Hey Clawson Family!

 Song:

Scripture:

Romans 8:1-2

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2  And because you belong to him, the power[a] of the life-giving Spirit has freed you[b] from the power of sin that leads to death.

1 John 2:10

10 Anyone who loves a fellow believer[a] is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.

Devotional:

If you are keeping count you haven't forgiven. It is time today to forgive, allow God to heal, and then give him the pencil, marker, or whatever we are using to keep the score.

What does losing count do… losing count protects you from forming that cage of bitterness that we talked about last week in the first place. Losing count helps you to stop picking up offenses and holding things against people.

Losing count is about receiving your healing and protecting your heart as you move into the future that God has for you. If you can get rid of the scoreboard, the pencil, and lose count… then it protects your heart from offense, bitterness, and hate coming back.

You learn to deal with your offenses on the spot, forgive, and release them without allowing those roots of bitterness to form in your heart. 

Jesus came to not just take the pencil; He came to break it! Forever. He died to forgive and break our sins so we can live for Him alone.

We can’t control whether or not another person keeps score. But what we can do is walk in love, and extend forgiveness and mercy toward each other.  We can do our part to keep the pencil broken. When we choose to look at others through the filter of Jesus’ light of love, we will see what Jesus sees.

Journal:

When you live like you’re forgiven by God, you’ll feel more gratitude, become more accepting, and overflow with love. In your journal write how you can share that abundant love with others this week.

Training:

Father, I have kept score, and at times, allowed others to pressure me with their scorekeeping. Set me free with the truth that because Jesus died for me, I don’t have to keep up anymore. 

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Decide to respond from a forgiven posture now, so that when disagreements, debates, or controversies come up this week, you’ve already committed to respond from a place of love.