3-Day Bible Reading Plan: “Satan and Forgiveness”
“Relational pain is Satan’s playground. The devil takes great delight in relational disputes. He doesn’t care who is right or who is wrong. He wants a fight! He is not betting on a winner; he is promoting the fight. Unresolved conflict, bitterness, and unforgiveness are places where Satan loves to play.” - Pastor Paul Crandell, 11/10/24
Day 1
Featured Verse: 2 Corinthians 2:5 - “If Anyone Has Caused Pain, He Has Caused It…to All of You”
Cross References:
1 Corinthians 5:2 - “Let Him Who Has Done This Be Removed From Among You”
If we are called to forgive, why does Paul advocate for the sinner to be removed from among them?
2 Corinthians 7:9 - “I Rejoice…Because You Were Grieved Into Repenting”
Sometimes we must rebuke others before they repent, which can be heartbreaking. When have you rebuked someone that they would repent? When has someone rebuked you before you repented?
Psalm 38:18 - “I Confess My Iniquity; I Am Sorry For My Sin”
When’s the last time you confessed your sin and repented for it?
“By the delay of repentance, sin strengthens, and the heart hardens. The longer ice freezeth, the harder it is to be broken.” - Thomas Watson
“Repentance is a grace of God’s Spirit whereby a sinner is inwardly humbled and visibly reformed.” - Thomas Watson
Day 2
Featured Verse: Ephesians 4:25-27 - “Give No Opportunity to the Devil”
Cross References:
James 4:7 - “Resist the Devil and He Will Flee From You”
How have you resisted the devil in your life?
1 Peter 5:8-9 - “The Devil Prowls Around…Seeking Someone to Devour. Resist Him, Firm in Your Faith”
What are some ways you might prepare yourself to resist the devil before the need arises?
2 Timothy 3:12 - “All Who Desire to Live a Godly Life…Will Be Persecuted”
Why won’t the enemy let the godly live a quiet, peaceful life?
“The Christian’s warfare must unceasingly go on. The foe we have to do with keeps no holidays, never slumbers, and never sleeps. So long as we have breath in our bodies we must keep on our armor, and remember we are on an enemy’s ground. ‘Even on the brink of Jordan,’ said a dying saint, ‘I find Satan nibbling at my heels.’ We must fight until we die.” - J.C. Ryle
Day 3
Featured Verse: Matthew 5:23-24 - “Be Reconciled to Your Brother”
Cross References:
Mark 11:25 - “Whenever You Stand Praying, Forgive”
Consider: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. If you humble yourself and forgive your brother, the Lord will give grace and extend His forgiveness to you.
Matthew 6:14 - “If You Forgive Others Their Trespasses, Your Heavenly Father Will Also Forgive You”
Forgiveness is a posture of the heart. It removes bitterness and anger from within you. However, those whom we forgive might yet remain untrustworthy or unforgiving toward us. How should Christians handle those situations?
Luke 6:37 - “Forgive, and You Will Be Forgiven”
What is it about the nature of forgiveness that God wants us to learn? How can we forgive the most heinous sins against us?
“Best of all, as the highest portraiture of Jesus, try to forgive your enemies, as he did; and let those sublime words of your Master, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,’ always ring in your ears. Forgive, as you hope to be forgiven. Heap coals of fire on the head of your foe by your kindness to him. Good for evil, recollect, is godlike. Be godlike, then; and in all ways and by all means, so live that all may say of you, ‘He has been with Jesus.’” - Charles Spurgeon