Living in the Spirit of Peace and Forgiveness
Today’s Bible Verses:
Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
In today’s verses, Saint Paul offers a powerful blueprint for living in the peace and unity that the Holy Spirit brings to the Christian community. He contrasts the destructive behaviors that can tear us apart with the virtues of kindness, compassion, and forgiveness that bind us together in Christ.
Paul begins by identifying the "old self" – our sinful nature inherited from Adam. This nature is prone to bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, and malice. These behaviors are like poison, seeping into our relationships and communities and causing division and pain.
In contrast, Paul calls us to put on the "new self," created in Christ's image. This new self is characterized by kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. These virtues reflect the very nature of God, who in Christ has shown us the ultimate act of forgiveness.
The heart of this passage is the call to forgive one another, "as God in Christ forgave you." This forgiveness is not based on our own merit or the offender's worthiness but on God's boundless grace. In Christ, we have been forgiven of all our sins and are called to extend that same forgiveness to others.
PRAYERS
Keep in Your Prayers:
All people dealing with cancer
Those who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
A Prayer for Today:
Heavenly Father, thank you for the forgiveness you have given me in Christ. Help me to put off the old self with its bitterness and anger, and to put on the new self, which is created in your image. Fill me with your Holy Spirit, that I may be kind, compassionate, and forgiving to one another, just as you have forgiven me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.