The Unforgiving Servant: Part 4 (Matthew 18:21-35)

Hello All,

Just a final recap on the sequence of events which have unfolded in this parable:

·         The servant could not repay his debt to the king and was about to face the penalty of defaultment.

·         So the servant pleaded for mercy and the king forgave him and cancelled all of his debts out of compassion.    

·         However, the servant refused to forgive a fellow servant who owed him some money but imprisoned him until the debt was fully paid.

·         The king was furious at the servant’s unwillingness to forgive and ordered for him to be put in prison until he should pay back all of his debt.

The Unforgiving Servant: Part 4 (Matthew 18:21-35)

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (15^th September 2012)

My dear readers, have you already experienced

God’s forgiveness for your sins after repentance?

This forgiveness was bought at such a great cost

Through Christ’s propitiating death on the cross

Do you have bitterness welling up within?

Towards someone who against you has sinned?

Are there hurts from the past you cannot release?

Give them to Jesus for in him you will find peace.

THE END…..

Points for Reflection:

God’s sacrificial love and forgiveness were clearly displayed on the cross where Christ bore the penalty for our sins. The price paid for the reconciliation between a holy God and sinful man is such a costly one and that should motivate us to forgive others as God has forgiven us. Christ even prayed for the forgiveness of those who cruelly mocked, flogged and crucified him.

Luke 23:33-34

And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”               

Unforgiveness is like a potent seed which is sown into our hearts each time we are angered by people who have wronged us. If this seed of unforgiveness is not unearthed and thrown away, it could easily take root and grow into bitterness which is like a poisonous plant that infects every part of the soil. Even the good fruits (good works we do for God) borne by the good plants in the soil of our heart would be tinged with bitterness.

The process of unearthing the seed of unforgiveness and uprooting bitterness is not an easy one and might even be painful. But as Christians, we are so fortunate to have the Holy Spirit to help us in this challenging process.  Why don’t you ask God to help you tend to the soil of your heart? 

The Unforgiving Servant: Part 3 (Matthew 18:31-34)

Hello All,

Just to recap on the sequence of events which have unfolded in this parable:

·         The servant could not repay his debt to the king and was about to face the penalty of defaultment.

·         So the servant pleaded for mercy and the king forgave him and cancelled all of his debts out of compassion.    

·         However, the servant refused to forgive a fellow servant who owed him some money but imprisoned him until the debt was fully paid.

The Unforgiving Servant: Part 3 (Matthew 18:31-34)

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (15^th September 2012)

When the other servants saw what had taken place

They were greatly distressed and utterly amazed

At the servant’s unwillingness to forgive

His debtor after the great pardon he had received

The servants reported to the king their concern

The king was greatly displeased and his anger burned

Against the servant who refused to learn

That forgiveness is grace that cannot be earned

The king summoned the servant before him

And rebuked him harshly for his wicked sin

Of continual refusal to show mercy

After his own debts were cancelled so freely

The king ordered for him to be delivered

To prison in the hands of the jailers

His length of incarceration had been set

Until he should pay all of his debt

TO BE CONTINUED…..

Matthew 6:14-15

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Points for Reflection:

·         A person who has truly experienced God’s forgiveness will be able to forgive others or at least make an effort to do so with the help of the Holy Spirit. Continual refusal to forgive shows that a person has not truly experienced God’s grace and is therefore not saved.

·         Are you unwilling to forgive some people who have grieved you in the past? Those people might have hurt you deeply and it might even seem reasonable to hold their sin against them. But if God was willing to forgive us for our innumerable sins, shouldn’t we attempt to do likewise with the enablement of the Holy Spirit? Pray to God for a forgiving heart. 

Happy Father's Day 2013

Hello All,

People generally lament the fact that Father’s Day is usually regarded as an anti-climax after the celebration of Mother’s Day.

Mothers are showered with many lovely gifts but fathers would perhaps receive a gift or two.

Maybe one of the reasons is the difficulty that children face in selecting a gift from a very narrow and limited range of presents for men.

I personally find it a challenging task when it comes to choosing a gift for my father.

After having exhausted the choices of a branded wallet for his birthday, a classic wrist watch for Christmas and a shirt for another birthday, I am not left with many alternatives since he possesses no interest in sports and neither is he a technologically savvy person.

 When all is said and done, we know in our hearts that we do love our fathers.

But most importantly, let us always remember that our Heavenly Father loves us infinitely more than our earthly fathers are capable of.

Happy Father's Day 2013

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (14^th June 2013)

My simple finite mind could never comprehend

The Heavenly Father's great love for sinful man

He sacrificed his precious only Son, Jesus

To justify and sanctify sinners like us

My heart overflows with abundant thankfulness

Because our Heavenly Father has chosen us

Before he laid down the foundations of the earth

He has called us as his children before our birth

Let us thank him for the gift of earthly fathers

Who fulfill their role as protectors and leaders

As children, may we seek as to love and honour them

For they've been set o'er us by our Father in heav'n

Points for Reflection:

But when the fullness of time had come, God [Heavenly Father] sent forth his Son [Jesus Christ], born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)

·         For those of us who have put our trust in Jesus Christ, God has adopted us as his beloved children.

·         God has redeemed us from the law. The law refers to God’s holy law in the Old Testament that was written long before the coming of Jesus into the world. The law makes us aware of our sinfulness and the punishment for sin but it is unable to save sinners like us. We are saved because God the Father willingly sacrificed his dearly beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to take the penalty of our sin.

·         Have you become a child of God? If you are not a child of God then you are sadly a child of the Evil One and your eternal destiny after death is judgment in hell. God is calling out to you to come into his wonderful Kingdom as his precious little child.

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 4:6-7)

·         If you are a child of God, then you are an heir of God’s inheritance which is eternal life in heaven. This is a treasure which is so much more valuable than the fleeting wealth of this world.

·         As a child of God, you have the privilege of addressing your Heavenly Father in a personal way as your ‘Abba Father’. He is not an impersonal God who looks down condescendingly on us but he is our Heavenly Father who loves us and his ears are always open to our cries and prayers.

·         Have you taken this wonderful privilege as God’s child for granted? Why don’t you spend some time thanking God for his wonderful love to us? Do pray for those who are still in the darkness and use the opportunities that you have to bring the gospel to them.

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

·         It is one thing to discipline your children for their good but it is another issue to vent your anger and frustrations on them.

·         Have you been guilty of being verbally and even physically harsh with your children? If so, maybe it is a good time to tell God that you are sorry and pray that you will be able to lovingly discipline your children just as our Heavenly Father lovingly disciplines us when we do wrong.

·         Have you been bringing up your children in the ways of the Lord? You might be a loving and responsible father but you should not neglect to instill the love for God’s Word into hearts of your children.

·         If you have been instilling godly values into your children then allow me to take this opportunity to commend you highly for your endeavours and exhort you to continue doing so.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” (Ephesians 6:1-3)

·         There are some of us who are very attached to our fathers and they are like a friend to us.

·         There are others who know in their hearts that they have good fathers but are often irritated with their fathers’ idiosyncrasies.

·         God commands us to honour our fathers; so no matter how annoyed we might get with them, let us pray for God to grant us patience in the way we relate to them.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant (1 Corinthians 13:4)

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son [Jesus Christ] into the world, so that we might live through him. (1 John 4:7-9)

·         There may be some whose fathers have sadly passed away. Even with the passing times, the pain of loss is still evident. There are still others who have suffered under the hands of abusive fathers. In the absence of loving earthly fathers, we can take comfort in the fact that God has not left us as orphans but he has adopted us as his beloved children. 

The Unforgiving Servant: Part 2 (Matthew 18:28-30)

Hello All,

Just to a quick recap on ‘The Unforgiving Servant: Part 1’ that was posted a few weeks ago:

·         The servant could not repay his debt to the king and was about to face the penalty of defaultment.

·         So the servant pleaded for mercy and the king forgave him and cancelled all of his debts out of compassion.    

The Unforgiving Servant: Part 2 (Matthew 18:28-30)

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (15^th September 2012)

The servant rejoiced at his newfound freedom

He went out of the house with jubilation

But on his way he found a fellow servant

Who owed a hundred denarii in payment

The servant seized his victim by the neck

And demanded full payment for the debt

His fellow debtor fell on his knees

And pleaded for patience, tolerance and mercy

The unforgiving servant showed no sympathy

But imprisoned his debtor as a penalty

For the unresolved debt of a hundred denarii

Until it was paid to the very last penny

TO BE CONTINUED…..

Points for Reflection:

·         After experiencing God’s gracious forgiveness for your many sins, are there people being held captive in the prison of your unforgiving heart?

·         How have those people wronged you? It would be good if you could make a mental list (or even a written list if you are hardworking enough) of the names of the people who have wronged you and the ways in which they have hurt you.

·         No matter how long that list of grievances might be, it can never ever compare to the depth of our sin against a holy and righteous God. Do you truly realize the great price that was paid by Christ who hung on the cruel cross for the forgiveness of your sin?

·         There is no denying that it is not easy to forgive certain people in your life especially if they have hurt you deeply. There will definitely be a great struggle in your heart to forgive. But the most important thing is the willingness to try to forgive, not relying completely on our own strength but asking God to help us. Why don’t you take a few moments to tell God about the unforgiveness you are harbouring in your heart and ask him to help you to forgive? Your heart will become lighter as you learn to surrender the burden of unforgiveness to God each day.  

Au Revoir

Hello All,

Farewells and good-byes are inevitable occasions in our lives.

There are those farewells which are sweet, those that are bitter, some which are bitter-sweet and others may bring us much pain.

Those partings are brought about by a variety of circumstances:- a change of career direction, the pursuit of tertiary education, the moving of our family to a different place, misunderstandings, war, death and a host of other reasons.

Regardless of the kind of good-byes we have to say, if the people we are parted from are trusting in Jesus Christ, we can be absolutely sure that we will see them one day in heaven if we do not meet them again in this life on earth.

Au Revoir

By Joanne Liaw Sook Ling (28^th May 2013)

Dedicated to all my CIMB colleagues with a special address to Loh Shook Ling

It’s time for me to say goodbye and bid adieu

To all my friends and comrades in the banking field

The battles we’ve fought hand in hand have not been few

But friendships forged from those struggles are precious yields

Thank you for the benevolence you’ve shown to me

Those acts of kindness will stay in my memory

May God continue to guide you in life’s journey

And give you wisdom to conquer difficulties

Our paths will cross again after my departure

If not in this life, we’ll meet in heaven, I’m sure

For in Jesus’ hands lies our hope for the future

Where we’ll forever be with our loving Saviour

Points for Reflection:

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:3-6).

·         For those of us who are trusting in our Lord Jesus Christ, we are all part of God’s family and no distance or earthly separation will ever sever us as partners in the gospel.

·         Have you, recently or in the past, experienced a form of earthly separation from a Christian friend or a loved one? If so, you take heart that this parting is only temporal, for the bond of love that we share in Jesus Christ is one that can ever be broken.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20).

·         What exactly does being partners in the gospel mean? As Christians, we share a common goal which is to glorify God together and advance the gospel. We are to seek ways to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ to grow in him. We are to exhort each other to share the gospel to those who do not know Christ. We are to caution each other from being distracted by worldly pursuits and keep our eyes focused on God’s kingdom.

·         Are there ways in which you could encourage your fellow partners in the gospel? Have you been distracted by worldly ambitions and neglecting God and his people? Remember that earthly pleasures and success are only temporal but God’s kingdom lasts for eternity.  

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).