If you want to know what Jesus is really like, study the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-10). This portion of scripture is commonly referred to as "The Beatitudes." It is really a reflection of Jesus' character. The fifth beatitude is, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Matthew 5:7. We need to become people who are full of mercy
Mercy is first and foremost a disposition. It is an attitude. Conduct is secondary. Mercy is a habitual way of looking at unworthy people. It has no operation toward God, because God doesn't need mercy from us. He always does what's right Mercy must be demonstrated in the face of weakness. When we're doing what is right, we don't need mercy. We need mercy when we are struggling.
Mercy is the ability to get right inside the other person's skin, until we can see things through their eyes, think with their mind, and feel with their feelings. This is not natural, and certainly demands some effort. We need to identify with where others are coming from. There is always a reason why people act and react the way they do. Maybe they had a bad day. Possibly, there's been a misunderstanding. God demonstrated his mercy to us in sending Jesus. In the most literal sense, God got inside the skin of man. God came to men not as a remote, detached, isolated, majestic, powerful, awesome God, but as a man.
True, lasting, conquering mercifulness has a double source. The first source is the consciousness of our own weakness. We know our own shortcomings best. None of us are perfect, but many times we're tempted to judge others by their conduct while we judge ourselves by our intentions.
The second source is the condition for us receiving mercy. This, alone, should motivate us to be merciful to others. If we want to receive mercy, we need to give it out to others. All of us want mercy shown to us. Mercy is different from grace. Grace is God giving us what we don't deserve, i.e., eternal life. Mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve, i.e., condemnation, judgement and death.
The closer we are to someone, the more we have the opportunity to be merciful to them. We see them up close, and we see their weakness and limitations. We need to especially be merciful to brothers and sisters we are close to. We also need to be merciful to our spouse and children.
So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgement is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgement. (James 2:12-13) When we're tempted to be harsh, rude, and judgmental with people who let us down, let us always remember that mercy triumphs over judgement.
One thing that I really enjoy is speaking to young people. Last Friday I was able to speak to a group of juveniles who had all been expelled from school. I was able to share my testimony with them and then to warn them of the dangers of "being cool," smoking, and doing drugs. They certainly all looked "cool". It amazes me how styles change from year to year.
If we can persuade one young person to let the Lord change their life, it will save the whole family much grief later on. If you would like for me to come and speak at your school or youth group please call me at (904) 457-7175.
One thing that I have come to realize in Building Churches in prisons is that you must build with teams. You cannot do it all yourself. If you try, you will only end up tired and frustrated.
In order to develop teams we have started many different ministries in the churches in the prisons this month. We started an All Male Choir. Yesterday, before the leadership class started, they sang a few songs and it was the best acappella choir I've heard in a long time. Everyone in the whole prison could hear them, and they didn't even have a sound system! We are also starting a Prayer Warriors Team to encourage men to win in prayer. We are developing a ministry called Iron Man Ministries to send men into the dorms to reach out to those who are away from God and to those who have just arrived in the prison. We are also starting Isaiah's School for those who are interested in in-depth training. Those of you who are familiar with my schedule know that I cannot add much more to my regular schedule. Relax, I am not going to do all these ministries. There are other men who work part time or full time in the prisons who are helping me, and there are some strong inmate leaders who will also be in charge of some other ministries.
1. Pray for all these new ministries and their leaders. Pray that those in the prison churches will find their place in the Church and the ministries that they are called to be a part of.
2. Pray for our family.
3. Pray for the finances of this ministry.
Our two-year-old, Jimmy, has been exploring ideas of what he wants to be when he grows up. Since Mommy is one of the most important people in his life right now, he wanted to be a "mommy." Rachel has tried to keep him straight on that idea, but she's just learning herself what the options of "growing up" brings to people. Upset one morning that someone had called me a "lady," Jimmy insisted that was not right. "Mommy" was a mommy, and nothing else. (The demands he makes during his waking hours prove that he believes this with all of his heart.) His latest aspiration, since he has been discouraged from becoming a mommy later in life, is to become a hummingbird. We enjoy watching the hummingbirds at our little red feeder outside our back door. The tiny birds just seem to arrive from "nowhere" with their wings beating so wildly, you'd think they were about to drop from exhaustion. Jonathan, Jimmy, Rachel, Snowball (our cat), and I were standing at the back window the other day watching the birds drink from the feeder and then quickly jet back to the trees. They were so fast that it was difficult to follow their flight. We just had to wait for another to appear before us at the feeder. Snowball and Jimmy were watching with particular interest. When the bird would fly off, Jimmy's eyebrows would go up, and Snowball's ears would fall down. Finally, Jimmy announced his decision. "I'm going to be a hummingbird when I grow up, so that I can drink my food from the red feeder, and fly!" Rachel quickly reminded him that he had to be a man when he grows up. Knowing he had to make some kind of concession, he said, "After I be a man, then I can be a hummingbird." Later in the day Rachel was reminding Jimmy again that he was going to be a man when he grows up. (This time he was thinking about becoming "Psalty," a Kid's Praise character from children's Christian music.) Realizing that he probably was going to have to be a man, he exclaimed, "Well, then I can wear cool shoes, when I'm a man!" At the end of the day he finally "evolved" into wanting to be a man, but we overheard this conversation: "When I grow up to be a bad guy, I will fight with the other bad guys." "Jimmy, you're NOT going to grow up to be a BAD guy!"
I WANT ALL OF YOU WHO HELP TO SUPPORT RECONCILED MINISTRIES TO KNOW THAT WE DEEPLY APPRECIATE YOUR SACRIFICIAL GIVING TO US. WE COULD NOT GO WITHOUT YOU.