Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
When you contemplate your relationship with God, have you ever thought about what constitutes the foundation of your divine relationship?
Today, we take stock of our lives in view of eternity.
We know that God’s love is the foundation and formation of our relationship with Him. One of our biggest problems we have today – living steeped in the mentality of consumerism – is that we forget, or worse, ignore the particular character of God which allows us to enter into this relationship with Him.
We take His love for granted. We take Him for granted. We lose our reverence for God. And when that happens, the only certain thing that follows – is that we lose our souls.
The Mercy of God
What we must beware - is that if our relationship with God is established on anything other than the Mercy of God, we will find ourselves living in contempt of God’s love.
Contempt is a grave sin – conscious or otherwise.
Contempt of God’s love robs us of our ability to perceive the true and infinite greatness of our God, whilst filling ourselves with destructive presumptuousness and pride.
In contempt, there is absolutely no way we may move forward in our relationship with God. That relationship will simply not deepened; remaining superficial - for a while at best, before arriving at the eventual end where ironically, it is the unbeliever who rejects the eternal and infinite love of God in lieu of something material, temporal and worldly… …
This happens, all because at the onset of this 'purported' relationship with God, there was no proper recognition, nor reverence that everything within the relationship was made possible because of the Mercy of God.
Martin Luther presses this point home for us:
"This is the first work of God—that He is merciful to all who are ready to do without their own opinion, right, wisdom, and all spiritual goods, and willing to be poor in spirit."
It is to this ‘first work of God’ that we must first respond to.
Are you ready to do without your own opinion, deferring, instead to God’s opinion over all matters?
Are you willing to forgo your rights and privileges accorded to you in this life, choosing instead to allow God’s right of way to transcend yours?
Are you eager to seek and trust God’s wisdom instead of your own?
Are you prepared to surrender all goods – ‘worldly’ and spiritual – preferring instead to live in complete dependence on the providence of God?
Are you willing to be poor in spirit?
Are you willing to accept the truth that you even have a relationship with Christ, BECAUSE of God’s mercy?
Never be found in contempt of God’s love; because the one person who will live to regret it forever – will simply be you.
Are there biblical indications in our lives that we are truly aware and appreciative of God’s mercy over us?
Most definitely.
Jesus spoke to these life-indicators through the climatic conclusion in the parable of the unmerciful servant, ‘“you wicked servant, I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you just have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”’ (Matthew 18:21-35)
When we fail to be merciful, we rob ourselves of God’s mercy over us.
When we fail to be merciful, we express contempt for God’s mercy.
When we fail to forgive our transgressors from our heart, when we fail to be kind to one another, or when we fail to extend mercy to those who trespass against us, we find ourselves in contempt of God’s love and mercy.
Is that your goal in life?
Ultimately, regardless of race, language or religion, God will judge us all.
When that day comes, have you ever thought about what the outcome of that judgment might be for you?
Have you already realized that there is no way we may work ourselves out of the wages of sin (i.e. death)?
If you have, then you must realize that not only do we utterly need God’s mercy; the key to God’s mercy is found in our conscious and intentional extension of mercy to all.
James echoes our Lord Jesus Christ,
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- James 2:12-13
Will you perceive God’s judgment as His work of freeing you from the wages of sin? Or will you perceive God’s judgment as His rightful condemnation of all that you are and all that you have done?
It all depends on what kind of God you believe Him to be. Is He merciful? Or is He merciless?
Micah tells us,
“Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” (Micah 7:18)
If you truly believe in the completed propitiatory work of our Savior Jesus Christ, you must realize that at the end, your degree of familiarity with God’s mercy will determine if God’s judgment frees you, or condemns you.
James tells us plainly – God is prepared to show us His mercy and in so doing, extend His forgiveness, reconciliation, redemption and love to us.
We must be prepared to accept His mercy without reservation and condition.
But more importantly, we must be prepared to accept the existential reality that in order to accept His mercy, we must ourselves extend mercy to all around us.
Mercy begets mercy.
Thus, in order to live in God’s mercy, we need to live out God’s mercy.
Husband, are you living out God’s mercy to your wife?
And wife, are you living out God’s mercy to your husband?
Are you forgiving one another from your heart? Or are you withholding mercy, choosing instead to remember the wrongs done to you and bear grudges?
Fathers and mothers, are you living out God’s mercies to your sons and daughters?
Understand this, one of the few guarantees we have when it comes to children is that, at some point (or at many points), they will break our hearts.
During those moments of heartbreak and anguish, would we choose to punish them, or disciple them?
Would we choose to return the hurt, or restore their hearts, through releasing forgiveness to them?
Would you choose to be merciless with your children, or be merciful with them?
Remember, mercy begets mercy.
Thus, in being merciful to those who trespassed against us, we find ourselves reveling in the mercy of God whom we have trespassed against.
So, let us live fully cognizant of God’s mercy over us, through extending the Holy Spirit’s brand of kindness, forgiveness and mercy to all around us.
For this is what the Lord requires of us.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.(Micah 6:8)
God has shown us, through the Holy Spirit residing within us, that which is good -
Act justly. Love mercy. And walk humbly with our merciful God.
Let us desist our contempt for the love of God; and insist on living out His love, kindness and mercies.
Let us all choose to establish our lives of faith upon the unceasing mercies of the most High God!
In the end, mercy triumphs over judgment.
The evidence is clear. Mercy wins!
Which side would you rather be on?
Since the dawn of your existence, God has been merciful to you.
Today, who will you be merciful to?
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Lord, we confess and repent of our contempt of Your love.
O Lord, deliver us from the temptations that deceives us into thinking that we have no requirement of Your mercy.
We acknowledge that our relationship with You is established absolutely and solely because You have extended Your loving mercies upon us.
Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. (Psalm 123:3)
Father, as we live in Your mercy, guide and empower us to live out Your mercies in the lives of all around us – those whom we love deeply, and those who have trespassed against us.
May we freely extend mercy, forgiveness, and kindness to our spouses and children – and in so doing, inspire them to revel in Your love and mercy.
Holy Spirit, grant us the unction to extend mercy, forgiveness and kindness to our transgressors – and in so doing, evangelize them in the revelation of Your love and mercy.
May we speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. (James 2:12)
Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for embodying God’s mercy through Your loving sacrifice on the Cross at Calvary.
May we never be found in contempt of Your great love and mercy. Deliver us from the evil one!
Heavenly Father, we resolve to live out our lives as agents of Your mercy.
So help us, God!
We thank you for Your mercies which are new every morning; and pray all these in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
When you contemplate your relationship with God, have you ever thought about what constitutes the foundation of your divine relationship?
Today, we take stock of our lives in view of eternity.
We know that God’s love is the foundation and formation of our relationship with Him. One of our biggest problems we have today – living steeped in the mentality of consumerism – is that we forget, or worse, ignore the particular character of God which allows us to enter into this relationship with Him.
We take His love for granted. We take Him for granted. We lose our reverence for God. And when that happens, the only certain thing that follows – is that we lose our souls.
The Mercy of God
What we must beware - is that if our relationship with God is established on anything other than the Mercy of God, we will find ourselves living in contempt of God’s love.
Contempt is a grave sin – conscious or otherwise.
Contempt of God’s love robs us of our ability to perceive the true and infinite greatness of our God, whilst filling ourselves with destructive presumptuousness and pride.
In contempt, there is absolutely no way we may move forward in our relationship with God. That relationship will simply not deepened; remaining superficial - for a while at best, before arriving at the eventual end where ironically, it is the unbeliever who rejects the eternal and infinite love of God in lieu of something material, temporal and worldly… …
This happens, all because at the onset of this 'purported' relationship with God, there was no proper recognition, nor reverence that everything within the relationship was made possible because of the Mercy of God.
Martin Luther presses this point home for us:
"This is the first work of God—that He is merciful to all who are ready to do without their own opinion, right, wisdom, and all spiritual goods, and willing to be poor in spirit."
It is to this ‘first work of God’ that we must first respond to.
Are you ready to do without your own opinion, deferring, instead to God’s opinion over all matters?
Are you willing to forgo your rights and privileges accorded to you in this life, choosing instead to allow God’s right of way to transcend yours?
Are you eager to seek and trust God’s wisdom instead of your own?
Are you prepared to surrender all goods – ‘worldly’ and spiritual – preferring instead to live in complete dependence on the providence of God?
Are you willing to be poor in spirit?
Are you willing to accept the truth that you even have a relationship with Christ, BECAUSE of God’s mercy?
Never be found in contempt of God’s love; because the one person who will live to regret it forever – will simply be you.
Are there biblical indications in our lives that we are truly aware and appreciative of God’s mercy over us?
Most definitely.
Jesus spoke to these life-indicators through the climatic conclusion in the parable of the unmerciful servant, ‘“you wicked servant, I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you just have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”’ (Matthew 18:21-35)
When we fail to be merciful, we rob ourselves of God’s mercy over us.
When we fail to be merciful, we express contempt for God’s mercy.
When we fail to forgive our transgressors from our heart, when we fail to be kind to one another, or when we fail to extend mercy to those who trespass against us, we find ourselves in contempt of God’s love and mercy.
Is that your goal in life?
Ultimately, regardless of race, language or religion, God will judge us all.
When that day comes, have you ever thought about what the outcome of that judgment might be for you?
Have you already realized that there is no way we may work ourselves out of the wages of sin (i.e. death)?
If you have, then you must realize that not only do we utterly need God’s mercy; the key to God’s mercy is found in our conscious and intentional extension of mercy to all.
James echoes our Lord Jesus Christ,
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- James 2:12-13
Will you perceive God’s judgment as His work of freeing you from the wages of sin? Or will you perceive God’s judgment as His rightful condemnation of all that you are and all that you have done?
It all depends on what kind of God you believe Him to be. Is He merciful? Or is He merciless?
Micah tells us,
“Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” (Micah 7:18)
If you truly believe in the completed propitiatory work of our Savior Jesus Christ, you must realize that at the end, your degree of familiarity with God’s mercy will determine if God’s judgment frees you, or condemns you.
James tells us plainly – God is prepared to show us His mercy and in so doing, extend His forgiveness, reconciliation, redemption and love to us.
We must be prepared to accept His mercy without reservation and condition.
But more importantly, we must be prepared to accept the existential reality that in order to accept His mercy, we must ourselves extend mercy to all around us.
Mercy begets mercy.
Thus, in order to live in God’s mercy, we need to live out God’s mercy.
Husband, are you living out God’s mercy to your wife?
And wife, are you living out God’s mercy to your husband?
Are you forgiving one another from your heart? Or are you withholding mercy, choosing instead to remember the wrongs done to you and bear grudges?
Fathers and mothers, are you living out God’s mercies to your sons and daughters?
Understand this, one of the few guarantees we have when it comes to children is that, at some point (or at many points), they will break our hearts.
During those moments of heartbreak and anguish, would we choose to punish them, or disciple them?
Would we choose to return the hurt, or restore their hearts, through releasing forgiveness to them?
Would you choose to be merciless with your children, or be merciful with them?
Remember, mercy begets mercy.
Thus, in being merciful to those who trespassed against us, we find ourselves reveling in the mercy of God whom we have trespassed against.
So, let us live fully cognizant of God’s mercy over us, through extending the Holy Spirit’s brand of kindness, forgiveness and mercy to all around us.
For this is what the Lord requires of us.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.(Micah 6:8)
God has shown us, through the Holy Spirit residing within us, that which is good -
Act justly. Love mercy. And walk humbly with our merciful God.
Let us desist our contempt for the love of God; and insist on living out His love, kindness and mercies.
Let us all choose to establish our lives of faith upon the unceasing mercies of the most High God!
In the end, mercy triumphs over judgment.
The evidence is clear. Mercy wins!
Which side would you rather be on?
Since the dawn of your existence, God has been merciful to you.
Today, who will you be merciful to?
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Lord, we confess and repent of our contempt of Your love.
O Lord, deliver us from the temptations that deceives us into thinking that we have no requirement of Your mercy.
We acknowledge that our relationship with You is established absolutely and solely because You have extended Your loving mercies upon us.
Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!
For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. (Psalm 123:3)
Father, as we live in Your mercy, guide and empower us to live out Your mercies in the lives of all around us – those whom we love deeply, and those who have trespassed against us.
May we freely extend mercy, forgiveness, and kindness to our spouses and children – and in so doing, inspire them to revel in Your love and mercy.
Holy Spirit, grant us the unction to extend mercy, forgiveness and kindness to our transgressors – and in so doing, evangelize them in the revelation of Your love and mercy.
May we speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. (James 2:12)
Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for embodying God’s mercy through Your loving sacrifice on the Cross at Calvary.
May we never be found in contempt of Your great love and mercy. Deliver us from the evil one!
Heavenly Father, we resolve to live out our lives as agents of Your mercy.
So help us, God!
We thank you for Your mercies which are new every morning; and pray all these in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.