Month: September 2018

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matt. 5:7 ESV). God promises to bless us and have mercy on us if we are merciful to others. Jesus told a parable about an unforgiving servant who had a debtor thrown in jail even though he himself had been a debtor to a king who forgave his debts. The king heard about it and told the unforgiving servant “Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?” (Matt. 18:33 NLT). It isn’t always easy to have mercy on those who offend us. And sometimes they do not even appreciate our mercy when we give it to them. Yet, whether they respond or not, God wants us to have mercy on others (in other words, forgive them, release them) because he had mercy on us. By definition, mercy is not earned it is just given Continue Reading →

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” Matt. 5:6 (ESV). God is pleased when we hunger and thirst for righteousness. This isn’t just judicial righteousness that we receive when we first believe, it is also lived righteousness, that is, living a godly life, a life that is truly good. And this is something that Jesus wants us to passionately pursue, that we would actual be hungry to be good. That our throats would be parched and dry because we do not have the water of God’s righteousness. And the encouragement is that if we adopt that passion then God will satisfy us, He will wine and dine us with his goodness so that we do live righteous lives. Jesus said ““If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37 ESV). He will do this both in this age and in Continue Reading →