Key Thought

Have you ever gotten yourself in a hole you couldn't get out of? Most of us have. When we find ourselves in that kind of situation, there is only one solution: grace. We need someone bigger than we are and with more resources than we have to redeem and ransom us from a situation we don't have the ability to salvage. Like the debtor in this parable, we were hopelessly over our heads and deep in debt. We had no resources to repay a small debt, much less the enormous resources needed to pay off the huge debt we owed. God, in Jesus, did it. He forgave us because of his mercy and grace. How can we ever thank him enough?

Today's Prayer

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Thanks, dear Father, for your enormous gift of grace that redeemed me and brought me into your family. I will live my life in thanks and praise for your gift. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, when my brother won't stop doing wrong to me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must continue to forgive him even if he does wrong to you seventy-seven times. " "So the kingdom of heaven is like a king that decided to collect the money that his servants owed him. The king began to collect his money. One servant owed the king several thousand pounds of silver. The servant was not able to pay the money to his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant's wife and children. The money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed. "But the servant fell on his knees and begged, 'Be patient with me. I will pay you everything I owe.' The master felt sorry for his servant. So the master told the servant he did not have to pay. The master let the servant go free. "Later, that same servant found another servant that owed him a few dollars' worth of silver. The servant grabbed the other servant around the neck and said, 'Pay me the money you owe me!' "The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me. I will pay you everything I owe.' "But the first servant refused to be patient. The servant told the judge that the other servant owed him money, and the other servant was thrown into prison. The servant had to stay in prison until he could pay everything he owed. All the other servants saw what happened. They felt very sorry for the man. So they went and told their master everything that happened. "Then the master called his servant in and said, 'You evil servant. You owed me much money, but you begged me to forgive your debt. So I told you that you did not have to pay anything. So you should have given the same mercy to that other man that is a servant with you. You should have given him the same mercy that I gave you.' Themaster was very angry, so he put the servant in prison to be punished. And the servant had to stay in prison until he could pay everything he owed. "This king did the same as my heavenly Father will do to you. You must truly forgive your brother or sister, or my heavenly Father will not forgive you."

— Matthew 18:21-35 (ERV)

Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.