January 25, 2026 -Show Me, Guide Me
- brooks16055
- Jan 25
- 3 min read
Psalms 25:4-5 NIV
[4] Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. [5] Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
What a great wake up prayer!!
Matthew 18:3-4 NIV
[3] And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. [4] Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
I have heard many different ways of looking at this and I am sure that they are all true but today the part about taking the lowly position of this child stood out. A child has no personal authority. They are lowly and subject to their parents. Their parents teaching and will. They know the benefit of obeying and know that there is a consequence for disobedience. They know that anything they have has been given to them by the father. We too must be subject to The Father's will and see everything that we have as being given to us by The Father. It is all His to give and take away. We should have a heart and desire to please Him and obey Him. It doesn't say that if you don't do this then you are not saved. It is a difficult place to get to. It takes spiritual growth and maturity. And everyone matures at different rates. But the sooner you come to this place the greater your works will be because you are surrendered to God's will and are more likely to do things for the Glory of God and will be one of the "greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Another good reason to pray the verse from Psalms above every day.
Matthew 18:15 NIV
[15] “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.
We are to hold each other accountable and in the church we are to call our brothers and sisters to live a life that is striving to follow Christ. Especially when someone is in persistent sin. I have read different translations that say that "If your brother or sister sins against you...". Which we need to balance this verse and the one below.
Matthew 18:21-22 NIV
[21] Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” [22] Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
When someone is sinning against us. We can and should point out their sin. But we should do it with a heart of love and concern for them. It should not be done as a way to point out their wrongs and prove ourselves right or justified because we were sinned against. The only way we can approach this kind of situation is by forgiving that person. And if they are persistent in that sin then the instruction in today's reading should be followed but you must over and over again be forgiving showing grace love and mercy. Your heart and motivation for following the instructions here needs to be a desire for restoration of your brother or sister.
Very different from how I think most of us want to handle telling someone about how they have hurt us or wronged us. Before we ever speak to anyone about sin in anyone else's life, we must first take the plank out of our own eye and then surrender our hurt to the Lord and forgive. Other things to think about when praying the above Psalm every day. When we truly ask, "Show me", "Guide me" and mean it then things like forgiveness, grace, love and mercy become possible.
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