{"id":18916,"date":"2014-04-06T00:15:14","date_gmt":"2014-04-06T04:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=18916"},"modified":"2014-04-06T00:49:57","modified_gmt":"2014-04-06T04:49:57","slug":"merciful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2014\/04\/06\/merciful\/","title":{"rendered":"Am I Merciful?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/SeekingHimLogo.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13840\" alt=\"SeekingHimLogo\" src=\"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/SeekingHimLogo.jpg\" width=\"560\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/SeekingHimLogo.jpg 560w, https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/SeekingHimLogo-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 560px) 100vw, 560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>We have now entered the season of Lent. \u00a0For many Christians, Lent is taken as a time of preparation for the celebration of Easter where God miraculously redeemed mankind by resurrecting His Son from the dead. It is also a time to consider what Jesus said and did; and how we should be living in light of His Words. \u00a0\u271e \u2665<\/p>\n<p>During this season, here on the\u00a0<strong><em>Seeking Him<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0devotional blog, we have chosen to focus our devotionals on Jesus\u2019 instructions and admonition communicated in Matthew chapter 5\u2014the Beatitudes. \u00a0Jesus said, \u201cBlessed are\u2026\u201d and He went on to give instruction as to how to be \u201c<em>blessed<\/em>.\u201d \u00a0To be \u2018blessed\u2019 is to \u2018be happy, or to be envied.\u2019 \u00a0 Truly for the Christian, we ARE blessed\u2014oh, how very blessed we are! \u00a0Those who observe our lives should clearly be able to tell that we ARE blessed\u2014and that we KNOW it! \u271e \u2665<\/p>\n<p>Please consider Jesus\u2019 instructions along with us. \u00a0We pray that our words will encourage you and spur you on to be prepare your hearts for the joyous celebration of His Resurrection! \u00a0\u271e \u2665<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #3b8a91;\">Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous\u2014 <\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"color: #3b8a91;\">with life-joy and satisfaction in God\u2019s favor and salvation, <\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"color: #3b8a91;\">regardless of their outward conditions) <\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"color: #3b8a91;\">are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy! <\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #3b8a91;\">Matthew 5:7 AMP<\/span><\/p>\n<p>As I was researching this verse, what struck me was the call for self-evaluation\u2014<strong><em>am I merciful?<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 What does it mean to be merciful? \u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Systematic Theology<\/span> defines mercy as &#8220;&#8230;the eternal principle of God&#8217;s nature which leads Him to seek eternal salvation&#8230;.even at the cost of infinite self-sacrifice.&#8221; \u00a0He extends mercy and grace to us, even to those who oppose Him, both now and forever more. \u00a0 Am I willing to sacrifice in order to show mercy? \u00a0 Do I show mercy to those I don&#8217;t like, even to those who have hurt me or oppose me? <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Easton&#8217;s Bible Dictionary<\/span> says mercy is a Christian grace. The <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Greek Dictionary<\/span> uses words like &#8220;tender, kindly, compassionate.&#8221;\u00a0<strong><em> Is that who I am?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Joyce Meyer calls the Beatitudes the &#8220;Be-Happy-Attitudes.&#8221; \u00a0Mercy (and being merciful) is just that\u2014an <strong><span style=\"color: #3b8a91;\">attitude<\/span><\/strong>. \u00a0It is more than taking action, more than a surface experience.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #2e8589;\">Mercy<\/span> <\/strong>needs to become ingrained in me.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #2e8589;\"><strong>Merciful<\/strong> <\/span>should be what I am as a Christian.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #2e8589;\"><strong>Merciful<\/strong> <\/span>means I need the right attitude before I take action.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mercy is not \u00a0about overlooking sin or being easygoing in the face of wrong. \u00a0It is having sympathy and compassion for those who are hurting. \u00a0To be merciful is a heartfelt desire to help, or to alleviate suffering. \u00a0Being merciful is to bear the pain and misery of others, without pride, (being aware of the mercy I have been shown) with no expectations, not seeking anything in return. \u00a0For Matthew 25:40 tells us &#8220;&#8230;to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>There is no better reason to be merciful than the mercy that has been extended to me. \u00a0Undeserved mercy! \u00a0But our gracious God rewards us when we are merciful. The Amplified Bible says we are &#8220;&#8230;happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous&#8230;&#8221; when we are merciful.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Proverbs 11:17 tells us: &#8220;The merciful man benefits himself [for his deeds return to bless him].&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>James 2:13 puts it this way: &#8220;Mercy triumphs over judgment.&#8221; \u00a0But we should be merciful even if there are no rewards simply because we are called to be merciful.<\/li>\n<li>Micah 6:8 says \u201cAnd this is what He requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Luke 6:36 states: \u201cBe merciful, just as your Father is merciful.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So today I am examining my attitudes.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">I want mercy to be <em>who I am<\/em>, not just something I do.<\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Maybe you do, too.<\/em><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #2c8181;\">* \u00a0~ \u00a0\u2665 \u00a0~ \u00a0\u00a0\u271e\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0~\u00a0\u00a0\u2665 \u00a0~ \u00a0*<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Lord, I am so very thankful You chose to extend mercy to me, even before I knew You. \u00a0I did not nor do I deserve the sacrifice You made for me. \u00a0 But I gratefully accept Your merciful gift. \u00a0Please remind me to be merciful in heart and spirit as well as action and deed. \u00a0My desire is to become more like You and for others to see You shining through me. \u00a0In Your precious and holy name! \u00a0Amen, so be it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We have now entered the season of Lent. \u00a0For many Christians, Lent is taken as a time of preparation for the celebration of Easter where God miraculously redeemed mankind by resurrecting His Son from the dead. It is also a time to consider what Jesus said and did; and how we should be living in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":13840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3020],"tags":[127,5990,1287,425,5987,5784,5988,1713,4531,685,5986],"class_list":["post-18916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-devotions","tag-beatitudes","tag-cynda-cotrill","tag-gch","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-james-213","tag-jesus-speaking","tag-luke-636","tag-matthew-57","tag-merciful","tag-micah-68","tag-proverbs-1117","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/SeekingHimLogo.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s39pHp-merciful","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18916"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18919,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18916\/revisions\/18919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}