~~~”Great are thy tender mercies, O Lord: quicken me according to thy judgments”  (Psalm 119:156).  “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.  The Lord is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works”  (Psalm 145:8-9).~~~

We need to ask ourself this question.  Are we a merciful person?  Most of us probably would say yes.  At least we would like to think of ourself as merciful.  Most of us would measure our mercy by limited concepts of mercy such as… we try to the best of our ability to sympathize with those who suffer, assist our neighbors in need, and when people hurt us, we try to forgive them and not hold a grudge.

I believe we as Christians have a good measure of mercy for the hurting and lost.  I am thankful to God for that.  But I wonder if we miss God’s truths’ in His Word because it exposes in us deep roots of bias, and reveals to us how limited we are in the deep depths his mercies entail.  “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us”  (Ephesians 2:4).  “For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds”  (Psalm 119:64).

Most religions that claim to fear God have a creed or doctrine that says, “God’s tender, loving mercies extend to all of humankind.”  As followers of Jesus, we talk so much about his tender mercies to the whole world.  Yet… herein lies the truth.  Most denominations do not even extend God’s tender, loving merices to each other or to those outside the faith.  Many have been so unloving and unmerciful to others portraying disunity and worldly attitudes..  This is neither tender nor merciful!   I do believe in this hurried up world we live in today, we do not take the time or slow down long enough to see the hurt and pain in our brothers and sisters in Christ… let alone the lost and dying.  We do not seem to have the empathy for others as we did a generation ago.

Yes, I know the wages of sin is death.  Yes, I know the wages of sin in this world is bringing on disease, hate, violence, immorality, and death.  Yet, I can’t or won’t believe God shuts out his tender mercies to any sinner who cries out to him for Christ’s forgiveness, mercy, and love.   His love and mercy for this lost and dying world is emphatically stated in John 3:16-17!   ”For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved”.  Our Savior died for all mankind’s salvation, and he has never turned down the desperate cry of any sinner whatever their sinful state may be.  His mercies to them are unlimited….there is no end to them.  Therefore, we cannot cut off anyone who cries out for mercy and deliverance.  We are to be Christlike!  So, we must show mercy and love to everyone.  Jesus did the same for us!

We ask ourselves, am I a merciful person, tender and loving?  We automatically say yes.  Yet, if someone asked our family, friends, neighbors, brothers and sisters in Christ if we are merciful and loving….what would their answers be?

Where is the voice of the church in the matter of ‘MERCY’ today?  Is the church today urging us to show mercy and love to all people instead of  divisiveness, tolerance, prejudice, biases, and wordly attitudes?  Has it become a worldly church full of dead men’s bones (filth, corruption, depravity, hypocrisy, iniquity, and uncleanness)  calling good evil and evil good.  ”Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisee, hyprocrites: for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness”  (Matthew 23:27).  Preaching worldly ”tolerance” that is totally different than what the Word of God calls God’s tender mercies.  Theirs isn’t tolerance but blindness, and has drained the churches who have embraced it of all gospel power.  We are never to tolerate sin but to love the sinner and show him or her the mercy and love of God that leads unto salvation!  The Lord’s hand of mercy is extended to churches and ministries who have fallen away from the scripture.  May such churches and ministries repent!  There is no future in God’s plan in these last days for those without his tender mercy, and love lived out and preached according to his holy word.

Yes, there is a trimphant church rising up!  The last days church is emerging from crises out of great trials of faith. The Holy Spirit is bringing a people into utter brokedness to show himself strong.  He is saying to them repent, return to your original calling…your first love…the doctrine and teaching of Jesus.  Be the Church Triumphant!  Keep the world out of your church.  Keep the message of tolerance out of the church.   Preach the message of mercy and love unto salvation in Christ Jesus.  Lord…let your mercy and love abound in your church!  Lord…let your mercy and love abound in me!  Lord…let your mercy and love abound in America!

We are to be witnesses of the mercy and love of God to a cold, hurting, and grieving world.  Just as Jesus was the revelation of the Father’s tender love for lost humankind,  we as Christians are to manifest this same tender love.  We must tell others that Christ has proven to be merciful and kind to us, and that he has loved us unconditionally.   We must tell others that his love and mercy can be theirs no matter the depth of sin, and no matter how hopeless it seems for them.  We must tell others his tender merices makes salvation possible.  “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).

As Christ’s representative body on the earth….we cannot deny anyone who cries out for mercy and deliverance!  ”Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy”  (Matthew 5:7).  We want God’s mercy…then give mercy!  He did not deny us his mercy!  Hallelujah!

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3).

“It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness”  (Lamentations 3:22-23).   Praise the Lord!  His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him!  His mercy is great above the heavens!  Hallelujah!

Lord Jesus…. You are loving and Your mercy endures forever.  Even though our love and mercy for others fail in comparison to your love and mercy for us, we do know that when we intercede for Your mercy on the people you send our way, you do hear and you do answer our prayers.  Instead of criticizing, complaining, and judging others because they need help in their lives, may we pray for your mercy upon them.    We know this is your will for us.  You have given us untold mercy over and over again.  May we be mercy givers Lord…. as we have been mercy receivers.  Thank you God for everytime you have given us your mercy and love.  ~~~Amen~~~

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