3rd. November. 2021. Daily Devotion.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” — Matthew 5:7

We have to be careful here not to imagine that God’s mercy depends entirely on how well or how often we are merciful ourselves.

Thankfully, the gospel is the good news that God has freely shown us mercy although we don’t deserve it. Jesus came into the world to save sinners before they ever did something to earn it. God’s mercy flows out of his character. It’s part of who he is, and how deeply he loves his people.

We find that we are blessed when we show mercy, because it’s evidence that we belong to God. Mercy is proof that we have been changed by God’s mercy. It shows we ­realize that our own forgiveness does not rest on our ability to be merciful. Instead, our capacity for mercy is a sign that we understand God’s forgiveness, and that we wish to show his deep and unconditional love.

Father, help me to be merciful to everyone, as a way of showing your love in this world. Amen.

Meditation

Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies. ~ Margaret Stunt

Prayer to Live for God’s Glory

O God, lover of Your people, help me this day to live entirely to Your glory. Let me be deaf to unmerited criticism and the praise of men. Nothing can hurt my new-born inner self; it cannot be smitten or die; nothing can mar the dominion of Your Spirit within me; it is enough to have Your approval and that of my conscience.

Keep me humble, dependent, supremely joyful, as calm and quiet as a dependent child, yet earnest and active. I wish not so much to do as to be, and I long to be like Jesus; if You make me right, I shall be right; Lord, I belong to You, make me worthy of Yourself. Amen. ~ adapted from an old Puritan prayer

Heavenly Lord, weaver of life and cementer of relationships, we pray that you will weave us into your goodness and into each other. Give us grace we pray, to follow closely in the way of your Son by offering a place of belonging at your table to immigrants, to people who are homeless, to people seeking asylum and to all who find themselves on the margins of our society. Help us, Lord, to offer all who need it a new and safe place in which to be. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. ~ Jongikaya Zihle.

For Healing

Compassionate God, your Son gives rest to those weary with heavy burdens. Heal the sick in body, mind, and spirit. Lift up the depressed. Befriend those who grieve. Comfort the anxious. Stand with all victims of abuse and violence. Uphold those who live with addiction. Fill us all with your Holy Spirit that we may bear each other’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ. God of mercy, hear our prayer. Amen. ~ Book of Common Worship PCUSA.