Sunday, February 7, 2016

Have Mercy


Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Matthew 5:7
We live in a world where it's so easy to become calloused and indifferent. All around are those who are unconcerned about others and quick to condemn or judge those who fail them.  The righteousness of God changes a heart to one of mercy.
It is important to note that the Sermon on the Mount is descriptive before it is prescriptive.
Imperatives (what you should do) minus  Indicatives (what God has done) equals Impossibilities.
“Blessed are the merciful”  Matthew 5:7a
"merciful" the outward manifestation of pity; to show kindness
Mercy is possible only when we have a right to sit in judgment with the power to act.
"Grace is God's reaction to our sinfulness; mercy is His reaction to our misery." Haddon W. Robinson  Romans 5:8
How Can We Develop A Merciful Spirit?
·  Don’t close your eyes to the hurting.
It’s easier to judge than take the time to understand.
·  Don’t close your mind to the hurting.
Empathy is inserting yourself into the emotion and circumstances of another.
·  Don’t close your heart to the hurting
·  Don’t close your hands to the hurting.
All the mercy God could give man He gave in the cross.
“For they shall obtain mercy "  Matthew 5:6b
Mercy comes from mercy.
Our salvation is not dependent on whether we show mercy or not. Our "blessedness" is.
Showing mercy is evidence of our reception of God's mercy.
Displayed mercy will result in received mercy.
It is not how much we have done so much as why we have done it that is the concern of Christ for the Kingdom man.
Mercy requires authority.   When we could hate...we love, when we could condemn…we forgive, when we could criticize...we support.


So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.  For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:12-13

Devotional Archive