Jesus delights in showing mercy
Day 1: Jesus personified mercy.
I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Matthew 9:13
God provided the sacrifice through His Son. He made His Son, Jesus, to be the person of mercy. It was at that point that God determined that we move our focus from our religious ideals of what we do to what Jesus did. Mercy is not just a concept to be emulated; mercy is the person of Christ. And if we are created in His image, mercy is part of the fabric of our being. To operate outside of mercy is to operate outside of Jesus and to operate outside of the purpose of our existence. Jesus no longer expects us to make sacrifices to atone for our shortcomings, He already did that on the cross. Jesus desires to see us embrace His life and emulate Him.
Action: What does it look like to emulate Jesus’ life? Listen to this song by Amanda Cook and make it your declaration throughout this week as you make imitating Jesus your delight.
Day 2: Jesus desires to extend mercy.
Mercy triumphs over judgement. James 2:13b
Jesus did not judge the unclean as they approached Him. Jesus did not cast them away from Him as others might have. Jesus embraced the hurting and diseased, and He healed them of ALL of their transgressions. This is the most ideal example of mercy’s triumph over judgement. Jesus meets you and heals you in your specific need regardless of what it looks like. Do you deserve judgement, yes. But the most foul, disgusting element of your life is covered by the mercy of Christ, and there will be no condemnation when you believe that truth and walk in Him.
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus for Your unrelenting love. I am thankful for my salvation, and that I am covered by Your sacrifice and resurrection. Thank You that You do not judge me according to the law, but that You judge me according to the finished work You did on the cross. Thank You that when You look at me, You see me whole and clean and well. I am thankful for the mercy You have shown me. In Your name, amen.
Day 3: Jesus’ mercy made a way for you.
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21
Mercy is a marker of Christianity and a central attribute of our God. God despised sin, yet He allowed His Son to become sin in order to show us mercy. Mercy gives us a pure and unbridled righteousness—righteousness that looks just like Jesus! The only way we can be counted as righteous is to accept the truth that Jesus’ act on the cross fulfills all requirements of the law.
Prayer: God, I thank You for the sacrifice You made through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You for becoming sin for me so that I did not have to cover my sin in shame or think I could attain right standing without You. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
Day 4: Operate in the mercy of Jesus.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Luke 6:36
Are you extending mercy and loving your enemies? When we receive the mercy of God through His Son, Jesus, we must be willing to extend mercy. If Jesus has told us we have the ability to show mercy, then today is the day to extend mercy and forgiveness, even to those we may despise. We need to see the mercy of Christ and be merciful—to take the ideas and convictions from Jesus’ teaching and allow them to be turned into spiritual maturity inside of us.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, please help me walk in the same compassion and mercy that You walk in. Then help me offer it more freely to those around me. In Your name, amen. After you pray this prayer, think of someone you may be avoiding or separated from. Ask God to help you extend mercy and the opportunity to restore the relationship to a new place of peace.
Day 5: Healing is found in the mercy of Jesus.
So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him. Matthew 20:34
God’s mercy is shown in power through the signs, wonders, and miracles that Jesus performed as He walked this earth. The word “compassion” is described by definition as showing mercy. When the Word says that Jesus showed compassion and healed them, it lets us know that healing is part of the merciful work of Jesus. We do not have to strive to receive our healing because we know that our heavenly Father is also our loving Father of mercy. Jesus is just as compassionate now as He was in the Bible. When you received Jesus as your Savior, you came into contact with ALL of God’s mercies—including healing. Receive it today.
Action: This may be new information to your heart, and possibly difficult to accept. Be encouraged today to meditate and focus on Bible verses that reflect God’s healing power in your life and the faith you need to believe it. Here are a few to start with: Psalm 118:17, Isaiah 41:10, Isaiah 53:4-5, Matthew 8:2-3, Matthew 15:30-31, Luke 6:19, Acts 10:38, James 5:14-16, 3 John 2.
Day 6: Worship Jesus for His mercy.
One of [the lepers], when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Luke 11:15-16
When we experience the mercy of Jesus in our lives, we can express our gratitude by taking a stance of worship to Him. Our praise and worship is an act of adoration and extravagant admiration toward the One who deserves our utmost. To Him be all the glory, and honor, and praise!
Action: This leper threw himself at Jesus’ feet to thank Him. When was the last time you bowed in the presence of Jesus because you were so grateful for what He has done in your life? Maybe today you are experiencing pain much like the leper—cast out, hurting, and feeling rejected. There is no better time to fall at His feet and thank Him beyond the circumstances.
Day 7: Jesus’ mercy moves us toward eternal salvation.
Then a man with a serious skin disease came to Him and, on his knees, begged Him: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched him. “I am willing,” He told him. “Be made clean.”
Mark 1:40-41
We are all like the leper in terms of sin and the degradation sin has on the way we live. Sin kills the soul and erodes the body. Sin is unclean. Without God, without His mercy, without Jesus, we have no chance. But Jesus knows we need His mercy to experience His grace and salvation, and He has given it to use generously.
Action: When you give your heart to the Lord, there is so much mercy that is handed to you. So much so that when the Father looks at you, He sees His Son! Jesus traded places with us! Nothing can compete with that mercy. Do you have sin you need to confess? Do you need the Lord’s mercy toward that sin because you have been running from Him? Do you recognize that His compassion is trying to reach you this day? Ask God to help you by repenting of your current sin, and if you have never before, ask Him to be the Lord of your life. When you do, you will never be the same!
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