Lessons in Mercy - Part 2

Intro:
Every day. Every day we experience the mercy of God. Every day that we take a breath. Every day we pull our feet from the covers and meet the cold floor. Every day we live we have already experienced mercy.

I don't know about you, but I for one am stoked that God gives me mercy daily! I need it. I get His mercy when I am a good boy and even when I am not so good. I receive this mercy because of who HE is not what I do. That is good news.

Read:
Lamentations 3:17-26
17 Peace has been stripped away,
and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 I cry out, “My splendor is gone!
Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”

19 The thought of my suffering and homelessness
is bitter beyond words.
20 I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss.
21 Yet I still dare to hope
when I call this to mind:

22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”

25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
to those who search for him.
26 So it is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the Lord.

Think:
How do you find hope in tough times? What do you call to mind to help you cope (v.21)? In the midst of struggle and pain ... in the midst of feeling fear and loss where do you turn? So easy to get stuck on emotion and feeling. So easy to only see the negative and brood about it. Our author teaches us a very important thing here: THINK.

Think through the love of God. Don't try to work up a feeling about His love. Think through the extent of His love. Think ... the feelings will follow. Think. Call to mind. Remember. Bring the right things out of the storehouse to feed your soul on. THINK.

Have you ever thought through why God loves you? I've been meditating on CS Lewis's book the 4 Loves lately. He says God loves us because He MUST love us because He is love. In fact, it is His very nature to give good things to us because He loves us. God's love compelled Him to create something He did not need (you and me) so He could share and show His love.

So, when I feel down or when my circumstances are sucky. When I wonder if God is around someplace. When I doubt that God will come through yet again. I am invited to THINK about God's love and goodness to me.

I can see this love in two places:
1. On a cross. Amazing love how can it be, that you my God would die for me? When God created us in love He saw the necessity for the cross and planned for our rescue. The blood of Jesus is precious. The death of the Son of God proves the love of God for me. When I wonder about my circumstances I need to THINK through the cross and the love that was shown there for me and you.

2. On a cold floor. Amazing love how can it be, that you my God would give me another day to live? The fact that you awoke this morning is a sign of mercy and love from God to you today. He is saying, my child begin again. Have a new day on Me. My love is greater than your sin and your shortcomings. I have a plan for you today My child. Rise. Live. Share with others the joy of living and knowing Me.

The author in the Book of Lamentations had a lot to complain and worry about. Living in captivity is like that. YET, he calls things to mind. He THINKS. He remembers that God has shown mercy and love to him in that fact that he woke up that morning.

Did you wake up this morning? God's not finished with you. Mercy is being shown today. Live with all the gusto you can. THINK about that love. It is the love of a God that would rather die than live without you.

That's mercy!

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Consider His Benefits - Part 2

Read:
Psalm 103:1-12

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-

3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Think:
When you think about the Lord and all that He has done in your life, what is the result? Usually some expression of praise. Sometimes this is out loud and other times it is a quiet time by the fire place. God hears both.

When David reflected on all God had done for him he wrote a song. In this particular song David listed many of the benefits of the Lord in his life. I count no less than 14 benefits David enjoys because of the Lord in his life!

********
Membership has its privileges .... can you name the company that coined the phrase? American Express. They sold to their customers the benefits that come from a partnership with them.

My family is in a new season due to my travel schedule. In my energy solutions role with Johnson Controls I travel a lot. In the past year I have racked up 130,000 Marriott points. How many is that? Well, it is enough points to spend a week in Aruba or Dublin for free! If I can figure out how to pay to get there ... we're gone!

My partnership with Marriott has its benefits. I get special attention at check-in and have choices / upgrades available to me. That feels good. I enjoy free bonus points for staying. I am remembered when I walk through the lobby (sometimes ...). I get early check-in and late check-out. I also get free travel.

What's the point? Membership has its benefits. My relationship with something bigger than me ... in this case the Marriott Corporation ... brings benefits.

David's relationship with Someone bigger than him ... in this case the God of the universe ... brings benefits. At least 14 of them! He enjoys the fullest life now and the best life later. His room is being prepared for him. He is known by name. He has the special attention of a King.

Your relationship with the God of Universe, Inc. brings benefits. Now some might push back here and think this is too Joel Olsteen sounding. I suggest we look again at the verses above! He satisfies you with good things! He is compassionate toward you! He forgives you! He does not give us what we deserve! Those are benefits! Olsteen did not make them up, God did!

Can you identify with some of these benefits? Will you identify one of them, maybe the one that seems most unbelievable, and talk with God about it?

Relationship with God , through the Lord Jesus Christ, has many benefits! Tell someone about it today!

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DevoLink: 10 Commands: Love in the Mirror

Intro:
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all? I am! Do you love yourself? I do. I make sure I feed myself. I make sure I do things I want to do. I make sure I am safe from harm. I make sure I am warm. I make sure I am in control of things. I make every effort to make sure I’m good.

If you can come to grips with your self-love you are ½ way to the secret of the 10 Commands ...... spread that love around! Use the energy we have to protect and provide for ourselves to take care of others. Make sure we do things for others. To protect others. To provide for others. As such, we will:
1. Honor our parents
2. Not hate others (murder)
3. Not take advantage of someone else’s spouse (adultery)
4. Not steal someone’s money, time, reputation or blessing
5. Not lie
6. Not be jealous of our neighbors

Jesus sums up the 10 Commands with the now famous phrase, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Read: Deuteronomy 5:6, 16-21; Mark 12:28-31
6 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

16 “Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
17 “You must not murder.
18 “You must not commit adultery.
19 “You must not steal.
20 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
21 “You must not covet your neighbor’s wife. You must not covet your neighbor’s house or land, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

Mark 12:28-31
28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. 30 And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
New Living Translation

Think:
Our last group of devos on the 10 Commandments dealt with the “second tablet of the Law” or the last 6 commands. These commands are all about our horizontal relationships with others. The first 4 commands were all about our vertical relationship with God.

When Jesus was asked to pick his favorite command he didn’t! He avoided the temptation to choose one over the other! That is instructive for us that have memorized John 3:16 but have no clue what John 3:17 says! Instead, he summarizes the message of the 10 commands into 1 driving model: LOVE. Really it is love in 2 directions, love toward God (vertical) and love toward others (horizontal – Mk. 12:30-31).

In other words, the entire deal is about loving God and loving others. We are commanded to love others the same way we love ourselves. Jesus realized that we have a propensity to look after our own interests. He knew the human heart was empowered by love of self. He commanded us to direct that love toward others. We are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. That’s a lot of love.

Who does this include? Everyone! Friends, neighbors, wives, husbands, kids, co-workers, pastors, fellow Christians, enemies …. everyone! What kind of love? Agape love, sacrificial love ... the kind of love that allowed Jesus to be crucified on the cross!

We will know that we have passed from death to life if we love one another in this way. We prove that we are obeying the first command to love God (whom we cannot see) if we love others whom we can see.

Mirror, mirror on the wall……….

Do:
Some people are more naturally “others oriented”. Some are more self-focused. Which are you? How does it show by how you treat others?

Someone once said the secret to JOY is in the ordering of my life: Jesus Others You. Who’s first in your life? Is it Jesus? Who’s second? Is it others?

Can you think of someone that needs you today? Are you willing to go out of your way to love them?

Next time you stand in the mirror, change the question: “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who can I make fairest of all?” Do that and find JOY today!

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Lewis - Love in Marriage

Intro:
Marriage is a unique experience. God takes two opposites and makes them one. In fact, it is the very fact that we are opposites (physically and usually in personality) that we were drawn to our spouses in the first place. Think through the couples you know. Often, one is outgoing the other more reserved. One is rejuvenated in a crowd the other alone. And so, God takes two opposites, puts them together. We learn, after the honeymoon, that many adjustments need to be made to have a healthy and enjoyable marriage. It is part of God’s refining and discipling process.

If, however, we do not grow and manage the differences we can experience distance and put ourselves at risk of unfulfilled marriages, affairs and divorce. We also miss one of God’s key means of making us more like Him.

So, how do we love each other when we do not “feel” like it? How do we love each other when we do not like each other much? How do we remain faithful to our vows? Consider CS Lewis:

“Love as distinct from ‘being in love” is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those times when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself. They can retain this love even when each would easily, if allowed themselves, be ’in love’ with someone else. ‘Being in love’ first moved them to promise fidelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it.”

CS Lewis, Mere Christianity

Read: Galatians 5:13-17, 22-24
13For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another. 14For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you don’t consume one another. 16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire.

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.

Think:
Does freedom mean I can do whatever I want? See verses 13 & 17. Freedom is not having rights, it is the power to do what is right!

Can you see how some marriages could be described by verse 13? What a witness that is to our children and our neighbors that we would “through love be servants to one another”

Conversely, can you see how some marriages could be described by verse 15?

The key to balanced, freedom-filled relationships is in verse 16. Paul commands Christians to “walk by the Spirit.” Not a suggestion. This is an on-going, daily, hourly, moment by moment choice to allow God’s Spirit to lead us.

GO DEEPER: “you won’t fulfill the lusts of the flesh”. The word fulfill (telew in the Gk) means to bring something to maturity or to its end. While some Greek words are imperatives (commands) and others are indicatives (statements of fact) this is a subjunctive verb unique to Greek culture. Subjunctive is called, “the mood of possibility”. It is used in the NT to indicate things that exist but do not have to happen. All is ripe for this to take place but it doesn’t have to, based on the actions of the subject. For example, “do not leave your keys in the car (imperative) and you won’t tempt your child to accidentally start it (subjunctive). By leaving the keys in the car I provide the opportunity for a child to start it. There is a mood of possibility there. Now, with us obeying the Spirit vs. the flesh there is a mood of possibility with the flesh. It is ready to be started and take over. Your flesh is a real enemy and the possibility for us to give in to its draw is very real. So, we are commanded to walk by the Spirit! That is the key to maturity in marriage and in life. Now that’s one to grow on!

In our marriage class this week, my wife and I quoted verse 22 to each other with this statement: “if I have talked or acted this week without love, joy, peace, patience ….. the problem is not with you the problem is with me.” What do you think of that statement? How is your communication with your spouse?

Do:
How’s your communion with your spouse? Ladies are you showing him the respect he desperately needs? Guys are you giving her the love she deeply desires?

When you have those times that you do not like your spouse will you commit to seek the Lord for His “grace” and the “quieter love” that He can provide you?

Maybe listen to "I Will Be Here" - Stephen Curtis Chapman and "Power of your Love - Hillsongs in the Worship Center.

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.