Category: Mercy

The Golden Rule Demonstrated

A bit of envy is exchanged for a bit of understanding, a bit of selfishness is exchanged for a bit of outreach, a bit of hate for…

Meditation Thought: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:31)

If you are, through Christ, doing good to everyone in your life, you are a tree producing good fruit. Subtly, little by little:
a bit of envy is exchanged for a bit of understanding,
a bit of selfishness is exchanged for a bit of outreach,
a bit of hate for a bit of love,
a bit of despair for a bit of hope,
a bit of judgment for a bit of forgiveness,
a bit of rebellion for a bit of righteousness,
a bit of ignorance for the revelation of Truth.

The miracle is that, through Christ, the exchange for the more desirable condition takes place simultaneously in you and in the person upon whom your attitude, concentration and resources are working.

Christ said “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” – but He said it only after He had become an example, only after He had embraced this concept to the point of sacrificing himself to the total commitment of His life to this principle.

Jolted

We do not understand His willingness to forgive and His desire to express mercy.

Meditation Thought: “and wen he saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you’ …and he rose… and went home glorifying God.” (Luke 5:20,25)

Believe – demonstrate your belief – and He whose word is true cannot deny or resist you, for He is true to His promises and true in His love.

We miss out on much healing and many blessings due to our inability to truly comprehend the depth of God’s love and the power of His Word and His Spirit. We do not understand His willingness to forgive and His desire to express mercy.

We make the mistake of attributing to God our own thoughts and feelings and manner of behavior.

Instead of seeking to become totally familiar with all that God is and patterning ourselves according to what we find, we lazily presume that the way we are must be an approximation of the way He is.

Only when we are jolted out of our long-held misconceptions can we have the revelation of the possibilities of a miracle taking place. Only when we believe enough in the possibility do we decide to seek to bring it about by requesting it in so much faith that it will take place that our Lord is so delighted with our confidence in His ability and desire to perform the miracle, can He match up our faith and His power to grant the request.

Gathering Witnesses

If we are gathered together as witnesses for Jesus, and if we pray in God’s will, we are assured that what we pray for will come about.

Meditation Thought: “…if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 18:19)

Traditionally two witnesses are needed for confirmation. If we have the two (or more) witnesses agreeing, and we are gathered together as witnesses for Jesus, confirming His salvation and released power, we have within us the Holy Spirit which He promised us. If we are led by the Spirit, we are also led to pray in God’s will, and if we pray in God’s will, we are assured that what we pray for will come about.

Blessings Bestowed

He loves us enough to encourage us to seek the blessings He can bestow in response to our request.

Meditation Thought: “And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.” (Mark 6:56)

“As many as touched it.” They touched it. They activated their faith by reaching out. Although Jesus attempted to instill a desire for healing, apparently He never healed anyone except as a response to the expressed desire for healing – either by the one needing it, or someone asking Jesus on their behalf.

Our God is not a tyrant; He seeks to let us be free. But He loves us enough to encourage us to seek the blessings He can bestow in response to our request.

Suggested Prayer:
“Father, I thank you that your love for me prompted You to send Jesus to my rescue from sin and from all evil, and also to give a clear indication of just Who You are in character and in relationship to me.
Jesus, thank you for loving me enough to take on all the limitations of life in human form, and the sufferings involved in that act of obedience, so that I could reap the benefit of your sacrifice.
Holy Spirit, thank you for never intruding by force, but hearing and responding to the slighted whisper that I make when I need You to help me. Usually I think to request Your help after I have botched the job without it! But You never refuse to come, even if I’ve slighted You.

I don’t understand much about any of you – but You know all about me – and You obviously have my interests at heart, so I hereby request each of You to be my close friend – my mentor, teacher, guide, companion, guard, defender, and most of all, the transforming influence in every area of my life. Help me to move back into the pure image of the Father, unadulterated by sin, or willfulness, or selfishness, or pride, or obtuseness, or unbelief, or a sense of inadequacy, or an unforgiving spirit. Help me to so focus on all the characteristics of my inheritance from the good Father that any other factors will be nullified and simply neither desired nor appropriated into my life.

Only by the power of the Holy Spirit is this possible – and I seek this power to be the power above all others in my life. I know now that this was the intent of both Father and Son from the beginning.

As the power of the Holy Spirit moves in every area of my life, each area is transformed, changed so as to be more recognizable as a characteristic of the Father. “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.” (John 14:7)

Through the power of the inheritance of the Spirit, through the power of the example of the Son who was the Father’s pure image, through the child’s desire to imitate their Father and the perfect Son – in fact, their determination to do so – does it become apparent to everyone that this child is the image of His Father. (The world says “spittin’ image” when a child looks as his earthly father loos. What is desired is that our spirit becomes the “spittin’ image” of the Father’s Spirit).”

Infallible GPS

Jesus came to show the way back to the light which is the Father, and the knowledge which can be found within that light.

Meditation Thought: “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

The love of God expressed through Jesus Christ brought light into darkness: mankind had wandered into the darkness of alienation with their Father and His purposes for them were no longer clear. Jesus came to show the way back to the light which is the Father, and the knowledge which can be found within that light.

Finding Help

Fear comes at the thought of separation from that which is dear to you. Belief comes when you have assurance that the Father has both the love and the power to bind together ever more firmly you and all that is dear to you.

Meditation Thought: “Do not fear, only believe.” (Mark 5:36)

“‘Do not fear.’ Do not listen to any voice save Mine if you do not desire to fear. Others speak with only partial knowledge, as children – saying what they perceive as the truth, but knowing only limitedly. I have the total knowledge, the mature insight – the wisdom of the Father interpreted to you in terms you are able to understand.

‘Your help comes from the Lord’ (Psalm 121:2). But you must be looking for that help, and not distracted from it by fears shattering your concentration. Discipline yourself to turn in the direction where your help will meet you.

  • The Word will turn you properly
  • Prayer will turn you properly
  • Meditation will turn you properly
  • Service will turn you properly
  • Love will turn you properly
  • Sacrifice will turn you properly
  • Forgiveness will turn you properly
  • Mercy will turn you properly

These are the qualities of My character. These are the qualities of your character within My character, within the Father’s character. It is a continuation of the ‘behavior modification’ theory. (See blog post entitled Faith Over Fear 1/18/23.) Every time you behave in harmony with the character of your Father, you reinforce His character in yourself. As His character becomes more and more your character (by your own desire for it), you move further and further from ‘fear’ and closer and closer to ‘belief’.

Fear comes at the thought of separation from that which is dear to you. Belief comes when you have assurance that the Father has both the love and the power to bind together ever more firmly you and all that is dear to you.

Do not fear. Have I not revealed the reality of the Father to you? Would you fear one who gives His own life for your salvation? Can there be any greater proof of the Father’s love than His willing sacrifice of Himself for His Son’s sake?

How can you fear that such a father will not respond to his child’s call? Out of the depth of such love is faith made sure.”

A Pattern Uniquely for YOU

Let your Father show you how to weave a glorious pattern to give delight, to enhance the place he prepares for you in His Kingdom in heaven.

Meditation Thought: “Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance” (2 Corinthians 7:9)

  • Death : Resurrection
  • Despair : Hope
  • Dormant : Live
  • Passive : Active
  • Proud : Humble
  • In-Self : In-God
  • In Weakness : In Power
  • Ineffective : Dynamic
  • Hate : Love
  • Sinful : Righteous

We choose with each breath we take. The pattern you follow will repeat: if you take care in making the pattern even and straight and whole, it will repeat itself with these desirable characteristics – but if you make it uneven by relying on your emotions, crooked by relying on your will, incomplete by the gnawing at it by sin – then the whole ‘run’ of your life will be suitable not for the grand living room in your Father’s house, but to be hidden away in a far, dark corner room.

Let your Father show you how to weave a glorious pattern to give delight, to enhance the place he prepares for you in His Kingdom in heaven. You must remember that you can see only the limited dwelling places of the world and patterns you would make for those alone would look out of place in the mansion in heaven. You need to trust your father as to the design that will be needed for eternity even though it may look out of place in the earthly realm.

Hand-in-Hand

Rejoice in the security of My hand enclosing yours; let me lead you gently.

Meditation Thought: “For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:15)

“Come, My children – take My hand in yours, and with your other hand reach out to clasp another: I will pass on the warmth of My love and grace and power through you. Be not afraid of the hand you hold – even if it feels cold, clammy, dirty, rough: your other hand which clasps mine will be all the comfort you need. And as the ministering of My ways passes from Me to you to another, their hand is cleansed, relaxed, healed, made strong and sure – sure enough one day to let go of your hand and reach directly for My hand, which became visible to them through your hand which they could see with their eyes before they could see My hand in faith. And so the pattern repeats: My Word is spread, My grace is spread, My Kingdom is spread throughout the earth.

Do not go seeking far and wide for hands to hold: only hold My hand, look to Me, and you will realize that a hand has taken hold of your other hand. Do not strain to serve Me: only rejoice in the security of My hand enclosing yours; let me lead you gently but firmly. The more you trust Me, the more relaxed you can be in our walk together – turn over the cares of your life to Me, for I wish to dissolve them, sometimes they will disappear one by one, sometimes they are so entwined that the release of one will release many. But always the care comes as a potential for My blessing, if you will but trust My leading in it and through it and out of it. Learn how to reinforce your trust in Me, and you will learn how to cast your burdens away, quickly becoming stronger in faith and trust and releasing more of yourself to Christ within you with each cast.”

Scenic Overlooks

The beauty is in the revelation of My Word, the face of a friend, the love of your family, the help of a stranger.

Meditation Thought: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

“Gaze upon the beauty which I show to you, allow it to penetrate into your mind and your heart and your spirit – in this manner is the beauty absorbed into you, and emanates from you – a reflection of the beauty of the Spirit beamed into the world, that others may see in you what they have not yet found directly with their own eyes and mind and spirit. The reflection they see in you will affect them, creating a desire to see the original for themselves: just as you might see a photograph of an original work and long to see the original for yourself.

You know where to find the beauty of My Spirit – take time, take effort, to search it out: every day, every hour, every minute, as the opportunity is presented to you. The beauty is in the revelation of My Word, the face of a friend, the love of your family, the help of a stranger. If you do not see the beauty of My Spirit, it is because you are not focusing correctly: adjust your mind, your eyes, your heart, that you may see the situation from the viewpoint of the Kingdom instead of the viewpoint of the world. Let me lead you into new adventures, new lands, new knowledge of the depths of My Spirit, bathing you in the cleansing, healing, beautifying aura of My Spirit of righteousness and goodness and mercy and love: be transformed from one degree of glory to another.”

Broken Parts; New Parts

God has sealed us together.

Meditation Thought: “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

God has sealed us together – separate individuals, perhaps touching before His seal, but not bound together. Once sealed together, the destiny of one part affects the destiny of the part sealed to it. And so we become changed – we must now consider our new part: we must treat it with love and consideration, with respect – we must help it – for its movement also moves us. Where it goes, we go too.

Or another way to see it: God created a beautiful vase – which our sin shattered into many pieces – but by His mercy and His grace, He seals us once more together to serve Him.

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