God is a God of mercy

When I read the Scriptures I continually see that merciful character of God, that incredible goodness mixed with His holiness and that is why I always try in my sermons and in my Pastoral treatment to imitate as much as possible that balance that I see. --break -> It occurs to me for example even going in the Old Testament where people would think: good was the law and there a severe and demanding God of the Old Testament is reflected, we see that God has not changed His perspective, He it does not change; He is the same yesterday and forever and ever.

And even in the Old Testament I see that mercy and that grace of God clearly reflected. I hear passages of Scripture like the one that says: "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and great in mercy." It says that: "He has not dealt with us according to our sins nor has he dealt with us according to our transgressions, but as the father pities his children, Jehovah pities those who fear him because He knows our condition, He remembers that we are dust."

I think they are words from Psalm 103 if I'm not mistaken and we see there that description of God's character that says He is merciful and compassionate. It's like God's balance always leans a little bit toward mercy rather than judgment and punishment.

God is a god who by nature himself is drawn toward compassion and mercy, forgiveness and patience. How many centuries did He wrestle with His people Israel who offended them in such obvious and horrific ways and was always dealing with Israel not to judge them in a sharp and final way?

I remember in Jeremiah chapter 29 when the Lord wrote a love letter to His people who are in Babylon exiled for their sin, God had warned Israel for many centuries that if they continued to offend him with worship of other gods and with illegitimate alliances He would to get out of the land that He had given them and finally had to do it against His Will and sends them to Babylon, and there they are exiled and depressed and they feel like God no longer loves them for their bad behavior and they feel tempted to decay in their spirits already simply like to disappear from Earth into that hostile land of Babylon where they are.

And God writes them a loving letter with His prophet Jeremiah and tells them: Do not lose heart, you can look for it in Jeremiah 29: Do not stop reproducing, marry your sons and daughters, buy land, plant gardens and orchards and live a normal life until I bring you out of your punishment. Interestingly, God had not yet finished serving their sentence and was already thinking about the time of restoration and that beautiful Word of the Lord that says: "Because I know the thoughts I have about you, thoughts of good and not of evil. to restore you and to give you the end you hope for. "

What a beautiful image because the Lord says: "Because I know the thoughts I have about you" I am not going to condemn you, I do not want to destroy you completely; I am going to restore you and I am going to return you back to your land and give you again the blessing that you think you will never be able to receive from Me.

God is a God of mercy wherever you look in Scripture you see that right? and Christians like nobody else have to reflect that same posture of mercy. Our churches must be churches that are characterized by that, our preaching must be preaching that reflects that goodness and that love and that mercy of God.

Our sermons and our teachings have to leave people not beaten or flogged or bleeding after one of those strict holiness sermons but they must come out with hope, with the sense that: yes, God demands holiness from me but it is also willing, as the father deals with his children, to lead me through a gradual process of maturation. And my father will understand that I am going to fail as parents understand that children due to their lack of maturity and understanding are going to do foolish things, they are going to break a plate or scratch a sofa and instead of whipping them and putting them in jail they deal with them as they grow and gain in experience and wisdom.

And so we must be Pastors and churches, churches that reflect that conscience. That Psalm 103 says that: "God knows our blessing." That is to say that God knows that we are dust; We are prone to sin, we are prone to fall, we are subject to this flesh that will betray us again and again and even the most mature people with more experience in the Gospel will make mistakes and pastoral churches and merciful people are needed who treat people with patience.

When those sinners arrive at the bosom of the Church, receive them generously, mercifully and know: hey, I know their condition because I know their own condition because I know my own condition, one goes to say and I know that just as I like it. May God treat me with mercy and may he understand my love for God and that despite that I fail him, I also give others that same right.

And you know? that when there is that attitude that governs the life of a Church, God's blessing falls on her, divine protection is on that Church as well and that Church will prosper, it will be blessed and it will keep the devil at bay; The enemy will not know what to do in a Church where that love of Christ and that mercy is reflected because the devil only knows how to deal with fire and violence and judgment but he does not know how to deal with the fruit of the Holy Spirit and that is a way of keep it neutralized and that's one of the most powerful forms of spiritual warfare.

So let us use love and grace and mercy as a weapon of spiritual warfare and we will see a great blessing in our lives and in our Congregations. God bless you.