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Have you taken your Daily Step
Sometimes the step may be a long one, a leap even, however, life is still taken "One step at a time!"
Add one Godly thought a day and in a year you will have taken 365 steps closer to Him!
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Tuesday, March 20, 2007
"Mercy, the Big Gift!"
5:7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Matthew 5:7 NAS
Mercy is one of the most beautiful gifts one can bestow upon another. Mercy means that you have the upper hand, but choose not to enact what is due. You have the upper hand because of strength or power or because someone has put themselves in in your power. Mercy is extended from the one in power to the one subordinate. Jesus is talking about the right way to handle power in this passage.
Mercy is desired by all of us. There is always somebody that is more powerful than we are. It is also true that there will also be someone lesser in power than we are. Jesus tells us that we are to give mercy to those below us to receive mercy from above. Place your hope for mercy in God, He will grant it while many others may not. Just remember that God is all powerful even to those who deny Him.
Jesus turns this power chain upside down. He is all powerful and he put himself in the hands of humanity. We know that humanity was not merciful at all. Humanity nailed him to the cross.
His mercy became evident with his cry from the cross "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do." He knew of God's omnipotent power and requested forgiveness, mercy be granted to us. At that point Jesus chose to be on the bottom of the power chain as he had willingly submitted himself to human authority. However, from there he appealed to the top just as you and I can do. He shows that even from very bottom of things you can reach up and ask that mercy be given. Being a child of God has many blessing and you are never helpless.
God watches over people and judgment will be justly handed out by him in the end. Each of you, however can humbly ask God for mercy to be given. Now the mercy is God's to bestow or withhold and I for one do not ever want to be in the judgment seat. The wonder of mercy is that when granted the good relationship between two parties has a chance to be restored. Now the party receiving mercy can still reject or worse yet abuse mercy. The hope in taking the time to ask for its granting is that the rifts between God and humans, and human and human can be repaired so that peace can be restored.
We know that the wages of sin are death. When you ask for mercy or give mercy to someone who has done wrong, you are asking that the very chains of sin and death be broken that someone may find life. You are asking for the restoration of a soul that is in danger. It is now up to them to take it or leave it. God chose to grant it to us in Christ death, a mercy that then went far beyond the time and space of the actual event of His death. His mercy covered every sin with the chance for salvation from sin through grace and mercy.
That is mercy on the cosmic scale. God gave mercy first and now asks you to pass on the gift to others. Freely give it as you have freely received. Mercy is an incredible loving request of an incredible loving God.
"Dear Jesus, I thank you for the mercy that you bestowed upon me. Grant me strength to show mercy to those around me. Mercy to the one who made me mad, the one who hurt my body, the one who hurt my soul, and the ones that have done me or the ones I love harm. Turn me to be merciful rather than vengeful, to forgive rather than exact judgment. You are mercy, Jesus, and I would be like You. Amen."
Copyright © 2007
Points to Ponder
1) Have you ever considered that Jesus has made a way, through the cross, to give you mercy for every wrong you did?
2) If you had the power to get revenge for every wrong done to you, would you really give mercy?
3) Have you ever gone to someone and asked forgiveness for something you did? Would it be easier knowing that the person was a merciful person? Do you let others know that you are merciful so that they might ask you for forgiveness?
4) According to Jesus, would it be better to forgive a harm or to get recompense right then?
5) Does mercy have anything to do with what Jesus means when He says it is better to store up treasures in heaven than on earth?
6) Relate mercy and forgiveness.
7) Proverbs 11:17
8) Can you relate Matthew 25:31-46 to being merciful?
9) What do you give up by being merciful? What do you gain?
Copyright © 2007
Email Pastor Leslie