Open Heaven Daily Devotional 14 April 2022
TOPIC: God’s Mercy (II)
MEMORISE:
“Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:” – (Proverbs 3:3)
Open Heaven Daily Devotional 14 April 2022 MESSAGE
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, – (Ephesians 2:4)
The above Bible passage says that one of the ways in which God measures His wealth is in mercy. (1 Chronicles 16:34) says:
O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
Now, even though God’s mercy is abundant and endures forever, He still reserves the right to decide who will partake of it and who will not. Romans 9:15 says:
For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
This is because God is sovereign. Psalm 115:3 says He is in the heavens and does as He pleases. The question now is: How can I ensure that God shows me mercy? How can I ensure that when He is choosing who He will show mercy to, He would choose me?
There are two ways by which you could get Him to be merciful unto you:
The first is by being merciful. Matthew 5:7 says, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy”. If you show mercy to others, you would obtain the same from God. Showing mercy to others goes beyond just giving money to the needy.
You cannot say you have mercy on me when you see me going to hell and you keep quiet and let me go on. If you have mercy on your colleagues, friends, family, and neighbours, you will preach the gospel to them to become born again. You will do everything within your power to ensure that they don’t end up in hell.
Secondly, to obtain God’s mercy, you would have to fear Him. Psalm 103:13 says, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.”
If you don’t fear God, don’t expect His mercy. If God discovers that a fellow does not want to offend Him, He will be merciful and help such a person avert trouble.
KEY POINT: Show mercy to others and fear God; He will show you mercy in return.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 Kings 12-13
HYMNAL:
Hymn 4 – Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
1 Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
there is no shadow of turning with thee.
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
as thou hast been, thou forever wilt be.
Refrain:
Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
2 Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. [Refrain]
3 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! [Refrain]
