May 1, 2025 Morning Devotional

Morning Devotion: Read Luke - Increase Our Faith

Luke 17:3  Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4  And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. 5  And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. 6  And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.

The apostles asked the Lord to increase their faith. This request follows forgiveness, the act thereof. Sometimes it takes faith to forgive. Faith in the Lord is absolutely necessary for all of our decisions in life.

Imagine a person sinning against you seven times in the same day. Seven times that person sins against you, they may not do the same thing but they do transgress. seven times he or she comes to you seeking forgiveness.

The first time would be simple to forgive because you would think it was an accident or an oversight and say “no problem.”

The second time you would think, maybe it was a coincident and thus forgive once more.

However, when it happens a third time you would begin to question the motive and the integrity of the person who did wrong. You might even begin to get upset and refuse to forgive.

Then the fourth time happens and you become accusative and begin to blame that person thinking he was doing it on purpose. You might become suspicious and refuse to forgive questioning their motive.

The fifth time would might bring you to wrath forgoing forgiveness.

The six time would seem impossible and you might get bitter in your heart, thinking what is wrong with this person? Your forgiveness would be gone.

The seventh time might cause you to consider vengeance and litigation throwing forgiveness out and forgetting love and grace and mercy altogether embracing hate.   

The Lord Jesus is the only one who can give you the faith to see beyond the nature of man and seek the true love and grace of God. Faith, true faith, comes from God, not from within your heart and soul.

Ephesians 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Faith is the gift of God; to use faith one must first know God (God gives you the faith to know Him) and then you seek God for an increase of faith. Do you know how faith is increased?

Faith is increased when it is exercised and tested. Exercising forgiveness seven times in one day is certainly a test of faith.

Every time a person comes to you in repentance seeking forgiveness, faith to forgive must be exercised. It only takes faith the size of a mustard seed to do so.

When you have that kind of faith, through the Lord, you can move a sycamine tree.

The choice is still yours,

Pastor Cook