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mercy

Is Prayer Your Steering Wheel or Spare Tire?

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“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”
Jeremiah 29:12

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. Jeremiah 29:12

Have you ever felt that God wasn’t hearing your prayers? Have you ever just felt far from God for no apparent reason?

The verse in Jeremiah tells us that God does hear us, and he is near (even when it doesn’t feel like it) But to get a better understanding of what he means when he says “then” we need look at little deeper to get the full picture.

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29:10-13

We notice that God tells us specifically of his promises (to prosper us and not to harm us) and the very next verse we are promised that when we call on him and pray to him we will listen to us.

Whenever someone listens (and not just hears) what I have to say it means alot to me. How does it make you feel when someone listens to you? When is the last time someone just listened to you?

Yeah that’s what I thought, usually when we go to people in hopes that they will just listen, we are met with unsolicited advice and several possible solutions thrown at us instead of just a listening ear.

Why do we keep going to other people to listen when it goes against their human nature, when we can go to God who infallibly listens to us?

We set ourselves up for failure when we look to man to fill a void that only God can.

Now think of who you know that is more likely to listen to you (and you are more likely to listen to them) Usually they have two traits in common:

  • We care we have a higher level of compassion and empathy.
  • We have a intimate relationship with the person.

Relate this to our heavenly father, He listens because he cares and because we have an intimate relationship with him. Here’s the deal though because He listens to us, He wants us to listen to Him. He longs to be our first thought instead of our last resort.

Blessings and Love,

Stephanie

 

 

 

Photo Credit: image created via wordswag

That’s Not Fair, God!

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“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.  
Romans 5: 12, NLT

Girl_with_Not_Fair_sign
“You can’t do that!”

“Oh, yes I can!”

“Well… you wouldn’t …right?”

“I don’t see why not?”

“Because anyway you slice it, it’s simply not fair!”

“Not fair? Oh grow up! Life’s not fair! Didn’t your mama ever tell you that?”

“Just know that when this thing goes badly (and it will), I’m telling everyone that it’s your fault!”

Can you relate to that conversation? Maybe you’re in the that’s-not-fair camp. Or, if you’re a little rougher around the edges, perhaps you’re in the life’s-not-fair-so-get-over-it camp. Either way, we’ve likely all believed at some point in our lives that something wasn’t fair. And what’s the next natural step that we take? We find someone or something to blame for it, right? This is exactly what has happened since the first sin was committed in The Garden of Eden. Read today’s Dose verse. I know for a fact that I’ve heard more than one woman mention her intentions to have a “talking-to” with Eve once they get up to heaven over her part in this sin-thing that led to pain in childbirth! I suspect that even though the men haven’t vocalized it, some of them likely thought something similar for Adam!Group_with_Mercy_sign

The question might be asked, why should we be penalized for what Adam did? How can that be fair? After all, he started it, didn’t he? We say, “That’s not fair, God, give us something fair!” God should be fair to us and just blame Adam! And that’s how it happens. A lot of us consider it simpler to accuse others for our troubles. We say they are the reason for our mistakes, faults, and sins.

But, demanding fairness from God and calling out the sin of those who sinned before us shouldn’t be our focus at all. Just because our ancestors sinned before us doesn’t negate the fact that we fell right into the same footsteps as Adam and Eve.

We are naturally of a mind to go counter to God and his plan. So perhaps our focus ought to be that we’re sure to face the inevitable result of our sin (death) unless God does something!

The good news is He already has! God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for our sins!

God doesn’t owe us fairness but we do require His mercy! God’s mercy is what He extends to all who believe in Him!

Are you seeking fairness or mercy today?

By grace through faith,

Rita

 

The Greatest Mystery Ever: What the Cross Tells Us about Us

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I love a good mystery. My favorite mystery writer is Mary Higgins Clark, and I’ve managed to collect all but a few of her entire works. But the greatest mystery ever told is why God chose to redeem mankind through Christ’s death on the cross. This week we’ll explore the mystery of the cross—foolishness to the unsaved but the power of God to those who claim Him as Lord and Savior (I Cor. 1:18).

 

What the Cross Tells Us about Us

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 

Ephesians 5:1-2

IMG_3402When we think of the cross, we can easily get mired in the view of ourselves as sinners, unworthy of God’s love or Christ’s sacrifice. After all, Christ died to save us from our sins. The New Testament is pretty graphic in its portrayal of us before we became Christians: impure, idolaters, jealous, selfish, angry, liars, and so on.

Paul says any of us might give our lives for a good person, but no one would willingly sacrifice himself for an enemy. But Christ died for us while we were sinners! (See Romans 5:6-8.) But that’s not the last word on the subject. Good news! God must think of us as VERY worthy to have gone to so much trouble to save us. In fact, He must think we are the pinnacles of His created order—the cat’s p.j.’s you might say!

If the cross proves our value to God, our response must be one of thankfulness. In a familiar story from Christ’s life, a woman with a bad reputation bathes Jesus’ feet with perfume. When the other banquet guests scorn her actions, Jesus replies, “Well, guys, those who have been forgiven little, love little. She must love me a lot!” (See Luke 7:36-50 for the full account.)

Do you love much? Our gratitude quotient says a lot about whether we feel a need to praise and honor Jesus for His sacrificial death and saving grace. If you’re glad you will spend eternity in heaven instead of hell, perhaps a little kingdom service might be in your future, as well. In fact, we are saved in order to do good. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10).

Salvation is past (when you accepted Christ), present (as you continue in Him), and future (when we all get to heaven, hallelujah!). Meanwhile, we are to shine like stars in the universe (Phil. 2:15) as we point others to the light of life (Matt. 5:14).

Are you shining? If not, try an attitude of gratitude. Focus on God’s love, Christ’s offering of His body and blood, the significance of the cross, and your future in glory. That ought to cast a blinding light on the next person who comes your way.

Living in the light,

Betty