Phil Inglis - July 29, 2018
Forgive Us Our Debts
Suppose you borrowed money to buy a house. Who is responsible for paying that money back? You are. It’s a simple rule of society, You owe, you pay. You are the debtor, you owe the bank and you are responsible for repayments. Many people live under the financial burden of such a debt and it can have a detrimental impact on their state of mind. It is no surprise that financial pressure is one of the most common reasons why marriages fail. The truth is, there is no simple way of dealing with financial debt. You could try talking to your bank to reschedule your repayments and you could review your own spending habits but in the end the debt has to be repaid. Sadly the only real option is to slog away at it and pay the debt back as soon as you can. In his teaching on prayer, Jesus talks about a different kind of debt that we run up with our sin and moral failures. When we fail another person, or when we fail God, we add to the weight of shame in our lives. Just as a mortgage can be a burdensome financial pressure on your life, so too can the shame burdens of moral failures. Unfortunately this kind of burden cannot simply be removed by arranging a direct debit or handing over a pile of cash. The burden has to be dealt with in another way. It has to be forgiven.
Scripture References: Matthew 6:12-15, Matthew 18:21-35
From Series: "The Power of Prayer"
Join us for a 5 part series on the "Lord's Prayer."
