Dear One ... Breathe deeply and take a few moments to center yourself. With each breath, remember that you are being invited to live within the reign of God. Trust that God knows your heart and offers mercy to all who seek to live as servants in the kingdom.
Pray ... Merciful God, speak your Word to me and change my heart.
Read the passage slowly with a sense of openness to God's Spirit ...
Matthew 18:23-35 ... the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”
Read the passage again slowly and Reflect. What word or phrase do you sense that God is bringing to your attention? Repeat that word or phrase and consider where it might illuminate your own life. Let the feelings you have about your life right now rise up within you, welcome your feelings ... whatever they may be ...
Read the passage again slowly and Respond. How do you respond to God? Spend time rejoicing with God over your feelings of consolation and lamenting with God over your feelings of desolation until you come to peace with your life in this present moment.
Read the passage again and Rest. Allow your mind to come to a place of silence and sit with God in gentle companionship for as long as it is restful to you ...
Pray ... Be merciful to me, O God.
Cindy's Journal Reflection ... Be patient. O how I struggle with patience. Overwhelmed with life and people and stuff, I often run and run, here and there. I desire to do everything and wind up doing nothing of lasting value. Be patient. Seriously! Suddenly, I am merciless with myself, feeling like a failure ... I think I feel like Elijah. And I think it must be impossible to be merciful to others unless I can be merciful to myself. Otherwise I am a hypocrite!
O God my refuge and my comforter, soften my heart and help me feel your mercy within myself, for myself, for others.
Amen ...
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