Tag Archives: Mercy

2015 Day 203 – Acts 28

22 Wednesday Jul 2015

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Today we come to the end of the book of Acts. This marks the end of Luke’s account of the history of the early church, but in actuality it marks the beginning of the history of our Faith. Without the boldness of Paul to force the hand of the local Roman leaders to appear before Caesar, he would not have been sent to Rome. Though Paul was imprisoned, he was still given freedom to preach the gospel and share his faith with anyone who would listen. Let us learn from Paul’s and other early church leader’s examples of taking every opportunity to share our faith with others. In doing so, we are to remember to follow Paul’s example, which he learned from Christ, to love others and help to provide their needs before expecting them to understand God’s love for them. We are the Hands and Feet of Christ, just as Paul was over 2,000 years ago.

2015 Day 196 – Acts 22

15 Wednesday Jul 2015

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There is not a lot I can say about today’s reading in Acts 22. The only real observation I have for today is God’s protection over Paul. While there were times Paul received harsh treatment, on this day Paul’s Roman Citizenship kept him safe from be beaten and interrogated. Sometimes there is something placed in our lives and we don’t even know the significance until we need it. Paul’s citizenship gave him many things, but in this particular case it gave him the right to be found guilty before he could be punished.

2015 Day 188 – Romans 11

07 Tuesday Jul 2015

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God owes us nothing. In the grand scheme of things, we have done nothing that requires God’s repayment to us. In the doxology at the end of this chapter, in Romans 11:35, Paul says, “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” God has given to us even when we did not deserved it. When we question God for not giving us our own selfish desires, we should be thankful instead for all He has given. If God had given us nothing more than salvation from eternal death through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, it should have been enough. Anything else we desire says more about us than it will ever say about God.

2015 Day 159 – 1 Corinthians 16

08 Monday Jun 2015

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As Paul closes this first letter to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 16, it is important to remember why he wrote the letter in the first place. Corinth was a major cosmopolitan port city in Achaia. It was also filled with idolatry and immorality. Paul wrote the letter to help identify the issues in the church and to teach the believers how to live for Christ in such a corrupt society. While this book was specifically written to the Corinthian church, much of what Paul writes applies to us today. This world is getting worse and the life God wants from all of us seems to be less and less popular in our society today. I think one of the keys is to make sure we understand and live for our relationship with Christ. It does no good to become God and judge when all He really wants is for us is to love like God. Jesus made our job very clear in Mark  12:30-31, 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

2015 Day 41 – Matthew 18

10 Tuesday Feb 2015

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Forgiveness is almost always a difficult thing. But Jesus calls us to forgive just as He has forgiven us. In Matthew 18:21-22 Peter and Jesus have the following dialog, 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” Whatever many times we think is sufficient to forgive someone, it will always pale in comparison to the number of times Jesus has forgiven us of our sins. We are called to show mercy and grace just as Jesus has shown mercy and grace to us.

2014 Day 338 – Matthew 23

04 Thursday Dec 2014

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In Matthew 23 there is so much condemnation from Jesus to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. As we read this, we cannot help but see the similarities of the religious leaders of Jesus’ time and the ones in our present day. Let us all work to avoid becoming like the Pharisees and teachers of the Law, and become more like Jesus’ example of what a believer should be.

2014 Day 283 – Matthew 7

10 Friday Oct 2014

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The Golden Rule: Matthew 7:12, So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. It does not take a lot of effort to do what is right and refrain from hurting other people. It takes much more effort and emotional investment to plot evil against another person. Further, Jesus modeled The Golden Rule in a foundation of grace and mercy, which is the kind of love God shows us every day.

2014 Day 277 – Matthew 12:1-21

04 Saturday Oct 2014

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We are called by Jesus to show love, compassion, and mercy. We are not called to judge and condemn based on someone else’s inability to be like us; for better or worse. Matthew 12:7 says, If you had known what these words mean, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. Many people in the modern day church are no different than the Pharisees; they judge others on their inability to measure up to their own standard and forget the only standard that matters is Jesus. God provided grace through His mercy to all people equally because we all need equal amounts of grace. When we begin to compare ourselves to others and make it our measurement, we fail. God is our measurement and He is the only one who can provide the means to save us from eternal condemnation.

2014 Day 273 – John 3

30 Tuesday Sep 2014

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John 3:16 is one of the most powerful verses in all of the New Testament. But John 3:17 is of equal importance, For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. God’s purpose for Jesus was salvation through His grace and mercy. He loved us so much that He gave us a way out of eternal death and into eternal life with Him. Verse 17 plainly states that God sent us a way to be saved if we just believe in Him. These are simple words with a simple plan if we just choose to accept it.

2014 Day 251 – Psalm 136

08 Monday Sep 2014

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Psalm 136 sums up the story of God’s love for His people. Bottom line… His love endures forever.” God’s love contains aspects of love, kindness, mercy, and faithfulness. His love is a well that will never run dry.