Day 5 Mercifulness

Day 5

Mercifulness

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

(Matthew 5:7)

Mercifulness is the 5^th Step

Mercifulness is the fifth step that places a believer in a platform both to give and obtain mercy.

Mercifulness is an attribute of God.  Therefore when you start being merciful to others, it is a clear indication of your further advancement in the kingdom of God.  To be merciful is to love those who are needy or unworthy.  Beloved, the scriptures are clear: there is none righteous, no, not one.  But God, who is rich in mercy, had mercy on us and forgave us of all our sins.  He delivered us from the powers of darkness into His marvelous Light, not because we have done any good work, but so that according to His mercies, we may become the children of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, who delivered Himself unto death for us. He did this so that we, through Him, may obtain mercy, and that we, through the scriptures, may find comfort and hope for our souls in Him.                                                                      

Now my beloved, consider yourself in times past before you were in Christ. How ignorant you were of the devil’s devices, and how you yielded to his temptations and fulfilled the lusts of your flesh, living in sin and heading for destruction.  But God, who is rich in mercy, with His mighty right hand, delivered you from the pit, from the powers of darkness, and placed you on the Rock, even Christ, where all other ground around you was and is sinking sand. This was not because you had done any work of righteousness or that you were better than others, but according to His mercy, He saved you!

 “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.  But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration

and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”  (Titus 3:3-7)

And again:

“Who is a God like You,
      Pardoning iniquity
      And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?
      He does not retain His anger forever,
      Because He delights in mercy.” (Micah 7:18)

And again:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

Now let us study this verse carefully, because this verse shows the ultimate character of God, His most merciful act, and His unconditional love. Let us just meditate on this for a moment.  We (men) sinned against God, and God’s Son had to die for us to be saved. We (men) hurt God and lost the abundant life that God gave us.  The only way we could be saved, forgiven, redeemed, and have life again, was if a sinless man could offer himself as a ransom to God, according to God’s counsel and righteousness.                       

“For the wages of sin is death…”  (Romans 6:23)

 No man was found worthy to be a ransom to God for the rest of us! Therefore, God gave His only begotten Son, in order that He may become a man and offer Himself as a ransom to God for us.  So, God sent His only begotten Son to come into the world and be killed by us, that we may be free.  Can you see the mercy of God?

What a Wonderful and Merciful God we serve!  Amen!
And once the price was paid, He declared that our sins are forgiven.

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”  (John 8:36)

And again He said:

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.”  (Isaiah 43:25)   

God has forgiven our sins, and our sins He will remember no more.
What a Merciful God!  Amen!
Do you, my dear beloved, have any idea how sinful and wicked we are?   How rebellious we are?  How unforgiving we are?  How perverse we are? And yet God had mercy on us, and He forgave us, despite all our wrongs, all our iniquities.  God forgave us.  By doing so, by having mercy on us, He has set us an example.
So who are you, a sinner, to say that you will never forgive another, or even yourself for that matter?  Let us therefore be merciful toward each other, even as God our Father in heaven is merciful toward us.
 The Lord Jesus said:
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”  (Matthew 5:7)
And again:

“For I desire mercy and not sacrifice…”  (Hosea 6:6)

Brethren, let us, therefore, follow our Heavenly Father’s example by having mercy on those who have sinned against us. By this mercy, and by our love, we shall be known as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ and sons and daughters of the Most High God.

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”  (John 13:35)

I often hear a son saying that he hasn’t spoken to his father in a long time, and daughters saying that they never want to see their mother’s face again, and the best of friends acting like cats and dogs, brothers not talking to each other, and family members hating each other.  My dear beloved, if you are part of one of the above, or if you haven’t forgiven people who hurt you in the past, by no means will you enter the kingdom of heaven.                               Because if you ask God to forgive you, and He who doesn’t sin forgives you, then you,  a sinful person who sins against others also, should not fail to forgive your fellow humans.  In truth I tell you, my dear beloved, unless you forgive and have mercy on those who sin against you, by no means will God forgive you.  Mercy will be shown to those who are merciful!
 The Lord Jesus said:

 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”  (Matthew 5:7)

Therefore my dear beloved, be merciful to others, just as our Father in heaven is merciful to you.  Pick up the phone and call the people who hurt you and tell them:  “IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST I FORGIVE YOU.”
 And you will see that by loving those who hate and hurt you, you are actually freeing yourself from this ‘prison’ called hatred, of which the devil is the ‘warden.’  Start practicing mercy in your daily life, by the grace of God, and you will come to understand the unconditional love of God.  And if you find it difficult to forgive, ask God to help you to be merciful in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.   He will grant you His grace which is sufficient to make you merciful.  Amen!  And you will never be angry again for too long. If anyone hurts you, just say in your heart:   “I LOVE YOU AND I FORGIVE YOU IN THE NAME OF JESUS.”   And all will be well with your soul.  Remember that hatred is a prison and the devil is the warden, and only those who are under arrest by the powers of darkness will exercise hatred.  But we are the sons and daughters of the Light.   We MUST have mercy and love one another, and learn to forgive each other in Jesus’ name.  Amen! Remember to pray for those who hate and hurt you, that God may forgive them and grant them repentance in Jesus’ name.  Amen!
Finally my dear beloved:

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”  (Ephesians 4:32)

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you and your family always.  Amen!

Meditation:  God will be merciful to me if I am merciful to others. God will forgive me if I forgive others.

Prayer points:  LORD please give me a merciful heart.  Please fill my heart with mercy, patience, love and kindness.  Work in me and through me for Your glory. Please teach me, oh my God, to be merciful, for I ask this in Jesus’ name.  Amen!

Commitment: Because You, oh LORD, are merciful to me every day and every hour, I also commit myself to learn, by Your grace, to be merciful to others every day, for Christ’s sake.  Amen!