Mercy

Mercy

A few years ago I had just gotten a new phone. I went outside in my driveway to do a science project, and it shattered. My mom could have made me pay for a new one or use the old, broken phone, but instead she showed me mercy. The next day we went and got my phone replaced ( with a new one that had insurance…). There are so many examples of mercy in our everyday lives. For example, you fail a test, but you get a retake. You deserve to fail, but you end up passing.

All throughout scripture God is showing his people mercy. Jesus sums this up well in the story of the prodigal son, found in Luke 15:11-32. The younger of two sons asks his father for his inheritance and soon leaves. He goes and blows all of his money, leaving him poor and hungry. One day, he is sitting with the pigs, wishing he could eat out of the trough with them. But then he remembers that even his father’s lowliest servants had food to spare. So the son goes back home, prepared to beg for forgiveness. While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and ran to him. The father called for a grandiose feast and opulent clothing to be given, for his son had returned home! The older son was not happy about this. He had been loyal to his father and thought he deserved to have a feast in his honor. When his father heard this, he said, “But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” Luke 15:32

I often see myself in the older brother. I feel entitled, saying that I am better. I say things like, “Well, they had it coming.” Mercy is a difficult trait to display. It is showing grace when punishment is deserved. But God still calls us to mercy, even when it is hard.

The father showed his son great mercy by accepting him into the family. He did not deserve this, but the father gave his love freely. God is the merciful father. He welcomes us back even after we have sinned. He runs to us, picking us up when we fall, always calling us home. Romans 3:23 states that, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We do not meet the standards set for righteousness. We are full of sin, yet God still loves us. We need only accept his son, Jesus Christ.

Everyday we do things that should result in punishment, but everyday God’s mercies are made new (Lamentations 3:22-23). In light of that, we need to live in a way that reflects God’s mercy. We need to turn from our sinful ways and live intentionally, knowing we have been saved through God’s great mercy. Because of the mercy he shows us, we must show mercy to others. It can be so easy to say, “I hope they get what is coming to them,” but God calls us to so much more than that. Be mindful of your mercy. Be mindful of when you are receiving it and when you need to be giving it. We must live in response to the mercy God has showed us by being merciful to others.

Presence Carrier

Presence Carrier

How often do we find carrying the spirit of God to be a burden? I often find myself saying that I have to do something or groan when I think about doing what God has asked me to do. Sometime I say things like, “But, God, it is so much warmer in my bed…” It can feel like his spirit in us is just a plant that needs to be watered on a biweekly basis, not requiring our full attention and daily cultivation, but it is so much more than that. It is the living and breathing God at work in us.

It is so easy to feel unequipped or unmotivated, but many times God simply requires us to show up. He does all the work, we just need to be ready to be filled with his spirit. That spirit is not a burden, it is a blessing. It is a blessing that we must share with the world. He calls us to carry his presence with us everywhere we go. We are the package, delivering faith, hope, and love everywhere that we go. Heidi and Rolland Baker said, “We carry his light and life into every situation.” That is so true! We must bring the light of Christ with us no matter where we are. Bring it with you to school or work, to the grocery store, the gym, and the dinner table. The spirit of God was not meant to be left in a box, it was meant to be shared with the world.

It can be so easy to see the spirit of God as a burden, but it is time we flip our thinking. The Holy Spirit is not a burden, it is the light in the darkness of the world. Think of yourself as a presence carrier, someone that brings the spirit with them no matter where they go.

You Make Me Brave

You Make Me Brave

There are so many things that I am afraid of. I am afraid of not being good enough, of falling short, of missing the mark. I am afraid of offending people and how they see me. I am afraid of missing an opportunity and taking chances. I am afraid of speaking out, but also afraid of keeping my ideas to myself. I am afraid to share my heart with people.

Yet, despite all of that, God has called me. He has called me to many things that are miles out of my comfort zone. If I had my way, this blog wouldn’t exist, I wouldn’t speak at church, and I wouldn’t serve people. I would sit in my house all day, content to watching NCIS and eating freeze dried fruit all day. But, God has something else in mind. He has asked me to do all of these things that absolutely terrify me. I know this is what he has called me to, because it makes me uncomfortable. God does not place us where we are happy, he places us where he needs us. In those moments of inadequacy and fear, we see how great God is. We see how desperately we need him.

God gives us the tools we need to do what he asks of us. He gives us mentors that teach us how to do these things. They guide us along the narrow path. He also gave us his word, which is the ultimate guide to navigating a life with God.

I was not born brave. In fact, I still would not call myself brave. But, God has made me brave. He has given me the opportunities and resources to step out onto the waves. God makes us brave. He helps us to overcome our fear, se we can be who he called us to be.

Self-Control

Self-Control

1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”

There are so many times when we need to have self-control. It can range from not eating a cookie because you are on a diet or going to work instead of blowing it off. It can be hard to deny yourself the things that you want in the moment, but it takes self-control to keep yourself from doing the things you know you shouldn’t.

It may not seem like it, but Jesus had to deal with self-control, too. We think of him as God, but he was also human. He was still tempted, much like we are. What really made him perfect was his ability to say no when it was necessary. In Luke 4:13, Jesus is in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. He was out there for forty days, not eating and being constantly tempted. Satan offered him food and chances to show off his power. The devil told him to throw himself off a building and have the angels come and save him. This would prove that he was absolutely the son of God to people that did not believe, but Jesus had the control to not do that. He trusted God’s plan to bring him through the wilderness.

In this world, we are constantly being tempted. The world tells us to turn from God, but we must also trust him to bring us through, just like he did for Jesus. It is hard to deny yourself the pleasures that the devil tells you that you deserve, but you must refuse those things. God will take care of you. Ask him to give you self-control in the areas that you need and he will grant you the ability to make it out of your own wilderness.

Gentleness

Gentleness

“A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” Proverbs 15:4

Who would you rather be friends with: someone that is kind and gentle when they speak or someone that is harsh and hot-tempered? People who are gentle are generally better to be around because they do not disdain your shortcomings. Instead, they lift you up through their affection and calm nature.  

Gentleness is a compassionate approach to the weaknesses and limitations of those around us. It does not mean that we ourselves are weak, but it means that we do not look down on others in the areas that we struggle. We should use both words and action to lift people up. In doing that, we are displaying the fruit of gentleness. When we are gentle, we are showing people a piece of God’s character.

John 8:1-11 tells the story of a woman caught in adultery. The people wanted to stone her to death, but Jesus had mercy on her. He said to the crowd, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7) After the crowds left, Jesus gently called the woman to leave her sinful ways. He did not yell at her to repent, he simply said, “Go and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11)

Jesus said in Matthew 11:29 that he “is gentle and humble in heart”. He came to save us, not through harsh words, but through love. That is what he calls us to, as well. God wants us to be gentle and loving in our words, not forcing people to see things our way. We must be gentle with other people so that we can show them how much God loves and cares for them.

Faithfulness

Faithfulness

For most of my life I have had a best friend, a friend I tell everything and would trust with my life. What makes a friend a best friend? It is more than a simple kindness or good sense of humor. It is their loyalty to you that makes them want to stay by your side. They stood by you during a hard times, they were the constant in the storm. That is how we should see God. As our constant in the storms that we call life. He rescues us from the wind and waves, and for that we give him our allegiance.

Faithfulness is being steady in your loyalty and affection towards God. When we are faithful, we are acknowledging all the good he has done in our lives and giving what is left of that life to him. We put our faith and trust in God because he saved us, and he expects us to trust him right back. But, it can be hard to trust someone that you have never met. It can be hard to believe in a God that you cannot see. Yet, throughout history we see that God rewarded those who were faithful to him and gave him their hearts.

One of these faithful people is Hezekiah.  Hezekiah was a king in Jerusalem and his story is told in 2 Chronicles 29-32. 2 Chronicles 29 begins with saying that “He (Hezekiah) did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done.” Hezekiah was faithful to God and followed his plans. The Bible tells how he purified the temple, removed the idols, and reformed the priesthood. “This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. In everything that he undertook in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the Law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.”

Now, of course you do not have to reform the priesthood for God to consider you faithful, but look to Hezekiah as an example. God called him to do something and he did it.  He was a righteous man after God’s heart. Let that be your desire as well. Run towards God’s will and be open to the works he is doing right now. God is the best friend you could ever have, so “serve him faithfully with all your heart.” 1 Samuel 12:24