Mercy

The DNA of God

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?     Mark 2:7 ESV

When I was a young boy, I got in trouble a lot during summer vacations. My usual transgression was getting caught for wading in the pond on the other side of the creek from our home. See it wasn’t so much that I enjoyed getting wet, I just loved catching polliwogs so that I could bring them home and watch them turn to frogs. Though I ended up countless times being made to sit on my bed for disobeying, it seemed that it was just in my DNA. No matter how often I was told to stop, it never took more than a couple of days for me to gleefully return to the pond.

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Jesus got in trouble a lot too, but the trouble that Jesus got in was because He forgave people of their sins. “Just who does He think He is?” the religious people muttered. But, if they had stopped for just a moment to think about His name, they would have known the answer. You see God told Joseph and Mary to name their miracle child “Jesus”, precisely because “He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21. You see, forgiveness was part of who Jesus is because He is God’s Son and forgiveness begins in the very DNA of God. We need that forgiveness every day, and the good news for us is that no matter how much the punishment Jesus had to endure He came to forgive us so we could become His people!

12 Gifts of Christmas / 9th Gift -Mercy

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

 But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Luke 15:10

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy! Matthew 5:7 

As we’ve looked at gifts both given and received; no list could be complete without mercy. Grace sometimes gets bigger headlines in the Sunday sermons, but comparing the two as if one were greater misses the point. Mercy is God’s forgiveness by which we receive eternal life. Grace is God’s amazing delivery system that brings His gift to places we least expect and to the most unlikely people. (Like me!) I hope my little poem this morning will simply be a reminder that we are each given this day, so that we can pass God’s mercy on to others in a thousand little acts of grace. 

 Mercy's Gifts

 It's a pint of blood needed
To someone we don’t know
 Or handful of tissues when their tears start to flow

 A quiet embrace when their world falls apart
And a light at the door when they come after dark

 It's that kiss of forgiveness when we still feel the hurt
 Or a check in the mail when they’ve been out of work

 Angel songs after midnight when we’re up watching sheep
 And a Babe in a manger On a night that's so deep! 

Mercy's Gifts by Peter Caligiuri
Copyright 2020
All rights reserved

Inheriting Mercy

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.             Matthew 5:7 KJV

A few years back in the film, “The Ultimate Gift” by Jim Stovall, we see the story of a young man who is presented with the opportunity to inherit an large though undisclosed sum from his billionaire grandfather. There is a catch however; and that is that Jason must agree to follow all the instructions left by his grandfather in the will. The plot is filled with fun and adventure as young Jason Stevens discovers that to get his inheritance he must for the first time in his life get a job, make friends, and many other things without his credit cards, bank accounts or even help from his mother. Each new challenge tests Jason in a new area of his character. The climax comes near the end of the film when Jason receives 120 million dollars. He thinks it is his entire inheritance, yet because of the character transformation he has gone through he gives it all away. Only after he signs away the money to build a hospital does he receive the balance of his grandfather’s 1.2 billion dollar estate.

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In today’s verse about mercy try to picture yourself as being Jason. God is giving us both a challenge and an opportunity. By His death on the cross Jesus Christ paid the price for mercy which is His ultimate gift. God’s instructions in the Bible then guide us through a series of tests in our everyday lives to see what we will do with God’s mercy. The mercy we give to others doesn’t cost us anything, any more than Jason’s 120 million dollars. So remind yourself as you face criticism, unfair treatment or harsh words -God has forgiven us freely. If we are willing to freely give the same mercy we have received, God promises that we will receive an inheritance of a mercy far greater than we can ever know!

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