guidance.

“As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” Nehemiah 1:4

The previous verse tells us that Nehemiah had just found out that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down, and its gates were burned with fire. He was sorrowful, sat down, and wept.

Just a few minutes ago, I was doing the same. I was crying over a build up of things, and I was just weeping and praying before the Lord, asking for His guidance and help. Then, I went to this verse.

Nehemiah turned his sorrow into fasting and prayer, and I believe that this example is the guidance that God wanted to give me right now.

Therefore, I will continue to bring these cares and sorrows before the Lord in prayer, and begin fasting. For where there is much prayer, there is much power.

Philippians 4:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 51:17

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

December 15, 2011

mercy.

“For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” James 2:13

Thank you Lord!! Mercy forever triumphs over judgment. His mercies are new every morning and His forgiveness is unending, because of what Jesus did on the cross.

However, judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. It's like the parable of the man and the king. The king forgave his debt, which was very large. But, when the man's servant owed him a small amount, he did not forgive him but punished him severely. When the king heard of it, he called the man and threw him in prison.

It's the same with our God. We have been forgiven a huge debt, one that earned us death. Yet, Jesus died in our place, and God forgave us and made us His sons and daughters. How can we then go and fail to forgive others, when they trespass against us in much smaller ways? One of the lines in the Lord's prayer is, “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Do we really mean those words? If God forgave us to the same degree that we forgave others, would we even be forgiven at all?

For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.

God's mercies are new every morning, and I want mine to be, too. We all need grace. I will daily ask the Lord to give me a renewed outlook on those around me and in my household, so that I the way I act towards them today will not be a reflection of the things that they did against me yesterday. “...lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27)

Matthew 5:7

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.”

scandal.

“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, “DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” also said, “DO NOT COMMIT MURDER.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” James 2:10-11

This verse is clear. All of us have sinned and broken God's laws. In fact, we're guilty of breaking it all. Why, then, do we sit and compare ourselves to others? “You know, I've done some bad things, but I'm still not as bad as that guy.” “Yes, I've lied a few times, disobeyed my parents, but I've never stolen anything, so I'm not THAT bad.” Or, my personal favorite, “I haven't murdered or robbed a bank, so that makes me a basically good person. God has to let me into Heaven...right?”

Wrong. We don't go to Heaven because we are “good people.” If this verse in James wasn't clear enough, the Bible also says that even our very best works are filthy rags compared to God. None of us is better than another. The only way to Heaven is by the grace of God, and His grace alone.

Jesus Christ died on the cross because we are have all broken the law. We all have sinned and thus fallen short of His glory, and the wages of those sins is death. Yet His own precious blood was our atonement. Murders, adulterers, liars, thieves.. all of these words describes each one of us.

If you don't know Jesus, I pray that as you read this that these words would ring true in your heart, and that you would be overwhelmed by the love of God and our great need for Him as our Savior. I pray the same for those of you who know Him already.

For myself, I need to have this reminder on my heart: that I am where I am by the grace of God alone. Nothing I have done, nor anything that I will ever do, has brought me here, given me life, or has saved me. I am in no position to compare myself to others, judging their sins as worse or more detrimental than my own. I am a transgressor of the entire law: a murderer, adulterer, liar, and a thief, saved by grace.

For.the.glory.of.my.God. <3