Custom-Made For You

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

Do you sin the same way every day?  The mistakes you made Saturday, are they the same mistakes you made on Sunday?

I don't know about you, but on Saturday I may have become angry with someone and said something mean but then on Sunday, I may have told a lie. On Monday, I may irritate my sister on purpose just because she's there. Each day, I sin and no two days or sins are the same.

Did you know that the Hebrew word for new in Verse 23 means different?  Think about it.  This morning God didn't give me the same mercy, compassion and forgiveness that he gave me on Saturday or Sunday. He gave me the mercy, compassion and forgiveness I needed just for today.

Receiving mercy is to receive kindness and compassion that we don't deserve. What kind of God offers you just the perfect mercy each and every day? It is a one-of a kind, custom made mercy. Designed just for you. Given freely with no strings attached.

That, my friends, is OUR God. Great is His Faithfulness!

Talking Back To Satan

One day he asked the woman, “Did God actually say.....? Genesis 3:1 (ESV)

Did God actually say ________________ (fill in the blank)? What he said would happen won't happen. These are the things we hear in our heads. Satan's goal is to get us to doubt God. He was small minded and jealous when he set out to deceive Eve. He was expelled from Heaven; he lost the war he waged against God. His attack on Eve was not against Eve. He wanted her to fail as he had so he could point to God and his character and say his love wasn't good.

Nothing has changed in thousands of years. Every time he says to us "Did God actually say that?" or "Maybe you are imaging it." or "God doesn't talk to people." and "He certainly doesn't talk to you."  he is not attacking you. He is attacking God. He wants us to fail so he can point to that and say that God failed. He wants people to think that God's plan of mercy and justice couldn't possibly work. 

But it is working. Satan can't point at Jesus and say he was a failure. Jesus won. Jesus overcame. And he did it so we could overcome. So now, when Satan says to you "You failed." you can say "No, Satan. You failed. I am covered by Jesus and with his help, I am living proof that love can prevail. I will keep walking and I will become more like Jesus every day. And that, Satan, is something you will never do."

God's strange mixture of justice and mercy does work. Just remember who Satan is trying to destroy when he comes at you. It's not you, it's God. And remember, every time you reject that negative voice in your head saying you can't do it, you have overcome.

Keep walking. Keep resisting. God's already got this one in the bag.

Shhhh, Don't Say A Word

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36 (NIV)

A few years ago I was having some personal difficulties with someone. If I am to be honest in my feelings, this person was just downright mean. He said mean things and was about the business of shaming people. Not only that, he was in a leadership position in an organization where I volunteered. Man, did I want to give him a piece of my mind. Not only that, many other people wanted to share pieces of their mind as well. His behavior was toxic and was causing the organization to flounder.

I prayed and prayed asking God how I should address this. Could I tell him off? Could I share how hurtful he was? Could I let him have a piece of my mind? God only ever responded with one word "Mercy." Oh come on! Seriously? But the response every time I prayed was the same "Mercy." To be honest, I wasn't totally sure what "Mercy" meant but I did know I was being told to do nothing. What was super hard was when other folks came and said "What are we going to do? We should report him! We should do something!" I had to share what God said and I had to do nothing. I couldn't get on the bandwagon.

Recently I discovered what mercy actually means. I was reading something (sorry, I don't remember what it was) and it said that grace is getting something you don't deserve and mercy is not getting what you do deserve. I remembered this story and wondered why God wouldn't give this person what they deserved. And then it hit me, he does that with me every day.

Every day he extends grace and mercy to this soul who doesn't deserve either. Every day he overlooks my behavior and my not so kosher thoughts and shows me mercy. When I processed this, my heart overflowed with gratitude.

God is always about growing us and others. As I look back on this situation I am really thankful I didn't say anything. It wouldn't have changed a thing (honestly) but it did allow me to show God's love with my words (or lack thereof). No matter how I feel about someone's behavior, that is always the most important thing.

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. Ephesians 6:19 (NIV)

Thursday, Mar 23

“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” Luke 10:36-37 (NLT)

Most of us know the story of the Good Samaritan. We've heard it many times. The lawyer whose questions prompted the story started the discussion with one question, "Who is my neighbor?" He was hoping to get off easy; he was hoping that since he was already good to the people he knew Jesus would tell him he had done well. But God's definition of 'neighbor' and those whom you show mercy to requires more of us than we are often willing to give.

Let's make this real. I'm going to throw out some scenarios and I want you to put yourself in the role of the Samaritan. Remember, he helped the Jewish man who had been attacked - even though they were enemies. He inconvenienced himself to provide what was best for his enemy.

Let's start with the stories in the news where a policeman has shot a black man or visa versus, a black man has killed a policeman. You are the family member of the deceased. How will you treat the person who took your loved one's life?

You are living in Paris and were there when ISIS attacked the city and your family member was killed. You come face to face with the person who orchestrated the attack. How do you treat them?

How about some scenarios that are closer to home? Someone has hurt your spouse, your child, your parents. How will you follow up?

Someone you know in business deliberately causes you to lose a large sum of money and you nearly lose everything. You come face-to-face with them at a conference. What do you do?

Some of these are extreme situations and for a lot of us we will never have to face these horrific situations. But, as the world continually becomes more and more distant from God's ideal for us, the reality that we will be faced with our 'enemy' becomes more and more real. Look at your life. Is there someone that needs your forgiveness? Is there someone you should show mercy to? Is there someone who needs your best? This is what God is calling us to do. The idea is just as radical now as it was when Jesus introduced it. We can't do it alone. We need him in our lives to pull it off.

If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Matthew 5:46-47 (NLT)