A Woman's Heart - Be Merciful and Humble

This past Sunday, I taught in my Sunday School Class on Effective Prayer that we should be merciful and humble. Our Lesson continued from Luke 18:1-14. We saw how Jesus connected justice and mercy. The widow was persistent in her prayers and she was asking for the unjust judge to have mercy on her and avenge her. Jesus tells us that we ought to always pray and not lose heart, and God shall avenge us, His own elect who cry out day and night to Him. Then Jesus in our text connects justice with mercy. He tells us not to trust in ourselves and not to think that God will answer just because we declare ourselves to be so righteous and persistent, but believe instead that God is a just and merciful God. We should humble ourselves before Him. It is by His grace that we receive anything. Jesus tells the story of 2 men in the temple. The Pharisee trusts in himself as being righteous ( claiming that he is not like other men) and believes he deserves to have his prayers answered because of his self-righteousness and declares he is especially not like the tax collector standing over there! And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner! This led us to look at what is mercy? Mercy is God's goodness toward those in misery and distress. We have eternal redemption through Jesus Christ, and therefore we should be the first to offer redemption to others. We talked about if our bodies are the tabernacle of God then where does our mercy seat lie? Do we have a place to lay aside all malice,all deceit, hypocrisy, hurt, abuse, and all evil speaking where others in our lives can find forgiveness? Will you be just or unjust toward your sister? Will you show mercy or hypocrisy, envy or love toward your enemies? Jesus the Messiah shed His blood that all men and women could find mercy and redemption when they come to Him. When we look beyond people's faults, we can see their needs and their own personal pain. If you keep on living long enough someone will hurt or disappoint you and may even do you harm. But don't become trapped by other people sins and refuse to let go of the all the hurt and pain in your life. Chose mercy! Chose Grace and Be Humble! Talk to God and He will work it out. You really don't have to worry about getting justice, life has a way of taking care of that and God has a way of making sure that you are taken care of when others have failed and/or left you down and out. Your mercy seat is your heart and soul. Please remember to show mercy to someone who needs it, and may not deserve it this week. Live a merciful life and forgive those who have hurt you. Mend the broken-hearted and set your captives free. For His Glory; Pastor Patricia