The Bishop’s Mind: Christian Wisdom, Daily Devotionals & Empowering Messages for Kingdom Living

Way of behaving “ But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:15).” Prayer changes your way of behaving from holding on to negativity to releasing it and letting it go. Prayer motivates you to forgive. When you truly receive God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness, you desire to give it to someone else. Jesus, the Perfect Pattern, quantified forgiveness. He gave forgiveness the number 70x7, which equals 490. He commanded his disciples to forgive that many times. The purpose of the number was to show the importance of not keeping count of others’ infractions or the number of times that you had to forgive them. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, further built on Jesus’ foundation when he emphasized that love does not keep a record of wrong (I Corinthians 13:5). Love also does not keep a record of right. When you keep records of the good that you do for people, it makes it challenging to forgive when they...

  Father, forgive “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).” When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, a part of the prayer included forgiveness. “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors (Matthew 6:9-13).” In biblical times, debts required full payment within seven years. Any unpaid debt in the expected timeframe provided the creditor a choice to forgive the remaining debt, have the person imprisoned, take the person’s property for the value of the debt or enslave the person or his children to relieve the debt. One way or another, the re-payment of debt occurred. Most debtors begged their creditors for forgiveness. In addition to teaching about forgiveness, Jesus, our Wayshower, practiced forgiveness. One of the greatest examples of forgiveness was his crucifixion on Calvary. During his physical pain and public humiliation, he was considerate of others and requested that his Father forgive his persecutors. Jesus crucified his ego and need to be right....

Praying in the Spirit “Building yourselves up on your most holy faith praying in the Holy Ghost (Jude 1:20).” Prayer has several languages. You are free to utilize the best prayer language for your situation. Sometimes you need to pray in your native language so that you can hear yourself pray and allow the words that you are speaking to be cathartic for you. It is also important when praying with others to pray in a language they understand so that they hear you fully and participate wholeheartedly in the experience (I Corinthians 14:14-15). There are other times when you need to pray in the Spirit or pray in our heavenly language because you are not sure what to pray for or clear about the specific outcome you desire. When you pray in the Spirit, you pray the perfect will of God. The Holy Spirit draws you to connect with your spirit within on a much deeper level (Romans 8:26-28). When you feel low or torn down by others, build yourself up by praying in the Spirit. Praying in the Spir...

Journaling as Prayer - Communicating with God through writing “ But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground (John 8:6).” When my first wife transitioned ten days after our twin daughters were born, I was so angry with God that I had no interest in prayer. I was enraged with God so much that I did not want to talk to God. I gave God the silent treatment. Nevertheless, I had to get this anger out because it started to manifest itself through destructive behaviors, so I went to counseling. My therapist suggested that I write God letters telling God exactly how I felt. The story of Jesus and the woman caught in the act of adultery in John 8:1-11 gave me the courage to do it. Since Jesus, my Wayshower, communicated through writing, I followed his example and utilized this resource as well. Writing opened me up to be completely open and honest with God about what I was thinking and feeling just as I would if I were sending...