Good morning. What Jesus
had told previously to Peter after Peter said that Jesus was the Son of the
living God, He now says to all of the disciples: whatever you bind/loose on
earth has been bound/loosed in heaven. If two of you agree on earth about anything
that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in heaven.
Mathematicians get picky about the difference between any and all. If there
were four apples on the table and I told you to take any, how many would you
take? Most likely you would take just one. But if I told you to take all, you
would take four. It's not like there are a bunch of things to pray about, and
all of you agree on only one of them. The word translated anything means all.
The word agree means to be in harmony like an orchestra. Jesus continues with:
for where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their
midst. Then Peter wants to know, how often shall my brother sin against me and
I forgive him? Up to seven times? Actually that sounds magnanimous. After a
couple of times, I'm thinking he doesn't really mean it; so seven times is very
generous. Jesus tells him up to 70×7. Now I'm on the floor looking up at the
ceiling - that's impossible! I'm sure you've heard people say that it actually
means an unlimited number of times. Think of it this way: how do you know it's
been that many times? The only way is if you have been keeping a record of the
number of times. If you have, that means you really did not forgive him. Father
thank You that You have given us the authority to bind and loose here on earth.
We bind and lose whatever needs to be in the reader's life.
Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me
Good morning. Paul then gives a list of a lot of things that he has gone through as an apostle. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. There could be many people that you listen to either in church or through the Internet or other means; but there was only one person (as a general rule it was a person) that lead you to Christ. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. He was saying that just like a child imitates his or her father, they were to imitate him. He says that again seven chapters later. Since it is easy to forget some things about people we have not seen in a while, Paul says that he sent Timothy to them to remind them of his ways which are in Christ, just as he taught everywhere in every church. Some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. I shall find ou...
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