Lord, have mercy

Mercy and truth are the paths of the Lord. Ps 25:10

 If we want to find God, not like He is hiding anywhere, these two will show us the way. Mercy and truth leaves trails, tracks that God has been here.  Mercy is a catalyst for growth, personally and corporately. Truth sets you free.  

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

I heard people say "Yes, I forgive them" Yet, display no mercy for that person. Let me ask you something, the Word says "turn the other cheek."  So one day Sister I Say So smacks you right on the cheek. You turn the other cheek. You smile, you don't lash out you just get in your car and go home.  However, on the way home you get so steamed up about the smack your peace is gone. Did you really turn the other cheek? No.  There was no atmosphere of mercy in that car.

What about the ministry? 

 Is mercy the atmosphere people walk in to when they come to your ministry events? Is mercy being cultivated among the staff. Pride is your greatest enemy in this endeavor. Instead of dropping the ball we can start dropping the stones.

Here are some truths about mercy, that I have found to help me to up the awareness about it. 

We must recognize our need for mercy.  This is a biggie. We all need it.  There is no one exempt from it.  We all fail.  There is no promise for rose gardens.  There will be storms there will be afflictions and there is always a need for mercy.  Everyday there is a reason to ask for mercy. Everyday there is a reason to extend it. There is a desperate cry for mercy, not only with each of us, but all around us.  You want to start revival in your area? Start extending mercy, there is a famine going on, a severe shortage of mercy.

There is genuine mercy, that never runs out, and completely addresses every need.  That’s the mercy of God.  So often we run to people for mercy and get mad at God when they don’t give it up like He does. Some people will rake you over the coals, nit picking everything you have ever done wrong. It is a true gem of a person that humbly extends you mercy. Does this mean no correction? Nope.  It does mean correction out of love, in humility and always with the Gospel. There is mercy with God and it is His greatest pleasure to show you and extend it to you. 

We must experience genuine mercy in order to pass it on.  As we believe He has mercy now we must be open to receive it, and recognize it is is God’s choice.  It is a personal action on God’s part.  We miss it sometimes because we fail to accept the fact God is and will be merciful to us.  We comfort our thoughts that He is merciful but this really doesn’t complete us. It is the experience of mercy that changes everything. Don't let go until you experience His mercy.  His mercy removes all the stains of sin, even the sins committed against you. All the footprints that sin has left in your life, abortion, divorce, abuse, rape will be washed away.  How do you receive mercy?  Well, start with an act of faith, by thanking Him for it.  We don't thank Him enough for mercy. If you think about it, one day when we realize the awful terror we barely escaped we will be thanking Him with exuberance. 

When we pray/plead for others let the two arguments of our prayers be God's great mercy and the great misery without it.

Have you ever experience true mercy extended from another person? What was that like and how did it change you?