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Prayer - Talking to God the Father personally… honestly… sincerely… regularly - creates intimacy with God, strength from God, humility before God, and confidence in God! In short, if Jesus discovered capacities from God to overcome what overcame Him through prayer… so will we!

Our prayers require tenacity, persistence, and faithfulness. We are to never give up praying, because our prayers are based on an absolute trust and faith in our God. We can fully count on the Lord to answer our prayers when, where and how He chooses.

The point of this Parable is not to get fixed on a specific number, checklist, or scorecard as Peter was doing. Jesus wanted His followers, both then and now, to get into the habit of forgiving. It should be second nature.

I wake up every day with this faith that what I do, who I meet, and who I serve - God is always working and growing His Kingdom. My job is not to worry about the impact or the result. But to daily be faithful and to daily trust the mustard seeds that are being planted will grow to glorify God.

Friend, would you let God be your safe space today? He isn’t looking at a list and checking it twice. His arms are open to you. Just like my earthly father, just like Jesus’ parable, God the Father wants to pick you up, keep you safe, and whisper in your ear, “Welcome home, my child, I love you.”

Imagine if God had withheld His forgiveness from us? We don’t forgive because the other person deserves it. We forgive because we have been forgiven. We forgive because God has called us to. Some of you may be holding onto unforgiveness. I encourage you, in this moment, to forgive them.

Anyone feeling passed over… invisible… unappreciated… today? I don't know about you, but sometimes I just need to know that people "see me." If you lived in the first century with all of your wierdities and Jesus walked by, He would SEE you! Why? Because He likes you! It's not just that "God so loved the world,” but that Jesus likes you, and He chooses to hang out with You!

As Lent continues and we approach Holy Week, we, too, have a choice to make - to reject the Heir (Jesus) and seek to run our own kingdom where we have power, control, and influence or accept and believe in the One who is the Heir of God, who came to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins and bring a new Kingdom to earth where He rules… with love and grace and mercy.

I’ve talked with many of you who are going through your own pain due to broken relationships from the fallout of all that has happened in our world over the past few years. It’s easy to pick up our swords and figuratively cut off someone’s ear on social media or send our children to picket in front of their schools, but I don’t believe that is what Jesus would have us do!

It requires an act of God, a miracle of God, for me to see anyone and everyone and have compassion 100% of the time. This is why I believe Jesus is the only amazing and awesome One because He is an All and Every Savior. He is the only one who can see the crowd and have compassion 100% of the time, every time, all the time. Only Jesus can do this.