Is God Angry With You?

I will heal their waywardness
   and love them freely,
   for my anger has turned away from them.
Hosea 14:4

Let's be real. Sometimes we stray. We get a little off course. We sin. One of the absolutely amazing truths about God is that he loves us freely and heals our waywardness.

I don't know about you, but when I struggle my first instinct is to try to heal myself before I go to God. That is like being sick yet waiting until I feel better before I go to the doctor. 

The fruit of our sin can be very painful. It may seem like God is angry with you. The truth is that he loves us enough to send his Son to die for our sins and open the way back to him.

In Christ, your sins are forgiven. Whatever you have been struggling with, God knows. In Christ he heals. In Christ he freely loves you. 

Does God Hear Your Prayers?

Praise be to God,
   who has not rejected my prayer
   or withheld his love from me!
Psalms 66:20 (NIV)

God's love is amazing. If one of my children does something wrong  I will not stay upset too long. And even when I am really angry with them I still have a father's love. How much more does God love us, even when we sin? He loved us enough to send his one and only Son to die for our sins! That love has not changed. His compassion continues! His mercies never fail! It's about his faithfulness and that is why we are thankful!

Do You Have a Right to Not Be Merciful?

"Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement!" James 2:12-13

I am a very imperfect person. That is not offered up as an excuse. When I sin, I sin. No one made me sin. I sinned. I do not want to sin. I try to seek God on a daily basis through prayer and Bible study. But, sometimes I still sin. And I don't think I am really any different that anyone who might read this. 

We all sin. That means that I need mercy, and you need mercy. My wife needs mercy. Anyone I deal with needs mercy.

These verses are not about legalism they are about forgiveness and freedom because of the mercy of God shown to us in Christ Jesus. What they are about is a serious self-check about understanding the mercy of God. Matthew 6:14-15 stresses, 

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." 

I boils down to this: we are merciful to others because God is merciful to us. We don't have a right to NOT be merciful. 

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved." 

Ephesians 2:4-5

Question of the day? Who do I need to be merciful to today? How is God showing me mercy today?

Father, thank you for your mercy to me! Help me to be merciful to others! Praise be to you in us today!