Oh, But for the Mercy of God!

I’ve heard people say “Lorrrd, have mercy!” as a quick retort when yet another “I can’t believe it” circumstance happens. In reality, that is what we should say, rather pray, anytime we encounter a roadblock, a rock landslide, “rocked my world” or rock crazy situations going on in our world. God is our ROCK in all of life's ups and downs and His DIVINE MERCY is at our beckoned call when tough times come or when we are the ones who made a huge mistake and created the tough times.

Today is “Divine Mercy” Sunday – a time that is specifically dedicated to the great gift of the Lord’s mercy and love. God's “Divine Mercy” was given in His covenant as He promised protection, provision, guidance, and His constant presence to His children. Because God is the initiator, the mercy He gives is gracious, unmerited, undeserved, is compassionate and leads to forgiveness, and to the steadfast love that God sustains in our relationship with Him.

Thank God, we are no longer defined by our past because God's mercy is real and available. Of course, we celebrate His mercy every time we cry out to Him for mercy when we have failed Him. And, mercy should be a part of every Christian's life when we have been hurt by someone. “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7).

Think about it – after Jesus rose from the dead, He went to His disciples where they were huddled in fear. He could have gone in and started in a rant about their weaknesses and their failures. He could have displayed His disappointment in their betrayal and denial of Him. His first words could have been, “Thanks…. for NOTHING! What were you thinking? Where were you when I needed you?” He had every right to unload His righteous indignation on them. But, no, His first words to them were “Peace be with you”. Isn’t that the way He continues to speak to us – in spite of our mistakes & failures? He loves us unconditionally and speaks “Peace be with you.” Yes, He is a God of divine mercy!

None of us need to be defined by our past because Divine Mercy is open to us all. Whether our sins are small or great, the mercy of God is available to all of us. The mercy of God is real! The mercy of God is His love! The mercy of God is the power of the resurrection still working today. You are not your past. Believe in it! Embrace it! God’s Divine Mercy forgives, forgets and even forges the way to becoming all God destined for us in the first place. So, shouldn't His example cause us to be His people of mercy, too -- forgiving and loving others with mercy? Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.

Christmas Mercies

Christmas Mercies
Routine can surely take us off course of recognizing the gentle touches from heaven each morning. I wake with an “On your mark, get set, GO!” mindset -- especially when I'm responsible for two boys and their full-on days of non-stop activities. I wake up at 5 am and I must quickly get my blog posted before 6 am. Done! Then I hustle to get the boys up and going for their early morning school day at 7:30 am. Then, the "yellow light" comes on for a short period of time and I make it back to my little quiet spot to start working on my post for this new day. But then, as if God literally turned my head to look out the glass doors, I get a glimpse of the glistening dew on the bushes and grass. I thought, “Oh, You wanted me to notice that “Heaven” visited last night?” I know a meteorologist would give us the scientific facts of dew in the morning, but in my corner of the world, I see it as God’s mercies that fell for me for this new day. After all, Lamentations 3:23 says “God’s mercies are new every morning and great is His faithfulness to us.”

We’re into the Advent/Christmas Season by a couple of weeks now, and though it's the most wonderful time of the year, we've all probably had an occasion to be disgruntled with someone or something. And, BIG surprise….. someone might even be unhappy with us. But thank goodness for God's mercy. His mercy embodies the great love and forgiveness that He extends to His children. Those mercies that are provided for us each morning are from our Father Who exhibits mercy beyond compare. “But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) That’s what I call mercy to the nth degree. He made us in His image, so might we consider that He desires His kids to follow His lead and provide mercy to others as well? Perhaps you remember a time when one of your children made a huge mistake and they were surprised when you showed them mercy. We love them and we knew they would grow up and do better. Why does God choose to be merciful to us? Because He knows us, and He knows we’ll grow up and do better.

‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful’ (Luke 6:36).” In this season of good will toward men, shouldn't we amp up the mercy toward those around us? Let’s face it -- someone is going to cut into our line, probably when we are late and holding something heavy. Someone is going to be in a grumpy mood and snap at us. People might not welcome us onto the highway in front of them. Indeed…..this is a season for . . . mercy. Since we receive God's mercy for our flaws, shouldn’t we have mercy for the flaws of others? There will be people who just don’t know God and His mercy, so they don't have any of His mercy to give. But we can share the gift of God's mercy over and over again, regardless of how we are treated. And it’s a good idea to pray for those folks that just don’t know how to receive God’s mercy. Maybe the mercy we show them will draw them to our Father of mercy.

It makes me wonder "If we just amped up mercy and purposefully gave out more mercy in bolder ways, things around us might be different." We'd see the beggar on the street corner, and instead of thinking "Get a job", we'd, at the very least, say a prayer for him. We'd be more patient with the cashier. We'd be more tender-hearted to the "Scrooges" around us. We'd invite the lonely and family-less to join us for Christmas parties. Who knows? It may be in our giving mercy, that we will receive even more of the abundance of God's mercy to us. "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." Matthew 5:7

Oh, those beautiful dew-drops that remind us of God’s new mercies to us each morning. May we be dew-droppers of mercy to those we encounter today! Don't we want to have the heart to live this holiday season and the year in the light of the Lord’s words: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful". Luke 6:36

Be a REFLECTION of What You'd Like to Be

REFLECTION: an image that is seen in a mirror or on a shiny surface; something that shows the effect, existence, or character of something or someone.

I love how God gives us "thumbs up" on decisions we make. I typed up this blog early yesterday morning before I left for an event so it would be ready to POST this morning at 6 am. Imagine my delight, when a lady at the event said, "Donna, in my thoughts about you I saw you outdoors in nature and you came to a stream and you looked in the stream and saw your REFLECTION,....etc. Her words encouraged me beyond that word, but she confirmed the post I had written for you today. God is so faithful to me AND you!

I love this photo, and quote. "Be a REFLECTION of what you'd like to receive. If you want love, give love. If you want truth, be truthful. What you give out, will always return. REFLECTION is also like a boomerang -- when we give love, it will come back to us. If we give joy, we'll receive back joy. If we give forgiveness, we will be forgiven.

It's the Laws of Reciprocity -- God's laws of sowing and reaping. Those laws aren't new at all. It started with the greatest of all GIVERS when Jesus said, "Give...and it shall be given" Luke 6:38. Simply put, reciprocity is the notion of mutual exchange or fair return. It’s the basis of many business interactions where a fair exchange of goods and services is made between parties.

On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave us the Laws of Reciprocity in the purest form -- for example "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Matthew 5:7

We've heard the words: "Serve....and you shall be served." "Love....and you shall be loved." "Be a friend.....and you shall have friends." Just makes good sense -- especially when it's been tested and proven by successful leaders! Our dear friend, Zig Ziglar, said, "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want." Smart and truly successful people get this. It's NOT giving TO GET. Typically, in those times that we give -- we do so with absolutely no expectation or desire to receive back.....but with God's Laws of Reciprocity -- there is ALWAYS a give back. Those laws just can't help themselves. We do receive back in so many ways. If our heart stays fixed on giving, serving and loving -- the REFLECTION and the ACTION will be to RECEIVE.

Blessed are the Merciful

Day 344 of Photo Inspirations -- Blessed are the Merciful
We’re into the Advent/Christmas Season by a couple of weeks now, and though it's the most wonderful time of the year, we've all probably had an occasion to be unhappy and disgruntled with someone or something.  And, BIG surprise….. someone might even be unhappy with us. But thank goodness for God's mercy. His mercy embodies the great love and forgiveness that He extends to His children. Perhaps you remember a time when one of your children made a huge mistake and they were surprised when you showed them mercy. We love them and we knew they would grow up and do better. Why does God choose to be merciful?  Because He knows us, and He knows we’ll grow up and do better.

I was thrilled to hear Pope Francis declare that yesterday, December 8th as the beginning of the Jubilee Year of Mercy and runs all the way until next November.  He said, "We want to live this year in the light of the Lord’s words: ‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful’ Luke 6:36).”    He went on to ask, "Is it naive to believe that this may change the world?" "Yes, humanly speaking it is a folly, but 'the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength,'" he responded, quoting from 1 Corinthians.

In this season of good will toward men and this Jubilee Year of Mercy, shouldn't we amp up the MERCY acts toward those around us?  Let’s face it -- someone is going to cut into our line, probably when we are late and holding something heavy.  Someone is going to be in a grumpy mood and snap at us. People might not welcome us onto the highway in front of them. Indeed…..this is a season for . . . mercy.  Since we receive God's mercy for our flaws, shouldn’t we have mercy for others’ flaws. There will be people that just don’t know God and His mercy, so they don't have any of His mercy to give. But we can share the gift of God's mercy over and over again, regardless of how we are treated. And it’s a good idea to pray for those folks that just don’t know how to receive God’s mercy – maybe the mercy we show them will draw them to our God and Father of mercy.

It makes me wonder "If we just amped up mercy and purposefully gave out more mercy in bolder and even more creative ways, things around us just might be different."   We'd see the beggar on the street corner, and instead of thinking "Get a job", we'd, at the very least, say a prayer for him.  We'd be more patient with the cashier.  We'd been more tender-hearted to the "Scrooges" around us.  We'd invite the lonely and family-less to join us for Christmas parties. Who knows?  It may be in our giving mercy, that we will receive even more of the abundance of God's mercy to us.   "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."  Matthew 5:7

Don't we want to have the heart to live this holiday season and the year in the light of the Lord’s words: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful". Luke 6:36