Finding Grace & Showing Mercy

These two simple words can have a profound impact on our lives if we allow them to guide us daily!

The Bible is full of examples of Jesus showing mercy to others, one off the top of my head is in John 8:7-11 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

What a pivotal moment for us to learn from, especially as we consider our own sins. Let's put our stones down, remove our judgment & remember not one person is flawless, except Jesus.

Luke 6:36

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

You may even think of the story about the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:21-35 his master had compassion on him and his debt was erased, but instead of being grateful the servant went out and found a fellow servant who owed him money & had him thrown in prison.

How quickly we can become like this servant in our own lives.

We fail to remember how many times God and our families have shown us grace & mercy. If we are truly honest with ourselves these Bible passages should bring us to our knees begging God to forgive us yet again for our own arrogance and for thinking we are better than others or that our sins are less significant.

How many times have we held on to past hurts? We justify why we have the right to be angry or refuse to forgive them. Can you relate? Perhaps you are tired of forgiving them for the same mistakes? At times I have even thought "how many times should I keep forgiving them" and yet the Bible tells us we should forgive continuously! Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."

Matthew 5:7

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

If we want to become more Christ like, we have to let go of our past hurts, start each day with a clean slate.

Friends our challenge today is to forgive one person, tomorrow another, until we no longer have anyone to forgive. When you find yourself hurt or frustrated ask God to help you show grace & mercy to that person.

Hebrews 4:16

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Written by: Jill Theriault

Crossroads Coaching - @crossroadscoachingongodstime