So Jesus continues on with his thought. Just as daily we ask for the bread that sustains us, we need to keep a short account of the wrongs we need to confess to God. Each one of our prayers should be lined with the confession of sin in our heart. But the idea didn't stop there, Jesus says that we are to forgive in the manner of which we were forgiven. Forgiveness may cost us something but the recipient nothing. However the benefit to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ outweighs it all. Here are the familiar words of Jesus from Matthew 6:12.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

I was going to write a clever story about forgiveness (as I have needed it a time or two in my life). But none illustrate the measure of forgiveness we receive from the Father and the call for us to forgive in response than the story Jesus tells in Matthew 18. So instead of paraphrasing, read what Jesus had to say on forgiveness.

21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"

22Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.^[f]

23"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents^[g] was brought to him. 25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.^[h] He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.

29"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

30"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

The subject of forgiveness is often a difficult one. Relationships end on a daily basis because of the inability to forgive. As a follower of Christ, that should not be how we are looked upon. The very opposite is true. We are to be known, to be remembered for our ability to forgive others. Ephesians 5:2 tells us that as we are imitators of God, we are to live a life of love. I Corinthians 13 defines what that life of love would look like. Verse 5 says that love is not easily angered and that it keeps no record of wrongs.

So quite simply, if we truly want to follow Jesus Christ, we MUST forgive as He has forgiven us. End of story.

For two verses now we have been realizing our position in comparison with God. Most importantly, Jesus tells us through this prayer that we are to have a proper view of God and just how great He is. There is no one like Him anywhere. We've honored His name and we've shared our heart about how we see Him as the only One we serve. We've renewed our commitment to Him as king of our lives, our heart, and our mind.

Now Jesus changes gear slightly and makes a request of the Father:

"Give us this day our daily bread"

So we've been dealing with things like majesty, glory, honor, kingdoms, etc. and suddenly, Jesus turns the discussion to bread? What is that all about.

Not much has changed in the bread world lately. The texture is much the same as it always has been. It has a variety of tastes according to what is added to it. However, the basics of bread making haven't changed much. Bread has been one of the staples in human diet for most all of recorded history. Think of the movies you watch when you see someone who has been starving...what is the thing they grab and eat when they get to food. If it is on the table, they reach for the bread and chomp away (a little too dramatically at times I must say).

All of this is important because that is precisely why Jesus uses images of bread throughout His ministry. (I am the bread of life -John 6:35). Here He instructs us to ask for what it will take to get us through the day. This is an act of submission once more because it causes us to realize that everything it takes to make it through the day is a gift of God. From the breath that fills our lungs, the food that gives us energy, the water that fuels us, the relationships that fulfill us, the work that provides for us, the shelter that covers us, the leaders that lead us, EVERYTHING that allows us to go on is a direct result of His provision. Psalm 3:5 says it very simply:

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

Understand that Jesus is not saying we can't think or pray about the future. However, it is important that we not take fore granted the tremendous gifts we've been given simply to make it through this day. Daily we should acknowledge with gratefulness the life and time He has given us to serve Him here! When we realize this. I mean REALLY realize that nothing we have is of our own doing, we can't help but live gratefully day to day for all we've been given.

Today, make a list of everything you can think of it takes to make it through a day. I mean GET SPECIFIC. List all of them out (i.e. Sun, breathe, food...) Fill up a page. Maybe carry the page with you and write everything down throughout the day. Tomorrow, ask God (instead of expecting) for what it takes to make it through the day. Careful though, it is humbling!

Share your thoughts on what most people, maybe even you, take fore granted without thinking that it is only through God's provision we have it.

I can't bring myself to change the name of this post. Originally, the post had to do with asking for more than we needed and comparing it to trying to drink from a fire hose. It was actually a clever illustration that was not at all my own. However, it would up being left out and I forgot to change the name. It was a day later before I saw it. So...whatever ;-)