Psalm 86:12-13 (Amplified Bible)
12I will confess and praise You, O Lord my God, with my whole (united) heart; and I will glorify Your name forevermore.
13For great is Your mercy and loving-kindness toward me; and You have delivered me from the depths of Sheol [from the exceeding depths of affliction].
As I sat alone a song of worship kept rolling over and over in my spirit, "Great is your mercy towards me, your loving kindness towards me, great is your mercy, towards me. Day after day...As my eyes began to fill with tears and my face became tear stained. My heart was so full, with the knowledge that God's mercy, grace and loving- kindness was something He gave to me day after day, that it was not an attribute that he removed from His "things to do list," for me, not even on my worse days. No matter who I am on any given day, God is still God and He is still extending His love and kindness towards me. When God gets me alone like this He always has something to say and this time was no exception, I could hear in my spirit "so if I can extend love and kindness, mercy and forgiveness, why is it that you can not be the change that you want to see i your relationships with others? My heart about broke with sorrow, for the realization that I had something from God that in so many cases I never thought I should give out to some, because I felt justified or I may have felt like a I had a good reason. But if God gives to us these things without it being connected to our behavior, why is it not the expectation that if we are disciples of Christ, God's workmanship that we would not mirror His behavior and exhibit His actions?
When Christ was in heaven and He was given the assignment by God to go into the earth and love us enough to leave His heavenly home, have to wrap Himself in human flesh. Be born of a woman and live a human life that included all of the persecution and trials, that any human would encounter and final have to take a journey up Golgotha's hill to a cross where He hung, bled and died for you and I. Do you think he said, no thanks, these requirements of my Father, I have no intention of fulfilling? Certainly not. The love of Christ is limitless and boundless, it says if we make our bed in hell it will be there too. Isn't it time we start effecting change in the lives of our families, co-workers, friends and associates, our towns, cities and our states, our nation and our world. It is easy to want what is best, but it is not always easy to give what is best especially when it concerns mercy, and forgiveness or righting a wrong, or even a bigger deal admitting when you were wrong.
I remember years ago a Coke commercial where people from all different walks of life from all different countries were coming together and the the song "I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony." As we know there is none perfect but the Lord, but what is good, lovely and of a good report and are you thinking, living and bestowing these things on others? Or are you just wanting for them to be bestowed upon you? Be the change you want to see in others by giving the chance that has been given to you, by God.
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