Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

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Matthew 18:1-35
The Greatest in the Kingdom
1About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Which of us is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?"
2Jesus called a small child over to him and put the child among them. 3Then he said, "I assure you, unless you turn from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4Therefore, anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. 5And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. 6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to lose faith, it would be better for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around the neck.
7"How terrible it will be for anyone who causes others to sin. Temptation to do wrong is inevitable, but how terrible it will be for the person who does the tempting. 8So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to enter heaven F91 crippled or lame than to be thrown into the unquenchable fire with both of your hands and feet. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better to enter heaven half blind than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.
10"Beware that you don't despise a single one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father. F92
Story of the Lost Sheep
12"If a shepherd has one hundred sheep, and one wanders away and is lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others and go out into the hills to search for the lost one? 13And if he finds it, he will surely rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn't wander away! 14In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish.
Correcting a Fellow Believer
15"If another believer F93 sins against you, go privately and point out the fault. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17If that person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. If the church decides you are right, but the other person won't accept it, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. 18I tell you this: Whatever you prohibit on earth is prohibited in heaven, and whatever you allow on earth is allowed in heaven.
19"I also tell you this: If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20For where two or three gather together because they are mine, F94 I am there among them."
Story of the Unforgiving Debtor
21Then Peter came to him and asked, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone F95 who sins against me? Seven times?"
22"No!" Jesus replied, "seventy times seven! F96
23"For this reason, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. F97 25He couldn't pay, so the king ordered that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. 26But the man fell down before the king and begged him, 'Oh, sir, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.' 27Then the king was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
28"But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. F98 He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. 29His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. 'Be patient and I will pay it,' he pleaded. 30But his creditor wouldn't wait. He had the man arrested and jailed until the debt could be paid in full.
31"When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him what had happened. 32Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, 'You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?' 34Then the angry king sent the man to prison until he had paid every penny.
35"That's what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters F99 in your heart."
FOOTNOTES:F91: Greek enter life; also in 18:9. F92: Some manuscripts add verse 11, And I, the Son of Man, have come to save the lost. F93: Greek your brother. F94: Greek gather together in my name. F95: Greek my brother. F96: Or 77 times. F97: Greek 10,000 talents. F98: Greek 100 denarii. A denarius was the equivalent of a full day's wage. F99: Greek your brother.
Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.


~ Lena’s Journalin’
This word- child means infantile. One with no words, one who is not able to lead himself towards any knowledge or truth without the assistance of others. One who’s nourishment must come from another, a willing caregiver.
Wow, that could be a human infant, an older person who is in a mentally challenged state, or even a mentally challenged person, who was born and was somehow never able to grow up intellectually.
Then again it also sounds like it is not about people who are already old enough to pursue knowledge, such as in our wonderful country where every resource is at our disposal and where we require children to begin learning by at least the age of 4. It does not sound to me like a place where we teach people to read, write, and aptly apply themselves, but then they don’t, but only because they won’t. That is not a child, that is laziness or lack of desire to find knowledge and be responsible to what one knows.
Using child-like in that sense could very well be a very bad excuse.
Now in backwoods places where no one has ever learned to read and write nor has any knowledge of the gospel ever appeared, even though the people may intellectually be developed, they do not have resources and thus could be deemed “childlike”.
Anyway, IT IS NOT GOD’s will that anyone at all ever perishes, ever! Why do you think He gave men technology, so that the word is at the hands of any willing vessel?
Those of us who have sought God and know His word have such a great responsibility to be great models of the word in living form to those who are simple, innocent and hungry.
Those not hungry are filled with something else, have made choices for other things that satisfy, and have a low interest level though the bombardment of daily messages, but I’m not sure they are possibly as “innocent” as an infant child.
A shepherd who sees a lost soul and leaves the 99 is a man after God’s heart. The 99 know Him well enough, know the routine well enough, to hang around till the one who feeds them returns with a new family member who will become acclimated to the flock. As thy once did.
Let’s do a number game, with meanings of numbers presented here to get to a point that is quite possibly being made.
Ninety-nine, is 1 short of 100 (%), Ninety-nine is 11 sets of 9, 9 x 11 = 99. nine means comes up 1 short. To regard in the way of seeing the need of being made whole. One can only be made completely whole in the through the Creator God, yet without Christ no one can be righteous and even approach God wholly. All have come short of the glory of the ability to be saved.
11 is almost opposite that meaning, in that it is one above completeness, which is represented in the 10th, which is the tithe. When the tithe is given from what one has obtained it shows a sanctification of the whole (100 %). When a tenth or tithe is given it is as though the whole was given. In heart matters it is as though the person would give it all, yet in the Lord is not asking them to give all of the $, but He does ask the 10% as a representation, if one would give all. It is required that a person give all to God, yet due to our free wills, we must choose to give, rather than a collection made, say from a forceful tax collector.
1 is God, period. 99 is 1 short of being complete in God, yet salvation or going after the lost is 1 above what God has asked for in say the tithe. We give the tithe, because He asks for our whole life and we’re glad to represent our lives this way, we respond to His will by giving the tithe, then a revelation comes and our desire for Him is so stirred in us that we want others to know of His great love also. We extend ourselves beyond who we are and go “out on a limb” for the salvation of others too.
So we get saved, that is the 10th part, we give our lives, whole lives, represented by giving a part. The part we give (our hearts) represent the whole, given. When we go after the lost, we’re extending ourselves further than our own sanctification and redemption, we go further, we add to what we’ve been given.
Why would we go all out to bring reconciliation in disagreements? Because God is ONE and He wants the demonstration of One and of agreement to be in demonstration on earth. Contention is based on the rebellious rising up of death that came against life and the fellowship of God and man. When man argues and is descended with another man the peace of God to rule is not allowed. The power to allow and to disallow, is held in the power to resolve and to forgive. If two or three can be involved as a unit, as a conduit of agreement, the presence of God is welcomed, unleashed.
Why do you think there are so many opinions flying around and being expressed and there are way more than 2 sides to every “coin” and everyone has his own way of independently thinking? It is because there is an onslaught against anyone or anything standing together. If one is alone any force can take them out at any time, their strength lies in themselves, where if two agree, if three agree, the armies of heaven join in to protect and keep. The joining is not merely with another man or another woman, the positioning is with God and His force. That happens if man agrees. What if they agree to disagree, do they agree?
What is at stake? The kingdom of God, the work of God, the will of God, and the purposes of God, that’s all. This a very serious matter, having been entrusted as an ambassador to the Father’s kingdom on earth.
70 x’s 7 = 490, 7 is the finished completed, it’s over with- number. 7 times it’s over, means it’s over! Period! One must forgive completely, no matter what, when or where, every day, every time, and in every place with everyone completely with NO trace of any other activity.
IF you do not, God will not- forgive you!
If you will not, you’ve decided to place your self-life on a throne and exalt yourself above others, you are the most important one of all, the one every one must serve and wait on, your needs are the most important and the debts of life are due to be paid for to you. Jesus paid the debts of sin, for us, do you want to pay your own debts for yourself, since you get to decide who deserves your forgiveness or who does not?
Thank God our forgiveness with God and our appointment with eternal death were not given to us because we earned it or deserved it. If you think you did deserve it, you need help, real help. Sin any sin separates us from God and all have sinned, been eternally separated from God. Even if we ever told a “white “lie”, THAT sin condemned us to eternal death without the grace of God who sent Jesus to pay the price. If we got what we deserved, we’d all go to hell.
Praise God we do not get what we deserve. Even good-hearted people have fibbed a few times, even good-hearted people have not held God in the highest esteem, have not held the days God calls Holy, holy. Even good-hearted people who have great intentions in society, have hated at some time in their hearts, which the NT says is murder of a brother. Even good-hearted loving kind people have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God deserving to be eternally punished. The punishment is not based on how well behaved we are, it is based on the laws of God unable to be kept without the shed blood of Jesus. If we based it on behaviors, we’d be doomed to have to keep every behavior listed in the law of Moses and more to this day of our death, we’d have to be blameless that way and that is impossible, completely impossible! So you can’t forgive? Why not? You choose not. That is the only reason. Choose to, or you may die- eternally.
You do not know when your last day is, you do not, only God knows that, Only God. Forgive now, today.

Daily Repetitive Verses:

Isaiah 58:12 – in multiple translations….
The Amplified Bible
And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of [buildings that have laid waste for] many generations; and you shall be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
The Holy Bible, New International Version®
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.
The New King James Version
Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
GOD'S WORD
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the foundations of past generations. You will be called the Rebuilder of Broken Walls and the Restorer of Streets Where People Live.
New Life Bible
And your cities which were destroyed long ago will be built again. You will set up the stones of the bases of the old buildings. You will be called the one who builds again the broken walls, and who makes the streets on which people live like new.