Luke 17:1-5 (KJV)
This scripture used in the first of thirty study sessions, from the book entitled The Bait of Satan, by John Bevere, is the heart of the first study. The disciples were asking the Lord to increase their faith by reason of Jesus instructing them to give stern disapproval to those who wrong them, and if one who wrongs them repents, as in become sorrowful to the point of apologizing, then that person should be forgiven. Contextually, the disciplines are not asking for an increase in faith by reason of any miracle that Jesus has performed. They expressed a need for an increase of faith to help them accomplish the task of being forgiving of others who are sorrowful for the wrong that they have done. Looking at the context of the disciple’s request, my spirit can not help but sigh WOW! Yet, having taken time to reflect on what I conceive to be their rationale, I clearly understand.
In our past, we have taken offences, or the experiencing of
wrongdoing committed against us, personally to the point that we have maintained
malice or discontent against the one that has offended us. We often harbor resentment against our
wrongdoers. In the first verse, Jesus
states that offences will come. There’s
no way to avoid them. Just as we have
experienced them in the past, we are doomed to experience them in the
future. How we handle or deal with
offences will have an influence on our spiritual growth and effectiveness.
Offences are one of Satan’s major weapons from his arsenal
that’s used to entrap his prey. In
addition to using offences to snare his prey in his trap, the victim yields to
the temptation of allowing envy, malice, back-backing, and hatred to overtake
them as well. Hence, the victim of the
offence is overtaken by Satan’s influence.
We will do well to take our blinders off and learn the power of
forgiveness. Through forgiveness, we
will effectively say no to Satan’s bait.
Remember, Jesus taught us to pray, forgive us of our debts as we forgive
our debtors. Forgive us of our wrongs,
as we forgive those who wrong us. Our
forgiveness from God is therefore directly impacted by our ability to forgive
those who wrong us.
With the love of Christ Jesus,
Dr. A.L. Purham, Sr., Pastor
Published by Dr. A.L. Purham, Sr. with all rights reserved
