Loving Mercy

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.            Micah 6:8 NIV

     When we think of the phrase "love mercy" in this Scripture, we typically think of sharing mercy with someone with a serious financial or physical need.  While this is definitely a part of loving mercy, it is not the whole picture.  First, note that Micah tells us to LOVE mercy.  This means that someone who is part of God's kingdom does not just practice mercy on sporadic occasions.  Mercy is a way of life for citizens of God's kingdom.  Second, a clearer picture of the Hebrew word mercy in this passage is "faithful kindness".  Someone who loves mercy is someone who loves to be kind to people, who loves to help lighten the loads that people are carrying.  Further, he is not motivated to be kind because the recipients deserve kindness, but because he is overflowing with the kindness God has given to him.  Because of the kindness he has received from God, he loves to be kind to others.   When we start to think this way, we see many more opportunities to share mercy every day. 

 

   What will you do this week to lighten the load of someone near you?  Is there a swamped coworker nearby?  Do you have an elderly neighbor that needs to have some snow or ice removed?  Is there someone around you who is discouraged?  This week, ask God to help you see someone that needs a lighter load and ask God to give you wisdom to help them in a practical way.  God's people understand that we find life in giving it away, not in grabbing it for ourselves.  We enjoy the kindness God gives us more when we share it with others.  When we lighten the load of another person, two people are encouraged.  

Trusting God Helps Us Listen

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be   quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.                James 1:19  NIV

    

    We often don’t think of listening as connected to trusting God but there is a strong correlation between the two.  One reason for a lack of listening is a lack of trust that God is in control and is working for our good.  Here are three examples of how a lack of trust produces poor listening.

•  We may be afraid that we won’t get our chance if we don’t speak first and often. 

•  We may be fearful and interpret someone’s disagreement with us as a personal attack. 

•  We may act selfishly to get our own way rather than listening for a way that is good for us and the others with us.

  On the flip side, a stronger trust in God  gives us a peace inside us that empowers us to give others a chance to speak.  

• Trust in God keeps us from worrying about people disagreeing with us because we know God will protect the truth. 
• Trust in God allows us to be humble and be open to changing our minds if someone presents a good idea.  
• Trust in God helps us be patient and look for ways that are good for everyone involved.

   This week, take these two steps to help you grow in trust and in listening.

     1.  Start each day with this simple prayer.  “Father, I trust you.  You are the defender of truth and you are working for my good.  Please give me grace to walk in your truth and to listen to others so that love can grow and truth can be shared.”

     2.  Choose one day and make it your goal to ask every person you meet that day at least two questions before you tell them anything.  Listen well as they answer your questions.  Seek to understand what they are saying with their words and actions.

God's Word and the Discovery of True Freedom

 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth,   and the truth will set you free.”    John 8:31-32  ESV

    

    The importance of God’s living and active word to living a fruitful life of goodness, cannot be overstated. If we truly want to interact with God and experience his goodness living in us, we must be people who live in Scripture.  In fact, that is what the word “abide” means.  If we choose to just “visit” God’s word occasionally, then our interaction with God and our experience of the freedom of his goodness will be minimal.  If we are people who saturate our hearts and minds with God’s truth, we will be transformed in beautiful ways and discover true freedom.

   Do you believe this?  Is God’s Word important to you?  Does your current interaction with God’s Word reveal that it is important to you?  What can you do this week to more fully live in God’s truth?  Here are two ideas.  Choose one and do it every day this week.

1.Choose to read God’s Word twice a day instead of once.   Try “bookending” your day with God’s Word by reading it in the morning and close to bedtime.

2.Commit to memorizing Scripture and reviewing it each day.  The simple way of writing verses out on index cards and carrying them with you is very helpful.  There are also several good apps for smartphones , such as “Scripture Typer”.

Deciding to See the Harvest

Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.     John 4:35  NIV

     

    This whole month we have been working at opening our eyes to see the harvest of people that God wants to bring into his family.  There are billions of lost people all over the world who need to hear and believe the message of Christ or else they will spend eternity away from God and separated from all goodness.  It is typical for all of us to keep our eyes looking down on our situation.  It takes an intentional decision to lift up our eyes and see the harvest before us.

   What intentional step can you take this week to see the  potential harvest of lost people near you or far away from you?  Could you pause to pray for people who do not trust God who live in nations which make the news this coming week?  Could you pause each day to look at a world map and pray for another country?  Could you memorize this verse above so that you have a frequent reminder to see the lost people around you?  Set aside a few moments this week to ask God to help you take a practical step see the harvest of people who need Christ.

A Heart in Sync with God's Goodness

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.      Luke 19:10 NIV

    

    One mark of a true follower of Christ is a sincere  desire to become more like Jesus in both heart and action.  When we received Christ, our hearts were renewed and we received a fresh appetite to do God’s will.  While we are not perfect,  we do want to have more and more of God’s goodness in us.  We want to live in harmony with God’s good will.

   In Luke 19:10, we have a clear description of Christ’s passion “to seek and save the lost.”  If this is Christ’s passion, that means God has planted this same desire in us.  It may flicker at varying degrees of intensity, but the spark of love for the lost is in our hearts.  How can we fan the flame of this  love?

   One of the simplest ways to fan this flame is to  pray for specific lost people that we know.  Who do you know that has not been restored to a relationship with God?  The issue is their heart toward God.  Do they trust him or ignore him?  You will find lost people among both the naughty and the nice.  A rule follower can be just as lost as a rule breaker.   The story of the prodigal son teaches this to us.

  This week, set aside a few moments to ask God to give you a burden to pray for 2-3  people who have not discovered the joy of a restored relationship with God.  Write their names down and commit to praying for them at least once a week.  To further strengthen your love for the lost, choose a country in North Africa or Asia where there are many who don’t know  the true God and commit to praying at least once a week for people in that country to repent and turn to God through Christ.  

Let Your Light Shine!

 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.    Matthew 5:16  NIV

    

    Most people will not discover the amazing love, infinite wisdom and unique greatness of God unless God’s people glorify Him by letting His light shine through them.  If people don’t discover His greatness, they will not trust Him and experience his life-filled goodness in this life.  And if they don’t trust Him during this life, they will not have the opportunity to experience His goodness in eternity either.  God has called us to surrender completely to His goodness so that we can enjoy it AND so others can see His greatness through us and put  their trust in Him.

    What opportunities has God given you to display his goodness?  How can you reflect the greatness of God this week?  What good deed (with no strings attached) can you do?    Make a plan to let your light shine in some way that stands out this week.  What kindness can you share?  What sacrifice can you make on behalf of someone else?  Ask God to empower you to let His light shine this week!  He loves to answer this prayer.

Connecting with God's Global Mission

Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.  For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord  endures forever.  Praise the Lord.        

Psalm 117 NIV

    

    

   We usually think about God’s love in personal terms.  What slips out of  our minds is that God loves every single person in the world as much as he loves us.  Every American.  Every Arab.  Every Russian.  Every Indian. Every man, woman and child. 

    

   It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that God so loves the WORLD.  What can we do to keep God’s love for every person in the world in the forefront of our minds and in the center of our hearts? 

    

   One simple step we can take is to pray while looking at a map of the world.  This week, take a few minutes each day to pray in front of a map of the world.  Pick any one of the almost 200 countries in the world and then pray for it’s people.   Use the Lord’s Prayer to guide your prayer for this country.

• Pray for people to come to peace with their Heavenly father through Christ.

• Pray for people to see the unique greatness (hallowedness) of God.

• Pray for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done in this country as it is in heaven. 

• Pray for believers to have the daily bread they need to do God’s will

• Pray for believers to confess their sin and to forgive others.

• Pray that believers would not be led into temptation

• Pray for believers to be delivered from the evil one. 

    

   After you have done this for a week, make a plan for how you will regularly pray for people in the rest of the world to know and trust God’s love.