guide me deeper into the gift of faith You have given me.  Teach me how to be one who is forgiving.  In Your goodness, remind me each time I hold on to a grudge to let it go.  Grant me an attitude that is forgiving of others as You always forgive me.  Lead me into a life that forgives as I have been forgiven.  Amen.

“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.  For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst” Matthew 18:19-20).

Sometimes, we hear this and think that any two will do for those gathered in Jesus.  This is a faith statement.  When two are in union in Christ, as the Father and Son are in union in love, then they will hear the Lord’s will and act upon it.  Two or three, seeking what the Lord is saying will hear as the Lord leads them forward.  Jesus is constantly reminding us that this is all about relationship.

Lord, I need Your help to go deeper into prayer.  Not only in my prayer life, but also in praying with others.  Lord, take me beyond simply asking for stuff to come to the place of being united with You and others in the business of the kingdom.  Guide me, Lord, so that I may humbly come into Your presence and receive the guidance You have for me and others.  Teach me how to pray in agreement with You that Your will be done.

Lord Jesus, there are many things I do not yet understand.  I sometimes have known something for years, but still do not truly understand it.  Help me to go ever deeper into the mysteries of the faith.  Teach me to give way to the Holy Spirit that my prayers may seek the counsel of Your throne in all that I do.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way You know I need to go and help me to be a person of prayer.  Amen.