“A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.”
Proverbs 28:13 (TLB) God is always ready to give you another chance. That’s a foundational piece of Christianity. We’ve all been irresponsible. We’ve all messed up. The Bible tells us, “Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 NLT). You’re not meant to go through life with a guilt trip about all the ways you’ve been irresponsible. Guilt destroys your confidence, damages your relationships, keeps you stuck in the past, and even hurts your health. A report a few years back said 70 percent of people in the hospital could leave if they knew how to resolve their guilt. God wants far better for your life than that. You don’t want to live with guilt. And here’s an important truth to always hang on to: You don’t have to. Instead, God wants you to live with a sense of promise and hope. He can even bring good out of the foolish decisions that you’ve made if you’ll give those failures to him. How do you do that? Admit to God you’ve made a mistake. It doesn’t surprise him. And it won’t change his perception of you. When you take this step, here’s what you can expect from him: God forgives instantly. The very moment you admit your sin to God, he forgives you. God forgives freely. You don’t need to earn it, and you’ll never deserve it. God forgives completely. He wipes your sin absolutely clean. The Bible promises that a “man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance” (Proverbs 28:13 TLB). If you’re mired in guilt and shame, then you’ll likely perpetuate whatever problem you have. You’ll tell yourself that you blew it, so you’re bad. Since you’re bad, you believe you’ll blow it again. It’s a nasty cycle we often can’t seem to escape from—at least not on our own. You need a power beyond yourself. You need a Savior! You need to let go of your guilt and live in the freedom of God’s forgiveness.
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“The wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy.”
James 3:17 (NLT) Would you like to see your relationships transformed? Then become an agent of mercy. Here are seven characteristics of mercy that God wants you to learn and apply in your life: 1. Mercy means being patient with people’s quirks. How do you become more patient with your kids, spouse, coworkers, or friends? You ask God for his wisdom. The Bible says in James 3:17, “The wisdom from above is . . . peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy” (NLT). 2. Mercy means helping anyone around you who is hurting. You cannot love your neighbor as yourself without being merciful. Proverbs 3:27 says, “Whenever you possibly can, do good to those who need it” (GNT)—and “do it cheerfully” (Romans 12:8 NIV). 3. Mercy means giving people a second chance. When somebody hurts us, we normally want to get even or write that person off. But the Bible says, “Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others . . . Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ” (Ephesians 4:31-32 CEV). 4. Mercy means doing good to those who hurt you. Mercy is giving people what they need, not what they deserve, because that’s what God does with us: “Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back . . . Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36 NIV). 5. Mercy means being kind to those who offend you. You’ve got to be more interested in winning people to Christ than in winning the argument. Jude 1:22-23 says, “Show mercy to those who have doubts . . . even though you are afraid that you might be stained by their sinful lives” (GW). 6. Mercy means building bridges of love to the unpopular. When the Pharisees questioned why Jesus ate with tax collectors and other unpopular people, Jesus said, “‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Matthew 9:13 NLT). 7. Mercy means valuing relationships over rules. Romans 13:10 says, “Love fulfills the requirements of God’s law” (NLT). If you want to show mercy, put people before policies. Put their needs before procedures. Put relationships before regulations. Choose love over law. Showing mercy doesn’t always come naturally. And so, in tomorrow’s devotional, we’ll discuss specific ways you can demonstrate mercy in your life. “The wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy.”
James 3:17 (NLT) Mercy is like a diamond; it is multifaceted. Today we’re going to look at seven facets of mercy. And I guarantee that learning how to be an agent of mercy will transform your relationships. 1. Mercy means being patient with people’s quirks. The Bible says in James 3:17, “The wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy” (NLT). The wiser you become, the more patient and merciful you become. 2. Mercy means helping anyone around you who is hurting. You cannot love your neighbor as yourself without being merciful. Proverbs 3:27 says, “Whenever you possibly can, do good to those who need it” (GNT). 3. Mercy means giving people a second chance. When somebody hurts you, you normally want to get even or write that person off. But the Bible says, “Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others . . . Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ” (Ephesians 4:31-32 CEV). 4. Mercy means doing good to those who hurt you. Mercy is giving people what they need, not what they deserve. Why should you do that? Because that’s what God does with you: “Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back . . . Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35-36 NIV). 5. Mercy means being kind to those who offend you. You need to be more interested in winning people to Christ than in winning an argument. Jude 1:23 says, “Show mercy to others, even though you are afraid that you might be stained by their sinful lives” (GW). 6. Mercy means building bridges of love to the unpopular. This is what might be called premeditated mercy, because you intentionally build friendships with people who don’t have friends or who are not accepted at work or in society. When the Pharisees questioned why Jesus ate with tax collectors and other unpopular people, Jesus said, “‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners” (Matthew 9:13 NLT). 7. Mercy means valuing relationships over rules. Romans 13:10 says, “Love fulfills the requirements of God’s law” (NLT). If you want to show mercy, put people before policies. Put their needs before procedures. Put relationships before regulations. Choose love over law. “The Lord watches over all who love him.”
Psalm 145:20 (NIV) When you put your trust in Jesus, you never need to fear the future. His goodness and mercy are with you every day. You’re following the Good Shepherd, and he is out in front of you with his rod and staff. And at the back of the flock are a couple of sheepdogs—goodness and mercy—nipping at your heels, making sure you don’t run off into a ravine. These two sheepdogs keep you on track as you follow the Good Shepherd. God’s goodness is watching over you. Did you know that a second has never passed in your life when God was not watching you? God is always paying attention to you, because he created you to love you. He knows every detail of your life. Psalm 145:20 says, “The Lord watches over all who love him” (NIV). Not only does he watch over you, but he also protects you. The Bible says, “God will command his angels to protect you wherever you go” (Psalm 91:11 CEV). God’s protection doesn’t mean that only good things will happen to you. Suffering and disappointment will still come your way. But God will ensure that good will come out of everything that happens to you—whether or not you’re able to see in this lifetime how he has been working. God’s mercy and grace is working in you. The Bible says in Isaiah 60:10, “I will have mercy on you through my grace” (TLB). Grace is when God gives you what you don’t deserve. Mercy is when God doesn’t give you what you do deserve. For all the ways you’ve sinned, failed, and made mistakes, you deserve punishment, yet God pardons and forgives you through Christ. That’s mercy. It is God’s nature to be merciful. He loves to show his mercy! He doesn’t get bored with it. He doesn’t get tired of it. He doesn’t get frustrated that you keep coming back for more. God doesn’t say, “Okay, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, I’ll give goodness, and on Tuesday and Thursday, I’ll give mercy, and on Saturday and Sunday, you’re on your own.” That’s simply not true! The truth is, God is with you every moment of every day, always offering his goodness and mercy. Nobody knows what’s going to happen next week, much less next year or in the next 10 years. But when you face the future, you can know this: God will fill your life to overflowing, and his goodness and mercy will be with you. There is no need to fear. “Love is . . . never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (TLB) One of the best things you can do for your family is to show them mercy. Mercy is love in action. So when you overlook irritations and choose to be kind to your family—even when they don’t deserve it—you’re being merciful. Another important way you can show mercy in your home is to let go of past hurts. Do you keep a mental record every time someone in your family does something wrong? Are you quick to remind someone of how they have hurt you? The Bible says that real love doesn’t store up hurts and offenses to be used later for revenge. When you hold on to a hurt like that, you are not being loving. The Bible says, “Love is . . . never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5 TLB). Notice how “rude” and “does not hold grudges” are in the same verse. That’s the reason people are rude: They’re reacting to a past hurt they’ve been holding on to and then taking it out on others. And when they react to a past hurt, they can’t relate to the present. Leviticus 19:18 says, “Do not take revenge on others or continue to hate them, but love your neighbors as you love yourself” (GNT). Are past grudges holding you hostage today? Don’t hold grudges over your spouse’s or children’s heads. And don’t tell other people about your grudges, either. That’s gossip! Instead, just let it go. Sometimes it’s hardest to show mercy to the people who are closest to you. But when you can let it go and be merciful, you are learning to be more like Jesus. “When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should.”
Colossians 4:6 (NCV) One of the best ways to be a witness for Jesus in a world that’s becoming more judgmental, selfish, and unforgiving is to show mercy to others. Have you noticed how unmerciful and unforgiving our world is? It seems the highest form of humor is the put-down. Even comedians get paid for their sarcastic and cynical jabs at others. But when people see you showing mercy, especially considering how rude and mean society has become, they’ll say, “That’s what I expect a Christian to be like—like Jesus.” Jesus says in Luke 6:36, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (NIV). There are four things you can do to build a lifestyle of mercy. Start looking and listening for people’s needs. Whose needs? The needs of people in your neighborhood, at your work, and in your family. Mercy always begins with awareness. If you’re not aware, then you don’t care. The Bible says, “Look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own” (Philippians 2:4 GNT). You don’t struggle to be merciful because you’re a bad person. It’s because you’re too busy. Busyness is the number one destroyer of mercy in your life. When you’re moving from event to event and task to task, it’s hard to pay attention to the people around you. And when you’re not looking and listening for people’s needs, it’s nearly impossible to be merciful. Don’t be offended by the sins of others. You can’t say, “Go clean up your life, and then I will accept you.” No—mercy is unconditional! If you’re going to show mercy to people, you can’t be offended by them. You can’t minister to people if you’re looking down on them. Jesus wasn’t offended by people’s sins. In fact, he hung out with the worst kinds of sinners. He was even accused of “guilt by association” because he spent time with people who were corrupt, unloving, and manipulative. This doesn’t mean Jesus approved of everything they did. God doesn’t approve of everything you do, but he accepts you completely. Showing mercy doesn’t mean you say everything someone does is okay. Drug addiction and adultery, for example, are not okay. But you can still show mercy. You can do for others what Christ has done for you. “Most importantly, love each other deeply. Love has a way of not looking at others’ sins” (1 Peter 4:8 ICB). Choose your words carefully. If you’re going to show mercy, there are some things you just can’t say. You can’t be rude or sarcastic. Mercy puts a monitor on your mouth and helps you choose words that build people up instead of tearing them down. Colossians 4:6 says, “When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should” (NCV). Maybe you grew up in a family where it was common to put each other down, and now you’ve developed the same pattern in your own life. How do you break that habit? Ask God for wisdom because “the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy” (James 3:17 ESV). The wiser you become, the more merciful you’ll be to the people around you—no matter how much they disagree with you or dislike you. That’s because the more you understand the hurts of other people, the more likely you are to cut them slack and show them mercy. Value saving people over keeping rules. Jesus modeled this over and over. A good example is found in the book of Matthew. Jesus says this to the legalistic Pharisees: “You are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things” (Matthew 23:23 NLT). Jesus didn’t like how the Pharisees prioritized tithing over more important things, such as treating people fairly, showing mercy, and having faith. He wants us to “not neglect the more important things” too. He would rather see our kindness break through to others so that, one day, they will give their lives to him. Jesus is more interested in kingdom building than in rule following. Every time you show mercy, that’s your greatest Christian witness to the world. “A merciful person helps himself, but a cruel person hurts himself.”
Proverbs 11:17 (GW) God set up the world with universal principles. One of those principles is that the more you help other people, the more you will succeed and the happier you will be. Happiness doesn’t come from living for yourself. Happiness comes from giving your life away and being merciful. Proverbs 11:17 says, “A merciful person helps himself, but a cruel person hurts himself” (GW). That’s another one of those universal principles: You get what you sow in life. The greatest example of this in the Bible is the story of Job, who lost literally everything—his health, family, job, and wealth. His friends came to him in his greatest hour of need. But did they show him mercy? No! They judged, criticized, and second guessed him. They kept telling him what he’d done wrong. “It’s your own fault,” they said. The great turnaround in Job’s life occurred not when he thought about himself but when he mercifully prayed for the people who were criticizing him: “When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his wealth and happiness! In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!” (Job 42:10 TLB). Do you too show mercy to others—even the ones who criticize and judge you? You can go through life as a judgmental person, or you can go through life as a merciful person. If you choose to condemn and judge, then you’re going to make yourself and everyone around you miserable. It’s your choice. You can be an agent of judgment in the world, or you can be an agent of mercy. When you choose mercy, life will be a whole lot more enjoyable for you and for the people around you. Jesus says in the Beatitudes, “Happy are the kind and merciful” (Matthew 5:7 TLB). Do you want to be happy? Then be merciful. “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 (NIV) As followers of Jesus, we live in a constant tension. On one hand, we want to honor God and do what he wants. On the other hand, everything in our world is directly opposed to God. Life in the Kingdom of God is at odds with the ways of the world. You are going to see many things that disagree with your values and—more importantly—with God’s values. How do you respond? Unfortunately, too many Christians respond by passing judgment on others. James tells us that if we judge others without showing mercy, then God will not show mercy to us. God desires mercy over judgment. You can avoid being judgmental by telling the truth with gentleness. You can tell someone that disobeying God will lead to negative consequences in a way that doesn’t pass judgment on them. You become judgmental when you take the truth and hold it over people’s heads, in order to make yourself feel superior. We are called to tell the truth to help people, not to harm them or put them down. You can disagree with someone without being disagreeable. Even if you are right about something, being rude about it puts you in the wrong. Being judgmental—expecting an unbeliever to act like a believer—doesn’t make sense. The Bible says people can’t act the way God wants them to act until they invite Jesus into their lives and accept his power to change their ways. You will be able to stop passing judgment on others when you remember that everyone is accountable to God. That means they aren’t accountable to you, but remember, you are accountable to stop passing judgment on others. Jesus says, “Do not judge others, and God will not judge you; do not condemn others, and God will not condemn you; forgive others, and God will forgive you” (Luke 6:37 GNT). “When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:4-5 NLT).
No matter what you’re going through, you can live with hope. That’s the consistent, overriding message of the Bible. God will always treat you with grace and mercy. Peter writes to those who are already believers, “All honor to God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for it is his boundless mercy that has given us the privilege of being born again” (1 Peter 1:3 TLB). The more we understand grace, the more we’ll be amazed by it. It’s completely undeserved. It’s totally unmerited. It is not something that you could earn or work for. It’s just a free gift of God’s mercy. You can’t make God love you any more than he loves you right now. You can’t make him love you any less. His love is based on his mercy for you. God’s Word tells us, “When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:4-5 NLT). This is extremely important to understand. When you make mistakes as a believer, God doesn’t get mad at you. God doesn’t want to get even with you. God doesn’t start planning to mess up your life. God always acts in mercy toward you. Why? Because you’re covered in the blood of Jesus Christ when you’ve been baptized into his death. That’s why God responds in mercy every time you mess up. And that can give you hope. “God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7 NLT).
Jesus says in Matthew 5:7, “God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (NLT). In other words, what you give, you’re going to get. You’ve got to learn to be a minister of mercy if you want God’s blessing on your life. But why does God want you to show mercy to others? Why is being merciful so important? Because God has shown you mercy. Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “God’s mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is so great, that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life with Christ. It is by God’s grace that you have been saved” (GNT). God wants you to pass on the mercy that you’ve received from him. Because God commands you to be merciful. Do you want a summary of what life’s all about? Here it is: “The Lord has told you what is good. This is what the Lord requires from you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to live humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8 GW). Because you’re going to need more mercy in the future. You’re going to make a lot of mistakes between now and when you get to heaven, and you’re going to need God’s mercy. But you cannot receive what you are unwilling to give. James 2:13 says, “You must show mercy to others, or God will not show mercy to you when he judges you. But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear at the judgment” (NCV). Because showing mercy brings or causes happiness. Matthew 5:7 says that God blesses those who are merciful. The word “blessed” also means “happy,” so the more you learn and demonstrate this quality, the happier and more blessed you’re going to be. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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