Tag: forgiven

FORGIVENESS

Posted on by Olaf

Like all the good gifts from God our Father, forgiveness is something we need and something we must share.  You could apply that to most things – our time, our money, our love … our smile! 

At their request, Jesus gave his disciples a model prayer, which included asking ‘our Father in Heaven’ to ‘forgive us our sins . . .’ followed immediately by ‘. . . as we forgive those who sin against us.’  (Matthew 6:12).   Stephen, the first Christian martyr, echoed Jesus’ words from the cross as he was stoned to death for his faith:  ‘Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing!’ (Acts 7:60).  The parable of the unforgiving servant ends with the sobering words ‘if you do not forgive neither will you be forgiven’ (Matthew 18:35).

whose CROSS?

Posted on by Olaf

‘Everything we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see’ – Martin Luther King Jr

Just as for Jerusalem, everyone wants a piece of the cross, laying a claim to it.  So far as the cross goes, here are some of the claims to consider:

  • The Jewish Authorities – without them (the High Priest, the Teachers of the Law, the Pharisees), who would have taken such offence to a person loved by the people as he healed them and taught them? Yet they needed to get someone else to kill him as a ‘cursed convict’ on a cross, so the Roman Empire was convenient.