Be-Cast Episode 15: BE MERCIFUL

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THIS WEEK’S VERSES:

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36)

“Blessed are the merciful, they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17)

A MESSAGE FROM MONICA:

It was a random Friday night during my late 20s, driving my little navy blue Nissan Sentra with manual locks and windows and pop-on hubcaps. I was on my way home from some shindig or another, just me in the car…listening to the radio, singing along and mind racing and just wanting to be home already.

It must have been a song on the radio from the radio station playing Friday Night 80s that triggered All The Thoughts. The thoughts of stupid, reckless, crazy things I had done in high school. Which morphed into the stupider, more reckless and crazier things I did in college. Which morphed into the straight up asinine things I did as a young adult.

All The Thoughts suddenly flashed across my mind like a rapid-fire slide show — in that dreamlike technicolor-slash-Polaroid transfer imagery — and as I began to relive each moment, and the possible outcomes of every single moment, I felt God whisper,

I was there. 

And I began pouring shame all over myself; shame and guilt because of All The Sin, but then shock and bewilderment took over as I realized every single gentle outcome. With each passing scenario playing out in the movie in my mind, awe and wonder overcame me at how nothing that should have happened to me happened. How in every single instance the outcome should have been painful, or dire, or deadly —  yet instead suddenly ceased, was non-existent, finished

My hand flew over my mouth and the tears flowed like streams in that wasteland and the physical presence of God’s mercy washed over me again and again and again. It was too much. And all I could whisper was, why?

And again, I felt God whisper,

I was there,

And then,

I wasn’t through with you yet.

The most humbling feeling in the entire world is to come face-to-face with your own ugly, your own sin, and realize you did not get what you deserved. (tweet that) To see — really see, for the first time ever — how wretched you truly are, and simultaneously feel such overpowering love and mercy from God Himself. It’s a feeling that leaves you speechless and stunned and you can’t find a floor fast enough to throw yourself onto so you can pour yourself out in gratitude.

It feels like it was just yesterday.

I try to hold onto this feeling all the time — remembering what it feels like to not get what I deserve, to receive mercy — so that I can be merciful, as God is merciful. So that I can possess the characteristic of mercy in my heart — to have it several times to spare — not simply perform acts of mercy with with a heart not in tune with God’s.

Being merciful can only happen to those who have received mercy — truly received it, in that speechless and stunning and loving way. If you haven’t received that mercy yet, start by practicing the following:

PRACTICAL APPLICATION:

1. Make a Mercy List. Keep a written record of the times in your life God has extended mercy to you. Allow those memories to wash your mind anew, and thank God for His mercy during those times.

2. Mercy Places. What are areas in your life you can begin showing mercy? It could be in parenting, marriage, work…identify the places you probably need to stretch yourself and show mercy, and challenge yourself to do it at least once this week.

DOWNLOADS:

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

1. Mercy Triumps: A Study of James by Beth Moore. One of Beth’s newest Bible studies, guaranteed to cultivate a heart of mercy in you!

2.  Blessed Are the Merciful. A article with a collection of quotes from Christian authors and verses about mercy.

3. Christ Have Mercy by Matthew Harrison. An exploration of the opportunities we have available to us to show mercy in our daily lives.