Mercy

June 3rd – Isaiah 43:25

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Isaiah 43:25

When someone wrongs us and then genuinely apologizes, the Bible tells us to forgive them immediately. Hard enough. But then God goes one step further and calls us to not only forgive, but to forget. Offering the same complete forgiveness to others that He offers us each day. Because few things are more powerful and transformative than forgiveness. Especially God’s. When we genuinely repent and seek His forgiveness, the Lord offers it freely, and treats us as if our sins never happened. He doesn’t hold our past sins against us or use them as a basis for punishment. And He doesn’t want us to do that to others. God’s forgiveness is an act of divine love and grace, and it brings about reconciliation between us and Him. How thankful are we that out of His unending mercy, God chooses not to bring them up again to condemn us. Instead He grants us a fresh start and invites us into a restored relationship with Him.

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May 11th – Ezekiel 11:19

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Ezekiel 11:19

I used to be confused by Ezekiel 11:19. I mean I understood why God would remove our hearts of stone. But why would He replace them with hearts of flesh? After all, isn’t the flesh the very thing we fight against? Then I learned that when God speaks of a heart of flesh, He’s referring to a heart that is soft and receptive to His will. One that is eager and willing to obey and follow the Lord. And a heart that loves others with a true, Christlike love. That’s the heart I want. Which is why everyday, I pray for a heart transplant. For God to remove my wicked heart of stone, and replace it with the heart of Jesus. To make me a new creation in Christ, and to give me the power to live a life that glorifies Him. Why? Because I once read that our human hearts were created to mirror the heart of our Creator. And since the attributes of God’s heart include love, mercy, compassion, and justice, those are the attributes I want!

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May 4th – Job 42:10

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Job 42:10

The phrase, don’t judge a book by its cover doesn’t just apply to people, but also situations. When Job’s friends saw his misfortune they were sure he deserved it. They assumed, incorrectly, that Job was suffering because he had sinned against God. How many times as Christians do we do the same? How many times have we thought that those struggling must have done something to deserve it? But the truth is there many be a variety of reasons for someone’s troubles. And it isn’t our job to judge. But rather to encourage, help, and love them through the storm. To remind them of God’s great love, goodness and mercy. And that success and growth are not always immediate. We work in God’s timing. Which mean we may encounter setbacks and obstacles along the way. But if we remain steadfast and persevere through these challenges, like He did with Job, God will bless us mightily, repaying us twice what we lost.

May 4th – Job 42:10 Read More »

March 1st – Philippians 4:1

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Philippians 4:19

An old Indian proverb says, “a harvest of peace grows from seeds of contentment.”  A wonderful but difficult sentiment. Especially in a world that constantly bombards us with images of how we should look and what we should have in order to be happy and successful. Discontentment is one of Satan’s most powerful tools of the trade. He loves for our focus to be on what we don’t have instead of all that we do. But what we want isn’t always what we need. And no one knows that better than God. That’s why He promises to always supply everything we require, not everything we desire. From His abundant grace and love, our Heavenly Father is faithful to meet our needs, both physical and spiritual. And as His children, we can have confidence in His faithfulness goodness, love, and provision.

 

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February 20th – 1 John 3:11

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1 John 3:11

In the New Testament we are commanded no less than 13 times to love one another. That’s how important it is to Jesus for the children of God to cherish each other. But for fallen people living in a fallen world with a fallen nature, that’s a tall order. Nevertheless, it’s what we called to do. Thankfully, God doesn’t ask us to do the impossible. That’s why the moment we receive Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit indwells us and gets busy. Instantly He begins the work of transforming us into the image of Christ from the inside out. Tenderly God’s Spirit remolds and reshapes our hardened, worldly hearts, into ones softened by the love, mercy, and grace shown to us by our Lord. He does this so that we might be set apart from the world. Loving others with the same enthusiasm, abundance, and joy that, “by this everyone will know that you are My disciples.” (John 13:35)

 

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February 17th – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

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1 Thessalonians 5:18

Gratitude is a powerful tool in our spiritual warfare. And by remembering the goodness of God, His love, grace, and mercy, our hearts will be so overflowing with thankfulness, we can be grateful no matter the circumstance. For He is always faithful in meeting our needs. And out of that gratitude, we too need to meet the needs of others. Because seeing the struggles of others makes our eyes to open to His great love. Suddenly blessings once taken for granted, become greatly appreciated. And as a bonus, when we reach out to those less fortunate out of appreciation to the Lord, we bring gratitude into the lives of others. Becoming loving ambassadors of God’s grace and mercy. So whenever you feel yourself lacking in the gratitude department, remember this. “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.” (Eph. 1:4) Imagine that! Even before the creation of the earth, God knew and wanted each of us!

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February 16th – Proverbs 11:17

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Proverbs 11:17

There’s no way around it. It hurts when someone mistreats us. Yet while the world tells us to hurt them back, God tells us, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matt. 5:44) Not an easy task on our own. But when our strength comes from God, there’s no limit to what we can do. For He is our Rock, Fortress, and Deliverer. And His grace will prevent us from saying or doing things that we will later regret. Such as wronging others, ruining relationships, and harming our own hearts. We serve a loving God who gives all who love Him unmerited mercy and forgiveness through His Son Jesus Christ. And He wants us to do the same. Not only for the benefit for others, but also for ourselves. Because revenge and retribution makes our hearts grow hard and bitter. And keeps us from experiencing God’s very best for our lives.

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February 13th – Proverbs 31:8-9

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Proverbs 31:8-9

Throughout the Bible we read how seriously the Lord takes the plight of the poor, the widowed, and the orphaned. And He let’s us know exactly what He expects our treatment of them to be. “Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” (Is. 1:17) We are God’s mirror images here on earth, and as His representatives our lives and behavior should reflect His just and holy character. To follow the Lord means to practice justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with Him. To be living testimonies of the fruit of the spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. (Gal. 5:22-23) One day soon Jesus will return. But until that time, it is up to us to demonstrate to the world what it means to act justly and to love mercy. To stand up against oppression and abuse of those who cannot stand up for themselves.

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February 12th – Deuteronomy 7:9

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Deuteronomy 7:9

Why does Moses call God “the faithful God”? To be faithful is to to be steadfast, enduring, dependable, loyal, and trustworthy. Attributes God demonstrates perfectly. Despite their rebellion and unbelief, God stayed faithful to Israel. Remembering His promises to their forefathers, the Lord kept His covenant with His people, and remained steadfast in His love for them. Everywhere I look I see the faithfulness of God. I see it in the needs He so generously meets. In the family and friends He blesses my life with. In the mercy and grace He patiently shows each day, and most of all in His never ending love. Such abundant devotion that He gives not because I love Him, but because He loves me. A faithfulness that turns my brokenness into healing, condemnation into redemption, bitterness into love, bondage into freedom, sin into righteousness, and my death into eternal life.

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January 28th -John 5:6

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John 5:6

No matter who we are, each of us at different times in our lives need the healing that only God can provide. The man at the pool of Bethesda was just one of many hoping for a miracle. And he received it through the compassion of Jesus. Christ offered this man grace and mercy, and He offers it to us as well. Our Lord wants no one to suffer in sickness and so He shed His precious blood to become our perfect path to healing. “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.” (Matt. 8:17) Whether the healing we need is  physical, emotional, spiritual, or all three, Jesus not only provides deliverance from our troubles, but also peace, hope, and joy. So if you find yourself at the edge of the pool lying on your mat wondering when your healing will come, be proactive. Pray, trust, believe, and be ready to put in the work for change when Jesus asks, “Do you wish to be well?”

January 28th -John 5:6 Read More »