Mercy

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Provide a Place of Mercy

 

Exodus 25:17

"And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof."

The mercy seat is a very important place for the child of God. It is the place where God sprinkled His blood for the atonement of our sins.  It is the mercy seat that allows a person to establish a relationship with God. Without the mercy seat, every person would be destined to Hell. God knew that man would need a place to have their sins atoned so that they could establish a relationship with God.

Just like God provided a mercy seat for every person, I believe that you should provide a mercy seat for people.  What I mean by this is that you must establish a place of mercy in your heart for others when they wrong you.  Let's be realistic, people are going to hurt you and wrong you.  Because people are going to wrong you, you need to have a place of mercy in your heart so that you can continue to have a good relationship with others.

Because God built a mercy seat, that means He expected mankind to wrong Him. Just like God expected mankind to wrong Him, you need to expect that every person will wrong you or hurt you at some time in your relationship.  If you are unrealistic about your relationships with others, then you will never overcome the hurts of people.  For instance, you need to expect that your spouse will hurt you at some time in your marriage.  You need to expect that your child will hurt you at some time in your life.  You need to expect that your parents will hurt you at some time.  You need to expect that your siblings will do something to hurt you.  You need to expect that your pastor or a fellow Christian will hurt you at some time. It is unrealistic to expect people to never hurt you.  The reason it is unrealistic is because people are sinners, and sinners will do wrong.

Furthermore, because you know that people will do wrong, then you need to have mercy on them so you can have a good relationship with them.  God provided the mercy seat so that He could have mercy on us when we do wrong, and you need to be merciful to people when they do wrong.  Stop blowing up and ruining every relationship because someone hurt you.  Realize you need to have a place of mercy in your heart for people when they wrong you.  If you expect people to wrong you and you give them a chance for mercy, then you can keep from destroying others and relationships.

Without a place of mercy in your heart for people, then you will become suspicious and judgmental towards everyone.  Life is too short not to practice mercy towards those who do wrong.  Always have a place of mercy in your heart so that you can keep good relationships with others.

In-laws

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Building In-Law Relations

 

Exodus 18:2

"Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back,"

One of the best in-law relationships that you find in the Scriptures is the relationship between Moses and Jethro, his father-in-law.  Moses' status among the Israelites and his busy schedule could have caused problems with Jethro, but we find that these two men got along very well.  When you study their relationship, you find several keys that helped them build a good relationship.

First, Jethro supported their marriage.  I don't know, and this is pure speculation, but it seems from the verse above that maybe Moses and his wife were having some marriage problems. The verse above states that Jethro sent his daughter back to Moses.  He realized that he needed to support their marriage and not be a wedge between his daughter and her husband, Moses.  If you want to build good relations with your in-laws, then you need to support their marriage.  Listen, you should never try to destroy the marriage of your children because you don't like who they married. You should do your best to support the marriage realizing that God's command is for them to stay married until death parts them.  If you become a wedge in your children's marriage, you could in essence be fighting against God's command for them to stay married.  You will do more to help your children by supporting their marriage than you will by fighting against your in-laws.

Second, be genuinely concerned about your in-laws.  Notice in verses 7-8, that Moses and Jethro were concerned how each were doing.  Don't just be concerned with your side of the family, but be concerned with the in-laws as well.  Being concerned with them will help you to build good relations with your in-laws.

Third, do spiritual acts together.  In verse 12, you see Jethro and Moses making a sacrifice together.  In other words, they were serving God together.  One of the best tools in building good relations with your in-laws is serving God together.  One of the things that has helped me to have a very good relationship with my in-laws is that we serve God together.  This gives us a common thing to talk about when we are together.  You would be wise to spend time serving God with your in-laws.

Fourth, be careful and wise when giving advice.  In the latter part of chapter 18, you will read that Jethro gave some good advice to Moses that helped him in his career. Let me be very forward and tell you that you should rarely give advice to your in-laws.  If they want your advice they will ask you.  Be stingy with your advice, and only give it when asked.  The only other time you should give advice is when its obvious that it will help them, but even then you would be wise to keep it to yourself. You don't want to be seen as someone who is meddling in your in-laws personal affairs.

Last, leave properly. In verse 27, Jethro left Moses properly.  Whenever you leave your in-laws, always strive to leave under good circumstances.  It should be that your in-laws were happy to see you and look forward to you coming back.

In-law relations can be good.  I thank God for my in-laws and the great relationship we have with each other.  When you have good relations with your in-laws, then you have built another block in the foundation of a great marriage.  Do everything in your power to have good relations with your in-laws.

A Tree

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The LORD Shewed Him a Tree

 

Exodus 15:25

"And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,"

In the verse above, we find the answer for Israel's murmuring.  When Israel found themselves without water, they began to murmur.  It is amazing that these people were just delivered from the hand of Pharaoh by going through the Red Sea on dry land, and yet they still murmured against God.  These people quickly forgot that God provided their deliverance and would provide water for them if they were patient. Yet, in their murmuring, God showed them a tree.  That tree was their deliverance from their problem and was the solution to their murmuring.

I am constantly amazed at how God's people murmur and complain as often as they do.  With all the blessings that God has given them, they still complain about what they feel is God's lack of provision for them.  Honestly, it's time that Christians take their eyes off themselves and realize that God has been very good to them. The answer to a Christian's dissatisfaction is the tree.  The tree is a reminder of Calvary.  The tree reminds us of the cross.  You see, if you will only look at the cross, you will find that your murmuring is unwarranted.  The answer to all of your dissatisfaction in life is the cross.  If you will look to the tree, you can quickly overcome your dissatisfaction and murmuring.

When you're dissatisfied with your church, look to the tree.  I know that your church isn't perfect, and I know that your pastor may not be doing everything right, but you are not perfect and doing everything right either.  The way to keep yourself from becoming dissatisfied with your church is to keep your eyes on Calvary.

When you're dissatisfied with your job, then look to the tree.  When you're dissatisfied with what you have, then look to the tree.  When your dissatisfied with a person, then look to the tree. The answer to your dissatisfaction with your possessions and people is Calvary.

When you're dissatisfied with your marriage, then look to the tree.  Complaining about your spouse and griping about what they don't do for you could be solved if you would take your eyes off yourself and place them on Calvary.  When you see the cross of Calvary, then you will realize how blessed you are in your marriage.

When you're dissatisfied with family, then look to the tree. Christian, family members will disappoint you, but Calvary is never disappointing.  Family members will let you down, but Calvary will never let you down.  Family members will often hurt you, but Calvary will never hurt you. The answer to your dissatisfaction with your family is looking to the tree.

When you're dissatisfied with your country, then look to the tree.  The answer for your country is Calvary.  If you will look to the tree and point others to that same tree, then you will find you can change what is going on in your country.

Calvary is the answer to your dissatisfaction. Calvary has a way of refocusing your viewpoint on what is really important.  Keep your eyes on the tree and you will continually be satisfied with life.

Guilty

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Guilty Conscience

 

Genesis 42:21

"And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us."

In the story above, Joseph's brethren had come to buy corn in the land of Egypt. There was a great famine in the land, and the only country that seemed prepared for the famine was Egypt.  What Joseph's brethren did not know was that he was second in command in Egypt.  They did not know that they would have to deal with him.  When they came into his presence, he recognized them and accused them of being spies. What is amazing about this verse is that they immediately thought this was happening because of what they did to Joseph.  All of these years passed, and they were still carrying a guilty conscience about what they did to him.

Every action that you do leaves a mark on your conscience.  I like to illustrate it this way; whatever you do on your computer leaves a mark on the hard drive.  No matter how hard you try to erase those marks, they will always be there.  Likewise, no matter how hard you try to forget your actions, you will always have the marks of your actions on your conscience.  Everything you do is writing a mark on your conscience.

Not only does every action leave a mark on your conscience, but also every action has a way of coming back.  You may think that once you do your action that it is done, but what you don't understand is that it will eventually come back.  I have learned that those actions of which you are ashamed tend to come back at the most inopportune times.  You may feel that your actions are in the past, but the consequences of your actions will come back.

When you do wrong, you would be wise to immediately deal with it if you don't want to continually deal with a guilty conscience.  Wrong must be dealt with immediately.  If it is not dealt with immediately, then you will always be looking over your shoulder wondering when it will be found out. Instead of living with a guilty conscience, deal with it so you can have a clear conscience.

The best way to live life is to live in such a manner that you can face anybody at any time.  If you will do right, then you will never have to avoid people. If you do wrong and immediately get right with people, then you will not have to avoid those people whom you have wronged when you see them.  

There is nothing worse than having to plan your life to avoid people.  Live in such a manner that at any time you can come across the paths of people and be excited to see them.  If you live right, you can do this. If you do wrong and immediately get it right, you can look people in the eyes and know you are right.  But, if you harbor your wrong, you will always be looking over your shoulder wondering when people will find out.  Don't live your life that way, live it with a clear conscience.

Dreamer

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The Dreamer

 

Genesis 37:5

"And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more."

One of the great attributes about Joseph was that he was a dreamer.  As a young man he had dreams for the future. When you compare Joseph to his brethren, you will see that he had more initiative than they.  Maybe the reason Joseph's brothers did not like him was because he made them feel guilty about their lack of dreams.  Though Joseph's brothers did not like his dreams, it was his dreams that drove him through the hardships of life, and because he never gave up, he eventually experienced his dreams.

Everybody should have a dream.  One of the reasons I am concerned for this present generation is because of its lack of dreams.  When you ask the average person what they want to do in the future, most have no dreams to talk about.  If you have no dreams, then you will go nowhere. It is imperative that you start getting some dreams in your life.  It is imperative that you get a dream to drive you.  If you have no dream, then you will have nothing to drive you through the hardships of life.

When you do have dreams, it is important that you understand that everybody won't be excited about your dreams.  When Joseph told his brethren his dreams, they were jealous and outright hateful.  You must realize that your dream is exactly that, your dream.  Because it is your dream, and because your dream affects your life, most people will not be excited about your dreams for your life.

Furthermore, be careful to whom you choose to tell your dreams. Joseph told his dreams to his brethren only to experience their hatred.  When you have a dream, only tell your dreams to those who you know really want you to excel in life.  I have found that most of the time it is better to keep my dreams to myself.  Most people won't be as excited about my dreams as I am, therefore I must learn to keep them private until they come to fruition.

Moreover, don't let hardships dampen your dream.  Between the dream and the dream coming to reality, you will find hardships will try to kill your dream.  Don't let your hardships be a dream killer.  Instead, let your dreams be the motivating factor that drive you through your hardships.

Lastly, keep working towards your dream until it happens.  I have often said that I am living the dreams of my youth.  When I was a youth I dreamed about doing what I am doing now.  No matter what came my way, I continued to work towards my dream.  Christian, whatever you do, work towards your dream until it happens.

It is important that everyone becomes a dreamer.  Every successful person is a person who dreamed. Success doesn't happen by accident, it happens because someone had a dream.  Get a dream for yourself.  Make sure your dream is something that would make God happy, and then work towards making that dream reality.