SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/4/2020
9:35 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
Mercy and Forgiveness
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 5:7
Message of the
verse: “’Happy
are the merciful, for they will have mercy shown to them!’” (Philips).
It is my desire to look at two
different rather short sections in this SD, and even then it will be a shorter
SD. We will first look at “Mercy and
Forgiveness” and then look at “Mercy and Love” as we conclude this SD.
Mercy and Forgiveness: The reason
that we will be looking at these different sections is because a clearer
understanding of mercy can be gained by working through some comparisons, and
the first two comparisons are what we are looking at today as we have already
stated. As we begin to look at mercy and
forgiveness we can state that mercy has much in common with forgiveness however
it is distinct from it. We will look at
what Paul wrote to Titus in Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds
which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and
renewing by the Holy Spirit.” MacArthur
adds “God’s forgiveness of sins flows from His mercy. But mercy is bigger than forgiveness, because
God is merciful to us even when we do not sin, just as we can be merciful to
those who have never done anything against us.
God’s mercy does not just forgive our transgressions but reaches to all
our weakness and need.”
Lastly in this section we will look
at Lamentations 3:22 in the KJV “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not
consumed, because his compassions fail not.”
Now in the NASB “The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never
fail.” One more rendering of this verse
and this time it is from the Septuagint:
“Heth. It is the mercies of the
Lord that he has not failed me because his compassions are not exhausted.” What can we learn from this verse? God’s mercy to His children never ceases.
Mercy and Love: We have learned that forgiveness flows out of mercy,
and now we will see that mercy flows out of love. Let us look at Ephesians 2:4-5 “4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love
with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our
transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been
saved).” MacArthur writes “Just as mercy
is more than forgiveness, love is more than mercy. Love manifests itself in many ways that do
not involve either forgiveness or mercy.
Love loves even when there is no wrong to forgive or need to meet. The Father loves the Son and the Son loves
the Father, although they both are without sin and without need. They both love the holy angels, although the
angels are without sin and need. When we
enter heaven we, too, will be without sin or need, yet God’s love for us will,
in comparison to eternity, only be just beginning.”
Perhaps
this illustration will help us better understand this connection between mercy
and love. Mercy is the physician; love
is the friend. Mercy acts because of
need; love acts because of affection even if there is no need. Mercy is needed in times of trouble,
therefore it is reserved for those times, yet love is consistent, with us all
of the time from the Lord. MacArthur
concludes “There can be not true mercy apart from love, but there can be true
love apart from mercy.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I think that realizing better the meaning of
mercy and forgiveness and mercy and love that it will cause my prayer life to
be better. To think that God loves me in
the same way that is seen in the trinity, and the love that God has for the
holy angels causes me to be overwhelmed.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Remember that God loves me all of the time,
and therefore I can continue to ask Him to continue to teach me more about
contentment, humility, and to continue to give me joy as I study His wonderful
Word each day.
5/4/2020 10:11 AM
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