Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
TO PONDER
For those of you who joined us for our service on Sunday morning in Newcastle, you might be thinking, "these words of James sound awfully familiar". This is because James is trying to communicate the same reality that we talked about.
See most of us have a pretty good 'fairness' detector built in. It comes standard with every model. However, the fairness detectors are often not calibrated properly, they always have a bias. The are biased towards self. We can identify almost immediately when someone has wronged or hurt us and treated us unfairly and in those cases are often quick to point out the fact and to begin the quest for justice. To ensure that what was done wrong is somehow put right. Sometimes we are satisfied with a simple acknowledgement of guilt and apology, other times nothing short of a life long jail sentence seems appropriate to satisfy out desire for justice.
Justice is not a bad thing - that's not what James is saying. Justice, when applied correctly, seeks to restore what has been broken, property, trust, relationship. To seek to make amends or restitution when we have wronged someone is the right thing to do. However, sometimes our expectation of what the repayment or restitution for a particular wrong against us might be can get a bit out go hand and disproportionate.
The problem is that we usually seek justice from others while wanting or expecting mercy for ourselves. When we know that someone has done something wrong - sometimes even when it's not against us - we demand justice. We shout with the rest of our community, "They should pay for what they have done." However when we know that we have wronged or hurt someone, don't we hope that they will be merciful and understanding and be gracious enough to forgive us?
James is warning us that while being a 'social justice warrior' might be one thing, doing it without being prepared also to show mercy to those who have perhaps committed wrong - even severe ones - is a dangerous game and has a tendency to come full circle.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I know that you are the only one worthy to proclaim judgement, justice and mercy. Please remind me today of the mercy I have freely received through your death and resurrection and help me to extend mercy to others when I feel hurt or wronged by them. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him
TO PONDER
Reading this verse from psalm 103 made me realise something which we probably all recognise as true when we stop to think about it. Verse 10 "he does not treat us as our sins deserve..." is talking about God's forgiveness. Verse 11 talks about God's love.
Love and forgiveness go hand in hand. Think about it for a moment. Your spouse or one of your children or a close friend or family member does something that hurst you: you might take a few days to process and get over it but forgiveness tends to flow more easily in that context because of the love you have for the other person.
Remove that love from the situation and forgiveness is harder to muster. But Jesus tells his disciples to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecute them (Matt 5:43-48). I suspect that it is truely only when our love for others is like God's "as far as the heavens are above the earth" that we will be able to begin forgiving like God does.
In the mean time, we have the opportunity to practice. Have you ever taken Jesus seriously on his instruction to pray for those who hurt or persecute you. If you find it too hard at the moment to love them, just start by praying for them and see what happens. As you work through the situation with God in prayer he will grow your capacity to love an therefore also your capacity to forgive.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I praise you for your steadfast love and faithfulness to those who call on your name. Please help me to grow in my capacity to love and forgive others the way that the psalmist knew that he was loved and forgiven by you. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
TO PONDER
Family resemblances. Most of us have some kind of physical characteristic or perhaps a personality or behavioural quirk that, to those in the know, very quickly identifies us as part of our family.
For example, I have a tendency, once I have finished eating dinner with my family at the table, sit back in my dining chair and rest my hands/arms behind my head. This is something, which my wife often lovingly reminds me, is something that my own father always used to do at the end of a meal. I never consciously set out to emulate my father in this way, I just find myself doing it without thinking.
Just to keep things equal though, I should mention that the men in my wife's family all tend to have a very distinct and prominent nose that quickly identifies them as family members.
It shouldn't surprise us then that there are characteristics of God's nature that we, as his children, should also exhibit.
It might not happen over night - in fact, those who come to faith later in life often take some time and practice at following Jesus before the habits of their old life begin to transform into something that more closely resembles life in the family of God. The key here is staying close to Jesus and remembering the love and mercy he has first shown to us. The closer and more deeply we recognise and understand the depth of that mercy, the more power it has to transform our own attitude when it comes to showing mercy to others.
So whether it is mercy, or some other characteristic, like loving one another as Christ has loved us, or serving others the way Christ served us, or forgiving others as we have been forgiven, a good question to ask ourselves each day when we get up and look in the mirror could be, "How will my identity as a child of God be evident to others today?"
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Thank you for opening the way for me to be part of your family through the life, death, and resurrection of your son, Jesus. Please help me each day, to grow and develop the kinds of attitudes, behaviours and characteristics that will help others know that I belong to your family and that you are my Heavenly Father. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
TO PONDER
I can almost imagine myself in Simon/Peter's shoes as he prepares to ask this question. It's one I have asked myself and also asked of God from time to time. It goes something like this in my own prayers...
"God, I can get on board with the whole forgiveness thing. After all, I know that I am also a forgiven person - I have not earned your grace or mercy yet you forgave me so I should forgive others... but how many times do I have to forgive (insert name here) for (insert offence or sin here)? Surely there is a point where I don't have to accept their behaviour any more or just 'get over it'!"
Sound familiar?
Part of the problem is that I don't think we rightly understand forgiveness these days. We seem to think it means the offender simply 'gets away' with whatever offence they have committed against us. I can see how it might feel like that. However, the way Jesus describes things in the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18 suggests that there is something significant about really knowing and appreciating how much we have been forgiven that should empower us to freely forgive. It's not that the large debt of the first servant simply disappeared - the burden of the loan might have shifted from the servant but it was still carried by the king.
When someone hurts, or sins against us, there is in a real sense, a debt that is incurred. We can choose to seek repayment from those who have hurt us or who 'owe' us for the wrong they have done against us, or we can accept that we have been hurt or wronged and abandon our right to seek compensation. That's what forgiveness is. It does not mean that a broken trust is necessarily immediately restored - however forgiveness leaves the door open for that possibility. If a trust or relationship has been broken, forgiveness doesn't mean we just become door mats for everyone to walk all over and take advantage of - we are still allowed to have personal boundaries and be wise in our choices about who we trust with what - but forgiveness leaves the door open to reconciliation.
That's what Jesus has done for us. in his death he absorbed the cost of the debt of our sin so that we no longer had to be crushed by its weight and he leaves the door open for reconciliation to all those who repent and believe. Even if we incur a new debt or get it wrong seventy seven time (or more) The door to reconciliation is always open because of the forgiveness granted us through Christ.
When you really appreciate the size of the debt you have been relieved of, the ways people hurt or offend you might begin to seem more forgivable.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I know that I am often ignorant of the ways that my thoughts, attitudes and behaviour are not in line wth God the Father's will for me or those around me. I know too that I am often quick to make judgements about the thoughts, attitudes and actions of others. Please help me to leave the judging in your hands and to rest in the knowledge that you have opened the way to reconciliation for me. Help me also to reconcile with those who sin against me. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
TO PONDER
I often worry when an Old Testament verse like this becomes as well known as this one. People tend to recite it and quote it in all sorts of ways and often completely out of context.
Here's the thing, this vers is part of God's response to the people of Israel who were under the impression that God was happy with them because they followed his laws. The only problem was that they had created all sorts of loop holes and work arounds to 'God's law' that while they may have been keeping the 'letter of the law' they had forgotten about the 'spirit' in which the laws were given.
Sometimes we can still be like this today. We can get so caught up in insisting that worship services be conducted in a certain way, with our musical preferences, and traditional liturgical forms. We can complain that a song with the word 'hallelujah' was included in the service during Lent (traditionally this is a big liturgical no-no) but our religious observances are not what God is primarily worried about. What God wants is a people set apart for himself, marked first and foremost, not by his law but by his mercy and grace.
Sure, God's law can be a good way to remind us of how to treat others well and might even restrain some of our more selfish and destructive tendencies, but what they are really all about is forming a people concerned with justice and mercy.
How might your life look different if your main priority today was to act justly and love mercy?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Written on a page like this, it seems that your don't require much of us at all. However the reality of acting with justice - not vengeance - and loving to do mercy instead of seeking compensation is a daily struggle. Please help me to prioritise justice and mercy in all I do today so that others might see something of the difference you have made in my life. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
Search me God and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. NIV
TO PONDER
This Psalm believed to be penned by David, who was known as “the sweet psalmist of Israel (2 Sam 23:1). He prayed to God, knowing that God cared enough to search and know each man and woman.
He knows you and me, He is everywhere with you and me, He created you and me. He knows everything about us. He knows our hearts intimately. He knows the good, the bad and ugly about us. There is nowhere we can go that is outside his care. Through all of this, He loves us unconditionally. It is a time to put self aside and replace it with trust in God and His ways, to take responsibility for our thoughts and actions.
I was thinking after I reread this Psalm, do we have the right to question God when He puts something in our path, waiting for us to take the first step. I went through this questioning and doubting many years ago when the opportunity arose to go overseas to teach, there were so many questions floating around in my mind. I remember pleading with God to really let me know if this was what he wanted me to do. It was a huge step.
Like I mentioned before, He knows you and me. It’s time to open-up and let God be God. He already knows everything about us … so why not listen to that still small voice and start the journey into the way everlasting.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for all the times you have searched me. Thank you, Lord, that you never gave up on me, and that you always lead me in the right direction. I pray that I am open to “hear” that still small voice when it speaks to me in the wilderness. AMEN
Today's devotion written by Noeline Brock, LifeWay Online
We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. NIV
TO PONDER
When I read this verse, it brought back a memory where we hired a boat and went out on the lake. There was our family of six, plus my husband’s mum and dad. We had a wonderful time fishing, until we realised, we had drifted much further than we had intended. Apparently when ‘someone’ had thrown the anchor over, none of us adults paid careful attention. None of us made sure that it was anchored in place.
It’s so true in life also, we tend to do things, not paying real attention … we sometimes listen, but often not to hear but to answer, we see, but not really seeing. Often, we are slowly carried away or drift off course by a situation, we can’t blame the wind or sea if we are not out on the water. So, what or who do we blame?
It may only be a slight shift away from faith and truth. How can we fix this? We are encouraged in this verse, to pay careful attention to what we hear and see, so that we don’t drift away. The truth is that anything worth having or doing takes a level of discipline. We must surrender daily … it takes training to stay on track and to run a race and that training takes discipline.
The Greek word for drift is pararrhueo (in the biblical sense) … the idea of being carried away or to have something (valuable) slip one’s mind. As we age, we often have that senior’s moment where we sometimes forget something important. This is not on purpose, so I encourage you younger readers to bear with us older ones, encourage us, not put us down.
PRAYER: Lord, thank you for being my anchor, reminding me in my struggles and when I start to drift away – that you are always there. Fill me with joy as I trust you in Jesus’ name. Put a fresh wind in my sails. AMEN
Today's devotion written by Noeline Brock, LifeWay Online
This is why it is said: wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
TO PONDER
In previous verses Paul is encouraging his readers to be more like Christ. He uses ‘light’ for our new life in Christ as a contrast, to “darkness” for our old life in the world, as a metaphor. Whereas, when this verse stands alone, it serves as a reminder that we should wake up to the “light” and truth, loose our complacent outlook and to make a conviction, and turn from sin.
I remember playing a game at a party, two truths and a lie. Back when I was younger, we used to think it was great fun to see how much our friends knew about us. So, taking the plunge in a completely different culture and situation, I introduced this in my English class back here in Australia, with a diverse group of students. The students got into the swing of it. It was interesting to learn that to lie, was accepted in some of their cultures. We need to realise that we are not following a culture, but the light and truth of Christ as Paul encourages us to do.
Let’s ask ourselves, do we live a lie daily? Do we tell ourselves we are travelling in the “light” or are we just getting by on the fringe of both “light” and “darkness” where we can’t find the balance of where truth starts and the lies end?
We need to encourage each other to be careful how we live – do we make the most of every opportunity to “wake up” and walk in the light and truth, to be wise and not unwise?
A quote from Charles H Spurgeon is ‘To trust God in the light is nothing, but to trust Him in the dark – that is faith.’
There’s a Sunday school song that says “This little light of mine, this little light of mine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.” Why not let His light shine on your life.
PRAYER: I pray Lord that there is a light in my life that shines through for others to see. Lord as others come into your light, I pray that someone is there to offer encouragement and lead them further. Help me Lord to make every opportunity to walk beside others, count. AMEN
Today's devotion written by Noeline Brock, LifeWay Online
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV
TO PONDER
Paul wrote Romans whilst he was out on one of his missions. The verses today tell us that God's love triumphs over everything. Remember, it was through Paul’s personal life where he had been continually persecuted and suffered, that he still could claim that God’s love is unwavering. Even though we aren’t spared earthly suffering, His love is still with us. The love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord … what an amazing, unbelievable journey one can take, when we have faith and trust to obey and to learn to live, walk, accept, to believe in Him and His love.
Life’s hard when we’ve been beaten down. There’s no doubt that we’ve all been through periods where a family member, partner or a friend has let us down, or put us down, where we’ve felt unlovable for some mundane reason, real or imagined, misunderstood, disrespected, unwanted, abandoned, worthless … where we’ve struggled with doubts of self-worth. Sometimes, we ask why, and never seem to get an answer. Why? Are we listening to the wrong voice?
How do you usually handle this, do you go to a friend to help solve it, or do you go to God in prayer?
None of the things listed in the above passage can separate you or me from the love of God, the love of God in Jesus Christ can overcome all the above … His word says, He will never leave you or forsake you. His love endures forever. Remember, in your struggles, God says “you didn’t choose me, I chose you.”
My encouragement to you today is, get up, get dressed and face the new day walking in God’s love for He has chosen you!
This message is unmistakeable … God’s love triumphs.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the unconditional love that you’ve shown to me over my journey through life, in the doubts, and insecurities. Help me Lord, to remember that you are a safe place, where you’ve kept me from so much heartache and hurt. Thank you that you’ve travelled with me throughout all the seasons of my life. Thankyou Lord for the promise that you will keep me going forward. I know you will never leave me nor forsake me. I lift up those going astray, that they hear your voice encouraging them to come to you with open hearts and open minds, and help them to learn to live and accept this conditional love. AMEN
Today's devotion written by Noeline Brock, LifeWay Online