Mercy

Pro:28:13

People who conceal their sins will not prosper

But if they confess and turn from them they will receive mercy.

When the Holy Spirit (through the word of God or your thoughts or through other people) intervenes straight into your life and points at a particular sin in your life, His desire is that you open up and renounce it with the same grief and disgust that He has. If you do that you will be shown mercy.

Mercy is never something you deserve. You cannot demand mercy. Because you have sought forgiveness, there is no guarantee of pardon. It is the discretion of the other person to forgive or not. And no one points fingers at Him, if He doesn't. He is justified in not pardoning.

But we take His grace and love for so granted that we expect Him to forgive. "I repented, so He will have to forgive me". He will forgive. That is for sure. For that is His character. But we think we deserve. No we don't. He has been gracious.

If we realize this truth, we would be thankful that we are forgiven. We would be grateful for His grace. Then each time we realize we have fallen, we would run to Him crying. Then there is no concealing.

Psalm:32:3-5

When I refused to confess my sin

My body wasted away

And I groaned all day long.

Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me

My strength evaporated like water in summer heat

Finally I confessed all my sins to you

And stopped trying to hide my guilt

I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the Lord"

And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.

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Noble woman

Proverbs Chapter 31 is an epilogue of a woman of noble character. A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Husbands if you get such a wife as in Proverbs 31, you are blessed. Wives, if you are such a person as this, you are a blessing. But wives know that, you cannot be like that always or forever. Even for a day it's a struggle. Some say, I am not like that, so I am not a blessing for my family. My genetic make up is not like that. I also want my children to arise and call me blessed. I too want my husband to praise me. But i am not as efficient as 'x' or 'y'. I am not beautiful. I am not confident of my physique and stretch marks and wrinkles. My hair is graying. I am still struggling. If you think in terms of these negative line of thoughts, you will reach nowhere. In fact if you think like this you will become an antonym of blessing. Now what is the key to be a blessing? What is the key to change? V:30 Charm is

The third temptation

Self. The root cause of all evil. Have the glory for yourself. The pride of life. Desiring words of appreciation. Desiring important positions on and off the dias. Pushing yourself to glory. But while playing behind the stage also can be self seeking and self oriented. Why was I not called? Why was I not acknowledged? Why was I not given an opportunity? Equally dangerous is -I am a nobody. I can't compete with others. I am not that talented like him. Digging your one talent is also self appeasing. You will be like God. You will be able to discern between good and evil. You can have control over your life. You will be in the center of your life. WRONG. Let Christ be all. And I be nothing. Image credit: https://www.cartoonize.net/self-portrait-photography/

Amma

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Iron sharpens iron

Iron sharpens iron So a friend sharpens a friend. Get a good friend. A friend who is godly. A friend who has values. A friend who is loving. To get a trustworthy friend is like a lottery. Who will be there whenever you are in need. A friend is need is a friend indeed. But what if you literally do not have a friend. What if none wants to be friends with you. Jesus is willing. Jesus calls you a friend. A Saviour who saved you from eternal hell is wanting to be your friend. If only you would open the door. Does that sound childish and untheological? Well those without even a single friend would pounce on this. John:15:15. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. Image credit: https://www.kristenbhubler.com/personalgrowthblog/iron-sharpents-iron

Joseph

Matt:1:24 And took Mary as his wife. Oh! What a man is Joseph. A good man A God fearing man - a God oriented man Obedient to God's word Full of compassion and love to Mary No questions to God. Did not consider the ridicule and blame he was about to face from the society as any significant considering his love to Mary or his devotion to God. The silent doer. No talking. Received no words of appreciation. Continued to do what he was asked to do. Nothing more was written about him in the Bible. Considering the position he is given - Father of Messiah. No glory. Just silent doing of what he is expected to do. In contrast to the husbands and fathers of today (including me) who wants to be in the limelight. In the center. Of his family and his own world. Lord as a husband, as a father I have been self seeking. I repent. Forgive me. Image credit: https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/bible-stories-lessons/11/gabriel-visits-mary/

Feckless

Matt:2:1-8 The teachers of the law knew that their Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. But they remained equivocal of what they knew. If they knew, they ought to have gone with the wise men to pay homage to their Christ. But they kept quiet. Why? They did not feel it urgent or important enough. It was not personal for them to meet their Saviour. They had a busy schedule to follow. Even their own ministry of interpreting the scriptures was useless for them. Because they knew it only in their head. What does the knowledge of the Scriptures bring a change in you? If the knowledge of God doesn't enable you to trust Him, it is useless. If the promises do not enable you to believe that He is able, then it is absolutely futile and pointless. Despite reading the Bible many times, if you still fret, it is ineffectual. Unless the Bible brings about a change in your life, it is feckless. It is just a mere book which you daily read. Image credit: https://www.lazada.com.ph/prod

Loser#6

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God Cunning hearts win battles in the world. People with pure hearts are labelled naive and are often cornered, utilized and taken advantage of. Some amount of cunningness should be there to live safe, the world says. Or else people will cheat you. Jesus says, blessed are the pure in heart. For they will see God. What more do I want. Make my heart pure before you. Make me naive for I want to see you. Image credit: https://newdayos.com/2022/06/15/blessings-of-a-pure-heart/

The halfbaked Bard

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