Your Identity in Christ
Even though I am a sinner, God has been gracious to me;
in Christ, I am a child of the Most High and will be merciful, just as my Heavenly Father is merciful.
Pondering Point
Remembering who you are in Christ is a great way to handle any temptation to not be merciful, to withhold grace, or to treat others poorly because you have been treated poorly. Let's learn to love our enemies and do good to them as we heard yesterday from Jesus in Luke 6:35. And take note of God’s promise below under today’s Micro-Meditations from Scripture: God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. How can you demonstrate God’s love in your relationships when it comes to being merciful, gracious, and God-like?
Prayer
Ask God to make you more like Him, willing to forgive even before someone has asked. This will help your heart to be in the right “frame of mind” you might say.
Micro-Meditation
Psalm 51:3-6
- For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me. - Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge. - Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me. - Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
Read the versus of the Psalm.
Mark the words or phrases that catch your attention.
Meditate: talk (or better, write) with God about those words. Ask him to impress things upon your heart and mind; expect responses.
Teaching or Command of God
Ezekiel 33:11
As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways!
The Promise
Romans 5:8
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Pondering Point
God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Do you? God loves sinners. Do you?