SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/9/2020
11:36 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 “The
Practice of Mercy”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 5:7
Message of the
verses: “Blessed
are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.”
As we look at the title of this SD I
have to say that this is where the rubber meets the road as we will talk about
how we as believers, are to practice mercy.
I suppose that the most obvious way we can show mercy is through
physical acts, similar to what the “Good Samaritan” did, as this story that
Jesus told truly shows how we are to practice mercy. In our earlier SD we looked at Matthew 25,
Jesus message about the end times, but we also stated that in verses 33-40 that
these verses certainly apply to believers in all of the church age to follow
which was feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and those
in prison, and also give any other practical help that is needed. As we do this, serving others in need we will
be demonstrating a heart of mercy.
Mercy
and acts of mercy are not just found in the New Testament, but also it is
helpful to note that the way of mercy is also found in the Old Testament. Let us look from the Law found in Deut 15:7-8
“7 "If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in
any of your towns in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart,
nor close your hand from your poor brother; 8 but you shall freely open your hand to him,
and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he
lacks.” In the OT Law we see
that when the land from the Promised Land was given to each tribe that there
was a year of release, when all debts were canceled, Israelites were to give
their poor countrymen whatever they needed.
Verse nine goes on to warn “9 “Beware that there is no base thought in
your
heart, saying, ’The seventh year, the
year of remission, is near,’ and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother,
and you give him nothing; then he may cry to the LORD against you, and it will
be a sin in you.”
John
MacArthur writes “Mercy is also to be shown in our attitudes. Mercy does not hold a grudge, harbor
resentment, capitalize on another’s failure or weakness, or publicize another’s
sin. Our great table at which he fed
countless hundreds of people, Augustine inscribed,
‘Whoever
thinks that he is able,
To nibble
at the life of absent friends,
Must know
that he’s unworthy of this table.’
“The
vindictive, heartless, indifferent are not subjects of Christ’s kingdom. When they pass need by on the other side, as
the priest and the Levite did in the story of the Good Samaritan, they show
they have passed Christ by.”
Lord
willing in our next SD we will look at three ways mercy is shown spiritually.
5/9/2020 11:56 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment