We simply have to stop repeating our same failing effort and just do what God wants. “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.” He didn’t say, “I wouldn’t have sinned if you hadn’t been such a demanding and insensitive father.” “I wouldn’t have gotten into trouble if you hadn’t given me all that money when you knew that I wasn’t mature enough to handle it properly.” He didn’t blame the fact that he had to live in the shadow of his high-achieving brother. To learn more please read, “How to Become Attached to God and Not The World.”, “Let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy [forgiveness] and to find grace for timely help [to grow in faith]” (Hebrews 4:16). “We know that all things work for good for those who love God” (Romans 8:28). Therefore, we must grow in much humility so we can seek His mercy from our nothingness, since nothing we do is deserving of His love because all we do is tainted with some amount of self-love (still rejects perfect love from the sin that still lives within). The dog had conquered the man.” Then he applies it: “And if you, poor sinner, dog as you are, can have confidence enough in God to come to him just as you are, it is not in his heart to spurn you” (12 Sermons on the Prodigal Son [Baker], pp. Let's learn how to do just that. Yet, many of us are struggling to obtain it. Well, please don’t fret.Â. The prodigal son: Jesus shows us the devastating consequences of sin and the nature of true … What I mean is, we can do bounds of things that can potentially obtain us grace from God, but nothing we do can “force” God to give us His grace. His mercy shows up in the believer’s life at salvation, and then God continues to show mercy in forgiveness. Receive God’s Mercy and Withhold It From Others, Part 1. It took him a while to come to this awareness. The number one way we receive continual mercy from God is from our prayers. How hard it is to grow in hatred of our sins, if we don't really understand what the great consequences are for our sinfulness! We just want what we want and seek God to give it to us but we won’t even make Him our source of happiness and work hard to stop our constant habitual offences against Him.Â, At the same time we are praising God and imploring Him for help (mercy), we are beating Him with our unrestrained sins. The parable of the prodigal son is like that mirror. To learn more please read, “How to Gain Humility.”Â. How Can I Preach the Truth and Save Souls? Theologians have defined “mercy” in clear terms. As long as people turn away from their evil ways and abandon the violence in their hands, God will change His heart and change His attitude toward them. It is a change of mind that results in our turning from our sin to God. Then the wonderful life of peace and saving faith God wants to bring us to is never obtained. Learn about the hidden deadly traps that linger in complements and success, so we can flee from them so to not be destroyed by them. He despised his brother and resented the fact that while his brother went off to party, he stayed home and got stuck with all the work. They never mention God’s justice and the consequence of sin. If he had clung to his own pride, he would have thought, “I’m not going to let him see me in this condition. At first we look into it and think that we are reading stories about others. If you say, “No, I’m too far gone,” you are only making excuses and you’re not believing the invitation that God extends to every guilty sinner. All of our sins are blotted out. But if we are to come to understand why God allows what He allows, we must look for God’s many lessons, so God’s great mercy through the cross won’t be squander and most if not all of God’s grace can be accepted. We should cry out to God to help us so we can KNOW, SERVE and LOVE HIM more perfectly for the salvation of souls. . Once God strengthens us to reject something, we MUST stay vigilant or we will make a very hard fall backwards. You can go to Europe, stay in first class hotels, eat at the finest restaurants, and live like a king. Without receiving much of God’s mercy (grace) there isn’t hope for Eternal Life since it takes much grace to truly hate all of our sins. Is God’s grace fair? 50 prayer points for mercy with bible verses. He had a hope, however slim, that his father would grant his request that he become like one of the hired men. In the Bible, God’s mercy means His pity, compassion, and kindness toward people. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. However, if someone from such a great love for God, can accept habitual grace and maintain it long enough to do even the smallest single act of true love while being in this state, as an act of great mercy, God will send them so much grace upon their death. If you want to receive God’s mercy, first ask for it in prayer. Yet, tragically, so few actually grow into this kind of faith. We must learn how to trust in God.Â. If they had been doing so, they would have rejoiced to see sinners coming to Jesus. Let's learn the many reasons why Jesus died for our sins. He didn’t even let his son get out the full speech about becoming one of the hired hands. He told the slaves to kill the fattened calf, which was reserved for very special occasions. Without praying humbly our prayers will be fruitless. God's will is perfect and diverse; it leads us to Heaven. Why do we cry out to God for help? God goes on to say, “Only acknowledge your guilt–you have rebelled against the LORD your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, … Living God’s will won’t be so hard anymore…as we accept grace after grace; then His will will become EASY. Temptation has much good for our souls even though it can cause us to sin. And if we become one of the few, who come to learn how to accept His gifts (grace) and not reject them, we will have the ultimate gift of Eternal Life, for “we know that all things [the good and bad] work for good for those who [truly] love God” (Romans 8:28). Oh, how many of us have gone about doing things our way, rejecting God (His commands and plan) so we can live and do as we wish? How are we to pray for help especially when bad happens and not be haters of the cross? Many pray without the right intention and that is why they do not deserve to be heard.”. It fetched the stick and, wagging its tail, dropped it at Spurgeon’s feet. We might not like God's punishments, but they are real and even effect others. The tax gatherers and sinners were coming near to Jesus to listen to Him, which caused the Pharisees and scribes to grumble, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” Jesus told the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost (or prodigal) son to affirm that the charge was correct and to show the proud, self-righteous Pharisees why it was proper for Him to associate with sinners. Receive God’s mercy … God's mercy is the antidote for the world's misery. First he attacks his dad and justifies himself. Would you like to have more compassion for them? Therefore we must obtain habitual grace (being constantly in the state of grace) to have this incredible merciful blessing. Tragically, most don’t even know what a saving faith is, and we surely can’t strive to win the crown of Life if we don’t even know what is the goal. Of the sixty-six books of the Bible, only sixteen do not use one of these words for mercy. I’ll get a better job. Yet, penance in all of its forms saves. Pastor Colin helps us learn how to show kindness to all people, especially those whose beliefs may be different than yours, or whose behavior may repulse you. To learn more please read, “How Can I Really Trust in God.”. (16) Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. There we will receive his mercy, and we will … Dorotheus. He dumps the whole load all at once, instantly. Some of us are seeking mercy to grow in faith, but we won’t do what is necessary to obtain it. The prodigal shows us a number of things about true repentance. “When you pray any prayer to me, always end your prayer with the intention that my will always shall be done and not yours…Sometimes you also pray for some things that are against your own welfare and that is why it is necessary for you to entrust your will to me, for I know all things and do not provide you with anything but what is beneficial. Is this true? Each of the three parables illustrates God’s abundant mercy toward repentant sinners and His great joy when they are reconciled to Him. From 1977-1992 he was the pastor of Lake Gregory Community Church in Crestline, California. Oh Lord, by your mercy, let the devil not triumph over me in the name of Jesus. The boy was cutting off his relationship with his dad, rejecting his dad’s way of life, and heading off to go his own way. “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope [a future in of earthly and eternal joy]” (Jeremiah 29:11). True repentance includes an honest confession of our sins, without any excuses. “He learned obedience through what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8), so if we want grace to learn how to obey so to change and obtain a saving faith, we MUST be willing to suffer whatever God wills: rejection, humiliations, loss, pain, etc. Let's learn about the gift of temptation. If we really want to love someone, give them the gift of fear of the Lord…without it we are dead. It is from obedience that God sends enough of grace to carry the cross with joy.Â. Some think mercy is taking God’ help and forgiveness. Bounds of people are receiving Our Lord unworthily. Wednesday, November 11, 2020. If you are living a life of sin, Jesus is saying to you, “No matter how awful, defiant, and wretched your sin, if you will come to the Father in true repentance, He will welcome you.”. It is a gift waiting for you. Oh, the excuses we come up with as to why we can’t change. Jesus just reports the final action: the father granted the son’s request and divided the inheritance. Please don’t be deceived. There are many different kinds of grace and so many ways God dispels His mercy upon us. If this is something your heart desires, seek it out. What implications does this have for us in the Christian life? Others will be deceived into thinking we can’t do what God wants, because we lack the grace, talent or whatever. The entire parable teaches us that …. Oh, what love! Mercy is given and received only. If you want to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and receive forgiveness from God, here is a prayer you can pray. If we seek forgiveness but still lack true sorrow for any sin, we reject forgiveness. He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit. 11. I’m not just talking about God’s main plan for our lives that we reject, I’m also speaking about what God desires us to do in our everyday lives, that is meant to help us amend our ways…to move us forward in our faith. It is an unfathomable love; a love we simply could never fully comprehend the depths of its beauty. What Mercy! If we have one without the other, we are broken…not growing correctly. But to enlighten, inspire and give us the grace we need to live a wonderful life of peace as we follow Christ to Heaven. “And I wish you to know, My daughter, that, although I have re-created and restored to the life of grace, the human race, through the Blood of My only-begotten Son, as I have said, men are not grateful, but, going from bad to worse, and from guilt to guilt, even persecuting Me with many injuries, taking so little account of the graces which I have given them, and continue to give them ” (God the Father to St. Catherine of Sienna). God has man and woman become one for a very specific reason and if we don't know it, it will be hard to have a happy marriage. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him [enough to follow Him and trust in all He allows as leading to good] might not perish but might have eternal life” (John 3:6). Each of the three main characters reflects different lessons. God has a perfect plan for marriage without lust. Sure, our accidental habitual sins that we hate (are putting for much effort to stop) but just creep into our lives will take much power from God to remove completely. To learn more please read, “What is True Sorrow.”. The younger of this man’s two sons asks his father for his share of the inheritance. How to Be Happy Suffering and Love the Cross. You’re left alone, down and out, with seemingly no where to go. 13. Receive it – God provides His mercy, but we have to respond and receive it. That’s how God responds when you turn from your sins and come to Him! As Paul received mercy, we also receive mercy from God. If we seek forgiveness but still lack true sorrow for any sin, we reject forgiveness. Oh, we might not like this reality, so the devil will convince us that it simply isn’t true…that salvation is much easier to obtain, that most are really in Heaven, but that just isn’t the truth. There are two reasons for that…sometimes it is from our rejection of it and sometimes from God having a greater plan through our patient pursuit of grace. for the greater good (His perfect plan) in the future. I am giving them the last hope of salvation; that is, the Feast of My Mercy (Divine Mercy Sunday). Sin always alienates the sinner from fellowship with the loving and merciful Father. Well, the reason we can’t stop them is because we don’t believe strongly enough that they are killing us or preventing us from His grace. 2) Oh Lord, let me receive favour in all area of my life in Jesus name. Let's learn how to run to God for strength to bear well all He allows. Please don’t be deceived. Then after we repent and change, according to God’s wonderful plan for our souls, much grace will be sent to help us continue to change. But the more you look, the more you begin to see your own heart either in the prodigal or in his older brother, or in both. Therefore, if we can love God enough to trust in Him and what He allows to occur in our lives as good, all of it, in time, will work out as a great blessing. Perhaps we started laboring in God’s field at sunrise and someone else comes in at 5 p.m. and gets the same pay as we do. The goal of God’s mercy. The deceiver has gotten a hold of us so greatly, most of us don't know what it takes to become a true saint anymore, which makes it really hard to obtain this goal.  the slightest offence against God again. Even though, suffering is very good and sends us fantastic grace, God only allows what we can handle and what is truly good for us. As a reward for the smallest act of true love, God will send them immense grace that they will be able to possess perfect contrition at the moment of their death for all of their sins ever committed and accept His sanctifying grace and be saved. Yes, that is a problem. He had run out of his own resources. 4:4-7), 3. Some through wishful thinking might even mis-translate our prayers, The Word and do all sorts of things so to not believe this is so. How did Christ learn obedience? What a tender time in life, but we don't want to lie and lead someone to death, when we try to console them. Therefore, we haven’t cultivated our ground with The Truth and lack the very first quality–Humility. The prodigal finally comes to his senses and realizes that even his father’s hired hands have it better than he does. He put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet to show that he was not just a hired hand, but his son, with the full privileges of family membership. It is a tragedy of unfathomable proportions. He didn’t just sit there in the pigsty thinking, “I should go back to my father some day.” He didn’t just feel bad about what he had done, although he must have felt terrible. Anointing of the sin sends great grace. Oh, how many of us know what God wants us to do, but we just don’t want to do it. Whenever anyone blows up like that, it is not just a spur of the moment thing. But please don’t assume God is going to remove the cross it we agree to carry or I can assure you it won’t leave…since we still want our will. We can cry to God for grace to help us do what He wills, but most won’t receive it…sinceÂ, . Pastor Colin talks about how. “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10 ), without it we are destined to Hell for eternity. strengthening us to carry the cross for a certain time, orÂ, strengthening us to endure the cross to the end, God intends to make any life event, no matter what it is, into something very good–what we need to grow into a life of peace and a saving faith–, We simply can’t rely on what we think is best, but trust in what God allows as best…even when something tragic occurs. So if we don’t just do it (just obey), we will die from a love for our will, because if we don’t take this step. I can’t express how absolutely necessary it is to have “fear of the Lord: a great fear of sin from understanding its horrid consequences. “Look! Oh, there are many different kinds of love...lets learn what they are so our love for God can grow from some love into perfect love. If we did, I promise you, we would stop (at least after we come to see the sin, we wouldn’t intentionally continue to choose it).Â. But be watchful, since no act we do is meriting of reward if it is done outside of being in the state of grace, and since we all loose/reject God’s sanctifying grace once after our baptism, we obtain “full knowledge” of right from wrong and then desire our first sin–not truly hating nor being truly resolved to stop–which for most was at a young age. But the sins, we know we are doing but just don’t have enough desire to stop, is directly from a lack of will. Why Does God Allow Suffering and Punishment? Without making a good confession, we can't benefit from this sacrament of great mercy. But if we have some kind of sorrow for a sin and approach God, especially in confession, we can accept God’s helping grace, which will help us stop the sin and help move us into obtaining true contrition. But with that said, our grace is received based on the desires of our heart to accept it whenever God wills to send it. There was food and music and dancing as they celebrated the return of his son who had been dead and had come to life again; who had been lost and now was found. Believe! Then the wonderful life of peace and saving faith God wants to bring us to is never obtained.Â, “Make known to me your ways, Lord; teach me your paths. Of course this isn’t God’s will every time, since it might not always be the greatest good. So we don’t die from a lack of nutrients in our soil, lets begin by learning what the vastness of God’s mercy really is and gain some nourishment, so we can desire to do all that is necessary to embrace God’s mercy when He sends it and grow wonderfully in faith, yielding fruit thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold–growing into an exact image of Christ. Without it we have no true humility, no true sorrow, and no true love for God and it IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to receive God’s saving mercy! If we don’t speak the truth, we are not loving others but hurting them. The friends who had helped him spend his money were in need themselves, so they couldn’t help him out now. Sure God’s help, will benefit our lives on earth, but that shouldn’t be our driving motive of our plea. Most people who think they suffer from scruples simply need to learn how to use God's gift--the fear of sin--correctly, to live in wonderful peace. This is true. He’s going to have to toe the line from now on!”. Many are looking for God’s forgiveness, but we have been deceived into believing God forgives us if we simply want His forgiveness, which just isn’t true. To be forgiven of any sin, we must accept God’s forgiveness, which is only done if we grow in faith from some sorrow all the way into to having TRUE sorrow for that sin. Oh Lord, Let your unmerited favour prevail in every situations of my life in Jesus name. The gospel always brings us to the end of ourselves, our resources, our schemes, and everything else that we rely on, until we must come directly to God Himself. But there is hope. You can only receive it, by faith, through the grace and mercy of God. But all the grace we need to amend our ways, live a life of great peace, become saved and even grow into a perfect saint is waiting for us, but tragically most of us reject so much of God’s love that we never even grow into even a saving faith. Giving us this actual (helping) grace is just one of the ways God shows His love for us by helping us in our daily lives so we can grow in faith to come to believe in Him with a SAVING FAITH–a faith so great we can’t bear offending Him (has true sorrow) and doesn’t fear what God allows to happen, but trusts in God’s will as perfect for us, believing it guides us to Heaven. Therefore, remove our sin, then God hears and answers our prayers. Oh, our desire to amend is only half-hearted. I can’t tell you how many times all God wants of us is for us to say “yes” to His will: to be willing to suffer and sacrifice what we want if that is what God desires. Scores of beautiful people flock to God seeking His helpâ¦Oh, our most merciful Lord is here waiting for us, wanting to help us, but sadly, when we seek His help, for the most part, it is for the wrong reasonsâ¦whichÂ, We tend to want God to answer our prayers according to our will and not His.Â, Reality is, we seek God’s help most of the time just to get what we want–as if we know what is best.Â, Then, when God doesn’t give us what we desire, we are distressed from our,  to keep us from suffering (to be happy), so we can be who we want to be (to be happy), For those who understand the faith, we knowÂ,  Therefore, the faithful don’t want to suffer, since it hurts, but since it is so good, we want to suffer (according to God’s will).Â. It is a change of mind, but not merely a change of mind. We could have greatÂ. Never ask God to give you what you deserve! When we pray for what we think is the greatest good (to remove or prevent what we feel is bad), we must do soÂ, not trusting in our understanding of what is really good,  since we can’t do anything truly good without Him moving us….and most especially especially with the things we really feel are failing.Â. Sometimes, it can be hard to see our insincerity because most of us have developed habits of saying one thing but meaning another. So, when we pray, we need to pray like this, We just need to seek God’s help being content with what God wishes to occur,Â. Let the favour of God upon my life, always attract the right people into my life, into my path in the name of Jesus. If the young man had thought, “I’m going to turn over a new leaf. The four Hebrew and three Greek words associated with this term appear a total of 454 times and are also translated as "kindness," "lovingkindness," "goodness," "favor," "compassion," and "pity." We have little if any efforts to stop our habitual sins…to remove our idols (attachments); sadly, we love our sins and the world instead of God, and that rejects His grace. To learn more please read, “What is True Sorrow.”. To learn how to embrace our cross as God's perfect will and be filled with God's joy to suffer. Well, much of the time, what we need next in our faith journey is for us to learn how to SURRENDER OUR WILL, which is one of the reasons why God allowed such a cross in the first place, since we can’t follow Christ to Heaven (change our life according to God’s will/do what is needed for us to obtain salvation), if we don’t trust in what He allows or wants to allow as being the greatest good.Â. Only the fewest of the few receive any removal of any punishment from indulgences...learn why. But instead, we need to, Remember, God has a fantastic plan for our lives through each cross or possible crossÂ, (never to send us to our doom), but it isÂ, ; we just need to learn what it is–therefore, look for it! . We simply must relent our will and just do what God wants us to do and be willing to suffer, if we want God’s grace to advance in faith. It is from obedience that God sends enough of grace to carry the cross with joy.Â, We can cry to God in vocal or mental prayer, , which is only done if we grow in faith from some sorrow all the way into to havingÂ, . 14. Since most of us have spent out life covering our sins, it is very hard to see them. Actually, it is really easy. We just wind up saying thank you to God–if He answers our prayers according to our will–but then we go on living life just the same. But please don’t be deceived into thinking we have this kind of sorrow, because most sadly, don’t. I’ll save some money. They are’t absorbent. Sometimes we pray and God doesn’t seem to respond with grace. There is debate as to the significance of this request in light of the Jewish culture, but some say that it was the equivalent of treating the father as if he were already dead. Outside of baptism, it is the only means forgiving grace is dispensed and the greatest means helping grace is dispensed too. We’re all sinners, desperately in need of mercy, not justice. James 5:11 You’re seeing all of the pent-up anger of the years boiling over. He doesn’t just parcel it out a little bit at a time. To learn more please read the articles, “Can I Be Forgiven of Some Sins but Not All of Them?” and “How Bad Confessions Can Damn Us.”. And it just so happened that one night the girl came home, tried the door, found it open, and went in, never to go out and sin again. God’s love is incredible. It takes great helping grace to get there. Jesus leaves the story hanging, with the older brother outside. pride: the obstacle to receive god’s mercy “He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts (Lk 1:51).” The above words are taken from Our Lady’s “Magnificat” wherein Mary praises God for having looked upon the lowliness of His handmaid. She went on to say how she always left the front door unlocked, even at night. Now, to obtain a true desire to want to leave our sins, can be very hard to obtain. Many times we beg God for help, as we are riddled sin. Oh, the cross what wonders it holds. Then the wonderful things God intends to happen will. Truly we only need one moment, one act of true love and God floods us with enough grace to bring true contrition upon our souls. Don’t begrudge him; just be glad that God is a God of great mercy, even toward the proud if they repent. Even though the boy must have smelled like a pigsty and though he only wore the tattered clothes on his back, the father ran toward his returning son and lavished his affection on him. Let’s say, we want to remove all indulgences from our life and live by way of the cross. Remember, God has a fantastic plan for our lives through each cross or possible cross and it is never to harm us (never to send us to our doom), but it is so we can grow in wonderful faith and peace for the salvation of our souls; we just need to learn what it is–therefore, look for it! 3). This is when fantastic grace is received. Fear of the Lord isn't being in awe of God...but it is absolutely needed to be saved. for us to receive bounds of His help, but prayer is the number one way we can have continual access to God’s love, and it is the recourse most of us go to for God’s assistance. At the beach that day, God whispered to the woman and invited her to receive a new beginning. What is God’s Mercy and How Can I Obtain It? God promises to be close to you when you feel brokenhearted. Then learning what God wants us to do. Some say that repentance is merely a change of mind. While it is not a comprehensive picture, the father of the prodigal son gives us an important aspect of God’s character, namely, His abundant mercy toward all who will repent of their sins. God’s grace, which is synonymous with His mercy, is a wonderful gift from the Holy Spirit sent to help us in our lives for the salvation of our souls. Everything that he needed was inside the house, but his anger and self-righteous pride kept him from the bounty and joy of the father’s table. Also, it is a mistake to infer that the sons represent believers, since they are sons of the father. God’s love for us is so magnificent. How many live life in false happiness...being deceived into thinking it is true, but true happiness is found in the cross. Sure God has many other ways for us to receive bounds of His help, but prayer is the number one way we can have continual access to God’s love, and it is the recourse most of us go to for God’s assistance.
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