Thursday, June 22, 2017

Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living - WordAction - The Nazarene Publishing House [Foundry Publishing House] in Kansas City, Missouri, United States "Show Forgiveness and Mercy" by Curtiss A. Hartley for Thursday, 22 June 2017 - Ephesians 4:17-32

Reflecting God - Embrace Holy Living - WordAction - The Nazarene Publishing House [Foundry Publishing House] in Kansas City, Missouri, United States "Show Forgiveness and Mercy" by Curtiss A. Hartley for Thursday, 22 June 2017 - Ephesians 4:17-32

Link to Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living

"Show Forgiveness and Mercy" by Curtiss A. Hartley for Thursday, 22 June 2017
Ephesians 4:17 Therefore I say this — indeed, in union with the Lord I insist on it: do not live any longer as the pagans live, with their sterile ways of thinking. 18 Their intelligence has been shrouded in darkness, and they are estranged from the life of God, because of the ignorance in them, which in turn comes from resisting God’s will. 19 They have lost all feeling, so they have abandoned themselves to sensuality, practicing any kind of impurity and always greedy for more. 20 But this is not the lesson you learned from the Messiah! 21 If you really listened to him and were instructed about him, then you learned that since what is in Yeshua is truth, 22 then, so far as your former way of life is concerned, you must strip off your old nature, because your old nature is thoroughly rotted by its deceptive desires; 23 and you must let your spirits and minds keep being renewed, 24 and clothe yourselves with the new nature created to be godly, which expresses itself in the righteousness and holiness that flow from the truth.
25 Therefore, stripping off falsehood, let everyone speak truth with his neighbor,[Ephesians 4:25 Zechariah 8:16] because we are intimately related to each other as parts of a body. 26 Be angry, but don’t sin[Ephesians 4:26 Psalm 4:5(4)] — don’t let the sun go down before you have dealt with the cause of your anger; 27 otherwise you leave room for the Adversary.
28 The thief must stop stealing; instead, he should make an honest living by his own efforts. This way he will be able to share with those in need.
29 Let no harmful language come from your mouth, only good words that are helpful in meeting the need, words that will benefit those who hear them. 30 Don’t cause grief to God’s Ruach HaKodesh, for he has stamped you as his property until the day of final redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, violent assertiveness and slander, along with all spitefulness. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted; and forgive each other, just as in the Messiah God has also forgiven you.
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One of the saddest parables in the Bible is about a king who decided to settle up accounts with his servants (Matthew 18:21-35). One who owed the king millions of dollars fell to his knees and begged for mercy, promising to pay back what was owed. The king did show mercy: in fact, he completely canceled the debt of that servant.
However, the story doesn’t end there. That servant went out and found someone who owed him only about a day’s wages. When the man said he could not pay, the servant had him thrown into debtors’ prison. Other servants who knew the whole story were incensed and told the king what happened. The angry king hauled the merciless servant in, saying, “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” (Matthew 18:33).
Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus with instructions on how to live the life of righteousness. Chapter four of this letter ends with the admonition: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). When we recognize the great mercy shown us, how can we not show that same mercy to others?
"All Creatures of Our God and King" by Francis Assisi; translated by William H. Draper
1. All creatures of our God and King,
lift up your voice and with us sing:,
alleluia, alleluia!
O burning sun with golden beam,
and shining moon with silver gleam,
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

2. O rushing wind so wild and strong,
white clouds that sail in heaven along,
alleluia, alleluia!
New rising dawn in praise rejoice;
you lights of evening find a voice:
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

3. Cool flowing water, pure and clear,
make music for your Lord to hear:
alleluia, alleluia!
Fierce fire, so masterful and bright,
providing us with warmth and light.
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

4. Earth ever fertile, day by day
bring forth your blessings on our way;
alleluia, alleluia!
All flowers and fruits that is you grow,
let the his glory also show;
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

5. All you who are of tender heart,
forgiving others, take your part;
alleluia, alleluia!
All you who pain and sorrow bear,
praise God and on him cast your care;
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

6. Let all things their Creator bless,
and worship him in humbleness,
alleluia, alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
and praise the Spirit, Three in One:
O praise him, O praise him,
alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Forgive us what we have done wrong,    as we too have forgiven those who have wronged us.[Matthew 6:12].
Please pray:
For the development of Christian leaders in Ethiopia.

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