Focal Point: Pt 2 - 5-Day Devotional: Jesus Forgives - Day 5

Reading: Colossians 3:12-15; Matthew 6:9-15

Devotional: Jesus taught us to pray daily: "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." This isn't about earning God's forgiveness—it's about remembering we've received it so we can release it to others. Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting your enemy to die. It destroys you while they remain unaffected. When you struggle to forgive, remember: you will never have to forgive someone more than God has already forgiven you. The person who hurt you hasn't sinned against you more than you've sinned against a holy God. Yet He forgave the inexcusable in you. Two days after nine church members were murdered in Charleston, their families told the killer, "I forgive you." That's supernatural. That's Christ flowing through surrendered vessels. God's forgiveness was never meant to stop with you—it was meant to flow through you to a broken world desperate to see real love.

Reflection Question: Who do you need to forgive today, and what step will you take toward releasing them?

Closing Prayer: Father, thank You that Your forgiveness is complete, constant, and freely given. Help me receive it fully and release it generously. Transform me to be more like Jesus—quick to forgive, slow to anger, and overflowing with grace. Let Your love flow through me to a world that desperately needs to see You. In Jesus' name, Amen.