If God had a Prophet marry a prostitute (Hosea) . . . . If God had an Adulterer and Murderer become king (David) . . . . Then, WHO AM I, a sinner, to dictate who is worthy of God's purpose?

Matthew 18:21-35 Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven," (vv.21-22). Who doesn't have debts they need to pay off! And who wouldn't be grateful to have someone release them from their debts? But can we really expect mercy and pardon when we owe someone a great deal? When the people of Israel sinned and rebelled against God, God left them to their own devices until they repented and cried out to him for mercy. The Book of Daniel in the Old Testament recounts the story of Daniel and his three young friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who were sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. When the King of Babylon threw Daniel's three friends into the fiery furnace, they cried out to God to have mercy not only on themselves, but to have mercy upon all his people. "Do not put us to shame, but deal with us in your forbearance and in your abundant mercy" (Daniel 3:19-43). The prophet Jeremiah reminds us that God's "mercies never come to an end - they are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22-23). God gives grace to the humble and he shows mercy to those who turn to him for healing and pardon. We owe God a debt we could never repay God's mercy towards each one of us shows us the way that God wants each one of us to be merciful towards one another. When Peter posed the question of forgiveness and showing mercy to one's neighbor, he characteristically offered an answer he thought Jesus would be pleased with. Why not forgive your neighbor seven times! How unthinkable for Jesus to counter with the proposition that one must forgive seventy times that. Jesus made it clear that there is no reckonable limit to mercy and pardon. And he drove the lesson home with a parable about two very different kinds of debts. The first man owed an enormous sum of money - millions in our currency. In Jesus' time this amount was greater than the total revenue of a province - more than it would cost to ransom a king! The man who was forgiven such an incredible debt could not, however bring himself to forgive his neighbor a very small debt which was about one- hundred-thousandth of his own debt. The contrast could not have been greater!

Good morning family. If you woke up today, that means purpose is still in you. God is not finished with your story. Before the stress of the day tries to speak, let faith rise first. Walk in peace. Walk in authority. Walk knowing the Father goes before you. Declare today that you trust Him completely and that you will shine for Jesus wherever you go.

"Our wound is serious, but the Physician is all-powerful. Does it seem to you so small a mercy that, while you were living in evil and sinning, he did not take away your life, but brought you to belief and forgave your sins? What I suffer is serious, but I trust the Almighty. I would despair of my mortal wound if I had not found so great a Physician."

We are pleased to have you here with us at Servants Building Faith. It is my hope that the Lord will use your literary skills to share, inspire and uplift us all.