DO YOU SHOW MERCY TO OTHERS?

Today's promise: God is merciful

Do you show mercy to others?

"God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy."

Matthew 5:7 NLT

A parable of mercy

Jesus once told a parable of a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. One servant came before him who owed him ten thousand talents — a debt far beyond the means of a servant. When he couldn't pay, the king ordered that he and his family be sold into slavery, but the servant begged for mercy. Then the king took pity on him, canceled the debt, and set the servant free.

The servant did not show similar mercy to another slave who owed him money and had the man thrown into prison. The master heard what had happened, reinstated the debt and threw him into prison.

"That's what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters in your heart," Jesus said, summing up the moral to the story (Matt. 18:23-35).

Have you ever prayed for forgiveness on Sunday than demanded your way on Monday? Have you ever reflected on the cross one moment and inwardly scowled at a brother the next? Ever yelled at your kids for making you late to church? If so, then read the parable again. Jesus' point is simple: Those who have been forgiven of so much should learn to forgive. People redeemed from certain death should act like redeemed people. Those who have received the ultimate act of mercy should learn to be merciful. Anything less shows how little we understand the true depth of the Master's kindness.

Adapted from Embracing Eternity by Tim LaHaye, Jerry Jenkins and Frank M. Martin, Tyndale House Publishers (2004) p 55

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

DOES GOD TREAT YOU THE WAY YOU DESERVE?

Today's promise: God is merciful

Does God treat you the way you deserve?

Praise the Lord, I tell myself; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He ransoms me from death and surrounds me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle's! The Lord gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly. He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious; he is slow to anger and full of unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He has not punished us for all our sins, nor does he deal with us as we desire. For his unfailing love toward those who love him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our rebellious acts as far away from us as the east is from the west.

Psalm 103:1-12 NLT

About this week's promise

Mercy is compassion, poured out on needy people. But the mercy of God, which he expects us to model, goes one step further. God's mercy is undeserved favor. Even when we don't deserve mercy, God still extends it to us. Our sin and rebellion against God deserve his punishment; but instead he offers us forgiveness and eternal life. If God was merciful toward us despite our sin, how merciful should we be toward those who have wronged us?

From the TouchPoint Bible
(Tyndale House) p 1233

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

IS YOUR HOME MARKED BY THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT?

Today's promise: God is always ready to help us and expects us to help others

Is Your Home Marked By the Fruits of the Spirit?

"When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit is us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.…Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. It we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or irritate one another, or by jealous of one another."

Galatians 5:22-26 NLT

The Spirit-filled home

"How do you remember your childhood home? Was it a loving and welcoming place? Maybe there were evidences of kindness and generosity — fresh homemade cookies, a dollhouse or model planes you and your dad built together, a warm welcome always waiting for you, an old couch to be shared with brothers and sisters.

Perhaps you don't have such wonderful childhood memories. Not everyone does. Homes can be places of cruelty as well — places full of criticism and humiliation, places characterized by conflict, jealousy, and pain. Loving homes don't just magically appear. They are the result of a husband and wife's commitment to letting God's Spirit control their lives. When you follow the Spirit's leading, God produces kindness, goodness, patience, and love in your lives. Then the home a marriage creates can become a light to the neighborhood, a place where friends and neighbors can experience genuine love and acceptance. If you are married, what type of home do you want your marriage to create? Ask God today to plant the seeds of loving kindness in your life, your marriage, and your home."

From Praying God's Promises for My Marriage by Jon Farrar (Tyndale) pp 132-33

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

THE FRUIT OF KINDNESS

Today's promise: God is always ready to help us and expects us to help others

The fruit of kindness

"When the Holy Spirit controls your life, he will produce this kind of fruit in us:…kindness, goodness."

Galatians 5:22 NLT

In spite of it all

On that ghastly Friday morning, which ironically has become known as "Good Friday," Jesus was a swollen, bloody mess. Most of his friends had hightailed it hours before, leaving him alone to face the physical agony of crucifixion, the emotional anguish of a jeering crowd, and the spiritual horror of separation from God the Father.

Yet during this entire nightmare, Christ responded, well, strangely. On the way to his execution, he paused to console a group of grief-stricken women. He used what little breath he was able to catch to pray for those who were so merciless to him. He demonstrated compassion and forgiveness to a criminal dying at his side. And he took pains, literally, to see that his grief-stricken mother below him would be cared for by a friend.

In the ultimate "tough time," Christ oozed kindness and goodness. And because his Spirit lives in us, we also have the capacity to use personal tragedy as an opportunity to care for others.

Praying God's Promise:
Cause your kindness and goodness to flow through me, Lord. It is not natural for me to think of others or to think of glorifying you, especially when my own life is filled with pain. Teach me to live supernaturally. I want to be selfless like you, Jesus, always looking for opportunities to bless others.

From Praying God's Promises in Tough Times by Len Wood (Tyndale) pp 154-55

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

HAVE YOU BEEN USED TO COMFORT OTHERS?

Today's promise: God is always ready to help us and expects us to help others

Have you been used to comfort others?

"All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ."

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NLT

May our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who loved us and in his special favor gave us everlasting comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and give you strength in every good thing you do and say.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 NLT

God's comfort

How often have you noticed that soon after you receive comfort for some troubling situation, you encounter someone else facing a similar situation? It is God who leads us to these people, for the comfort we provide for them seems more credible because they know we have "been there." Paul praises the Lord in his letter to the Corinthian church that God "comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others" with "the same comfort God has given us."

In what ways has God comforted you in the trials you have had to go through? Pray that God may use you to comfort others.

A prayer for today…

Dear Lord, thank you for comforting me. Use me to comfort others…

From The One Year® Book of Bible Prayers edited by Bruce Barton (Tyndale) entry for July 10

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

REFLECTING CHRIST

Today's promise: God is always ready to help us and expects us to help others

Reflecting Christ

"…you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience."

Colossians 3:12 NLT

Clothed in kindness

A doctor once stepped into a taxicab and discovered an unusually friendly driver.…he asked the man why he was so cheerful. "It all started," he said, "when I heard about a taxi driver who was so kind to a passenger that the man remembered him in his will, leaving him $65,000. I thought I would try it, and maybe somebody might leave me something. But after I tried it, I found it was so much fun being good that I decided I would do it for the fun of it, reward or no reward."

The world would certainly be a more cheerful place if we all had such good dispositions. Imagine walking down the street and seeing nothing but smiling faces.…

Life is not a bed of roses, and most people are too happy to let you know that. That's what we tell ourselves when we want to appease our guilt on those dark and dreary days. I'm not the only one who's had a bad day, we think. People are just going to have to understand.

Maybe they do, but how does Jesus feel about it? Kindness should flow out of the life of a Christian. The world has an excuse to be angry, but we don't. Redeemed people should act like they're happy to be redeemed.

This is what separates believers from those who haven't discovered the goodness of Christ. We have a reason to rejoice. We have a standard to uphold. We have a Savior to pattern our life after.

From Embracing Eternity by Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins and Frank M. Martin (Tyndale) p 86

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

GET YOUR "WANTER" FIXED

GET YOUR “WANTER” FIXED

READ:

Philippians 4:4-13

I have learned in whatever

state I am, to be content.

 –Philippians 4:11

When my wife was a young girl in Austin, Texas, Carlyle Marney was her family’s  neighbor, pastor, and friend.  One of his off-hand remarks about being content became one of her familly’s enduring expressions:  “Dr. Marney says, ‘We just need to get our wanter fixed.’”.

It’s so easy to want more than we need and to become more focused on getting than on giving.  Soon, our desires dictate our choices.

When the apostle Paul wrote to the followers of Jesus in the city of Philippi, he told them, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content….I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” (Philippians 4:11-12).  Paul was saying, in effect, “I’ve had my ‘wanter’ fixed.”  It’s important to note that Paul was not born with contentment.  He learned it in the difficult circumstances of everyday life.

During this season of the year, when shopping and buying often take center stage in so many countries and cultures, why don’t we decide to focus on being satisfied in our present circumstances?  It may sound difficult, but Paul, when talking about learning to be content said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (v.13). – David McCasland

Help us, Lord, to learn contentment when life is

rough.  Protect us from believing the lie that

having more will bring us happiness.  May we be

content with what You have given.

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Contentment begins with having fewer wants.

INSIGHT

In Philippians 4:4-7, Paul reveals three of the benefits of following Christ.  Living in relationship with the Savior will be marked by joy, gentleness, and peace.  No wonder Paul was able to experience a heart of contentment even when imprisoned in Rome (v.11).

Have a blessed day and weekend.

God Our Creator’s Love Always

Unity & Peace