Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
The Lord will treat you the way you treat others and He will treat them the way they treat you. Forgive one another as God has commanded us to. If you are upset with someone for borrowing money or an item of yours and has yet to return it, take the stance that perhaps they needed it more than you. You will be at peace with it and you will be rewarded. Years ago I lent a Charles Stanley book to a friend and it was entitled, "How to Listen to God" and it was a simple hardback book and she never returned it. But the kicker was she not only never returned it but she reprimanded me for choosing that book as it spoke to her about her lifestyle and her sinful choices and she took it as I was judging her. I explained that I knelt before my bookshelf and asked the Lord for Him to choose for me what book I should lend her and it was He that chose that. Well she stayed angry and I was upset. I told my sister and she told me that the Lord felt she needed the book more than me and I at that moment forgave her and let it go. Years went by and one day I received a package from In Touch Ministries, Charles Stanley's own, and it was a "gift" for me for being a supporter and inside was a beautiful leather bound book and what titled book to do you think it happened to be over the 45 books he has written? You guessed it..."How to Listen to God". Forgive others and God will forgive you and He will be pleased and you shall be blessed.
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