**Daily Devotional** **October 29** *37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: - Luke 6:37 (KJV)* Jesus has just been teaching on loving our enemies, being thankful, and being merciful to others, as that is the way that the Father is, and we should strive to be like Him. Now Jesus tells us to not judge others, so that we will not be judged in like manner. He said the same thing in Matthew (Matthew 7:1), and went on to say that we will be judged in the same way that we judge others (Matthew 7:2). We are told not to condemn others, and we will not be condemned, and that is sure a great reason to obey this command, as we don’t want to be condemned ourselves. Jesus came not to condemn the world, but to save it (John 3:17), and He doesn’t want us to be condemning others, but to save them as He did. Jesus then tells us to forgive and we will be forgiven, and this is said many times throughout the New Testament as forgiveness should be a characteristic of a Christian. Jesus was the perfect example of forgiveness, as He forgave all the sinners that repented, and still does. When Peter asked how many times should he forgive his brother, he thought seven times was plenty, but Jesus said to forgive others seven times seventy, or four hundred ninety times in one day (Matthew 18:21-22). It does not matter what someone does to you, or says about you, it should not cause you to not forgive them. If God can forgive us for all the sins we have committed in our lives (Jeremiah 31:34), then we can forgive others, if we will let the love of God flow through us. Forgiveness is a must for a Christian, and we must let God’s love flow out to all who treat us badly (Matthew 5:44), and never hold a grudge against anyone. Praise God for His love – use it by giving it to others. Devotional by Pastor Joe W. Green, www.infinite-faith.com