Devotionals for the Heart: God's love, grace and mercy for humankind

A Promise of Mercy
A devotional by Essie Faye Taylor

“Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.” –Lamentations 3:22-24 (CSB)

I remember my unforgettable encounter with God.

It was the moment that I realized that I was a sinner. I was at odds with a Holy God because of my sinful nature and my thinking, practices, and habits. While my sin meant that I deserved to die, mercy declared that I would not receive what I deserved. Instead, I received compassion and kindness. I received forgiveness and remission of my sins by salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

It’s important to note a few things about mercy. Mercy is extended to the offender. The innocent don’t need mercy. Mercy exonerates the guilty party. Mercy is unmerited. It is not something that can be earned. The offender deserves judgment but instead, mercy is given. Mercy is a gift born from the character of the giver. Mercy is compassionate or kind forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or another person in one's power; it is the demonstration of compassion, pity, or benevolence. Because mercy is undeserved and unmerited, when extended, it truly is an act of God.

Lamentations 3:22-24 was penned by the Weeping Prophet, Jeremiah, who declares that God’s love preserves us. His unfailing love guards us and keeps us safe in the face of danger and uncertainty. God demonstrates his love toward us through His actions. Mercy is an essential element of our God. Scripture says that our High Priest Jesus is touched by our infirmities. He is moved emotionally by our human experience because Jesus is God incarnate. He lived, breathed, and walked on this Earth as a human. Therefore, He understands what we experience.

Jesus extends empathy and compassion and His mercies toward us never end. The mercy door is always open. When we have fallen into sin, mercy is there. God's Word (The Holy Bible) says we can boldly approach His throne to obtain mercy when we need it.

His mercies are renewed every morning. This means that each day we are forgiven, we get a brand new start. God extends mercy to us and forgives our sins, mistakes, errors, mishaps, and shortcomings. Our God is the God of second chances. He is compassionate and understanding with His children. He deals with us lovingly and compassionately.

Call to Action:

1. Believe that mercy is always near. It’s okay if you fall. Look to God and get up again. You can begin again. There is no sin too great to be forgiven.

2. Embrace God’s mercy daily. It is renewed each day. If you fall into sin today, God’s forgiveness and mercy areavailable. Tomorrow you have a fresh start. Receive it. It’s yours, no questions asked.

3. Know that God is a kind and compassionate Heavenly Father. He knows exactly what you are experiencing and He can help you like nobody else can.

4. Remember, God extends mercy to us daily because of His unfailing love for us. Be merciful to others. We all need mercy and grace.

Let’s Pray:

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your faithful and unfailing love toward me that keeps me safe and protected. Thank you, Lord, that Your mercies do not end. You are always near, ready to extend mercy, ready to give me forgiveness when I don’t deserve it. I thank You that Your mercies are renewed every morning. You understand I am flawed and imperfect, yet You love me unconditionally. You understand that I am prone to make mistakes, so You make provision for me with renewed mercies. Help me to be merciful to others, as You are merciful to me. Thank You, Father, for hearing and answering my prayers. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “Great is Your Mercy” by Donnie McClurkin. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Essie Taylor is an author, educator, minister, youth advocate, recording artist, podcaster, and improviser. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Rockford College.

She is a veteran educator of Bilingual Education, English as a Second Language, and Spanish Language Acquisition with National Board Teacher Certification. She is an advocate of lifelong learning, language learning, and multiculturalism.

Essie is the CEO of KenMar Press, an author agency, and The Essie Faye Collection. Essie is the author of Finding the Love You Deserve: 30 Lessons in Self-Love & Acceptance, and Finding The Love Your Deserve: A 60-Day Healing Journal For Women of Faith.

She is deeply committed to motivating minorities, women, and youth to pursue God while chasing their dreams and carving out their life’s path. She loves God, people, and helping others.

Essie has been a Christian for nearly all of her 39 years. She was born again at 15 years old. She has been a bilingual worship leader and interpreter for 10+ years. By the grace of God, Essie helped to establish bilingual ministries at five churches in her young life. She is a survivor of domestic violence (verbal and emotional abuse) and marital abandonment in a prior marriage.

Essie is a Chicago native. She lives in Chicago with her husband Donald Taylor II.

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Connect with Essie:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_essie_faye/
Website: www.essiefayetaylor.com

Devotional: Set the Captive Free

Set the Captive Free
A devotion by Alexis A. Goring

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy, instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” 

–Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)

Harriet Tubman, born into slavery, was an American abolitionist and social activist. She is famous for not only escaping slavery but going on many missions to set slaves—including her family and friends—free through what American history books call the “Underground Railroad.” This was a network of anti-slavery activists and safe houses that assisted slaves on their journey to freedom.

Tubman is also known for this quote: “I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.”

I reflected on the meaning of this during a crucial time for members of the African Diaspora on American soil. A spiritual parallel formed in my mind: Jesus Christ wants to set sinners free from the shackles of sin, just like Tubman set the slaves free from that unjust and evil system. But do we know that we’re sinners in need of a Savior? We are all sinners saved by God’s grace, but so many of us feel like we don’t need Him. We feel that we can live without Him. Many of us are so adverse to religion that we say things like “Christianity is just not my thing,” all the while we don’t realize that we are in a battle between good and evil.

The Bible is clear: in the end, God wins! He is forgiving and compassionate. He will forgive all your sins if you confess and repent. God wants to reconcile you so that you will spend eternity with Him. This eternity is completely free from sin, suffering and sorrow. It’s a perfect place where all is well and filled with goodness. But to do that, we have to first realize we are sinners in need of a Savior.

We must accept Christ’s gift of salvation and follow Him all the way to Heaven. We must know that Earth is not our home. The Bible says we are pilgrims passing through this Earth (1 Chronicles 29:15) and that Heaven is our final destination. Just like Tubman set many slaves free, the Bible says that God wants to set the captives free (Luke 4:18). That’s us. We need to be delivered from sin.

Our eyes must be opened so that we don’t fall prey to the devil’s wiles. We need to reject the ways of this world and allow Christ to renew our minds. Then we can know God’s will (Romans 12:1-2). We need our Savior more than we know. Time is short. God will not allow this sin parade to continue forever. A time will come when He tells Jesus to go get His children (all who chose God and lived for Him). When that happens, it will be too late to choose good over evil. The Bible says that God will say “Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.” (Revelation 22:11).

This is the real deal. God doesn’t play. He wants us all to be saved, but one day He will say, “enough is enough.” He will rescue His children and destroy the devil and all of his evil angels, along with humans who choose evil. He beautifully promised in Revelation 21:4 (NIV): “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Place your hope in God, not humankind (Psalm 146:3-9). Remember that He loves you with all of His Heart! He’s done everything to reconcile your heart with His (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). All you have to do is accept Jesus Christ’s gift of salvation (John 3:16), believe in God, then follow Jesus all the way to Heaven.

Song of Reflection: “Just for Me” (song) by Donnie McClurkin. Listen to it here.

Devotionals for the Heart: On loving others like Jesus Christ loves us

Love Like Jesus
A devotional by Carrie del Pizzo

“But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you.” 

–John 13:34 (CEV)

At first glance, this command can seem truly impossible. Jesus showed His love for us by dying on a cross. Does God expect us to die a gruesome painful death for others? Good news: He already took care of that part, so we can cross it off the list.

That means loving people the way Jesus did isn’t impossible … it’s only really hard.

In the first century, loving others meant being polite to those closest to you: family, friends, business associates. Good people attended synagogue, sacrificed at the temple, and stayed far away from sinners. Somewhere there was someone who did something to help widows and orphans, but only because they had to. Prostitutes and drunkards and foreigners were on their own.

The primary rule was to be clean. If you touched some undesirable person, you couldn’t go into the temple until you performed the ritual cleaning, which could take days. And if anyone saw you with an unclean person, they would assume you too were unclean. They might not do business with you. Their children might not play with yours. They might tell others about who they saw you with and what they thought you were probably doing.

Jesus turned society upside down. He demonstrated over-the-top knowledge of the Scriptures, performed miracles, and spoke messages that were both confusing and wonderful.

But the craziest thing He did was love people. His closest friends were smelly fishermen. He ate dinner with tax collectors. He actually touched people with leprosy, several prostitutes, and a couple of demon possessed guys.

In some cases, Jesus spoke a word to heal someone. But many times, He reached out and touched them. He hung out with them. He visited their homes. He ate their food. He took rides in their boats. He talked, laughed, and cried with them. He did life with these untouchable, undesirable people.

What about us? Sure, we’re nice to our families and church friends. Probably even school or soccer parents and some coworkers. But then there’s the next-door neighbor who doesn’t mow his lawn as often as we’d like. And the guy two cubicles down who voted for the other candidate in the last election. And the young lady who’s facing an unplanned pregnancy.

What if we loved them like Jesus does? What if we chose to do life with those people?

Let’s ask Jesus who needs His love and how He wants us to share it.

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Author Bio:

In this world of texts, memes, and emojis, slowing down to truly communicate can feel like straining a muscle you haven’t exercised in far too long.

Seventeen years of business experience across a variety of industries has taught Carrie Del Pizzo the fine art of professional communications.

Partnering with corporate executives and entry-level employees alike, she has written and edited major project proposals, direct marketing pieces, sensitive client communications, employee handbooks, and user manuals.

Carrie’s love of literature and story has led her to develop and exercise her fiction writing skills as well. Aside from her personal creative efforts, she also edits for self- and traditionally-published authors and enjoys writing short dramas for church presentation.

Carrie is a wife, mom of three Americans and host-mom to numerous exchange students. Italian-by-marriage means she loves to cook and eat. She lives in Spokane, Wash., with her hilarious family who keep her in stitches and provides piles of material for great stories.

Devotionals for the Heart: Grounded in God's Love, a lesson about lightning

Grounded
A devotional by Victoria Bylin

One morning, I woke up to a lightning flash—a literal one. The bedroom lit up for a single blink. Two seconds later, lightning flashed again in a staccato pattern. Like I did as a child, I counted until the thunder rumbled and shook. The counting tells us how far away the lightning is. Five seconds equals roughly one mile, and this storm was about a mile away.

I couldn’t help but wonder: Where does all that electricity go? The power of it is daunting, even deadly—until it hits the ground.

Grounded. Thanks to that lightning storm, I found myself pondering what it means for a Christian to be grounded. Is it a word that should describe the Christian life? How do we become grounded so that all the passion and commitment of loving and serving God is put to good use and well directed?

One meaning of “to ground” is to give something a firm foundation. As a Christian, I want and need to be firmly grounded in the Word. My husband and I consider it a privilege to have belonged to a strong teaching church very early in our Christian walk. To this day (and it’s been 39 years) we refer back to what the pastor called “spiritual bootcamp.”

The teaching focused on the basics: We are sinners saved by grace. Jesus paid the price for our sin. As fleshly human beings, we can’t live up to the standards of perfection set by the law, but Christ did it for us. He loves and died for our sins. In moments of struggle and spiritual seeking, I look at a trio of verses that keep me grounded in that knowledge.

At the top of the list is Hebrews 11:1 (NIV): “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

Are you in the middle of a hard time? A muddle? Perhaps it is something far-reaching and even disastrous, like a serious illness or bankruptcy? This verse reminds us to keep our eyes on God and not on the circumstances. Our prayers may not be answered the way we want, but the Lord sees us through the storms.

I’m back to that lightning but from a different angle. Storms pass through our lives. Suffering sends bolts of fear and worry through our bodies and minds. But when those emotions hit the spiritual ground of faith in Christ, fear and worry lose their power over us. Being human, we might feel the emotions, but our knowledge of God and His ways prevails.

Genesis 13:14-15 (NIV) is another one of my “grounding” verses. It reads, “The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.”

This is a promise to Abram (later to become Abraham, the father of our faith) and it’s specific to his circumstances. But it’s also a reminder to Christians that God knows exactly where we are in life and what fears we are facing. He knows what we need and promises to provide—maybe not in a way we would choose, but in the way that’s best. When we keep our eyes on Him, we’re grounded in his love.

Being a Christian is both a joy and a challenge. There are times when we have to stand our ground—both against Satan’s wiles and for our principles. Ephesians 6:13 (NIV) tells us how to do it: “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

That lightning strike was full of power and beauty. So is our God. Here’s to living each day in His strength and for his glory!

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Author Bio:

Victoria Bylin is the author of 18 traditionally published romances. Known for tackling difficult subjects with great compassion, she delights in stories that shine the spotlight of God’s love on ordinary men and women facing realistic challenges.

Writing has always been a part of Victoria’s life. As a child, she wrote hundreds of letters and scribbled in journals. As an adult, she worked as a freelance journalist and editor before taking on the challenge of fiction.

She had one goal when she started her first novel: to finish a book-length manuscript, good or bad. That first effort will never see the light of day, but it led to a second manuscript and a sale to Harlequin Historical. Since then, she has written westerns and contemporary romances for both mainstream and Christian publishers, with Together With You winning the 2016 Inspirational Readers Choice Award for Best Contemporary.

Writing is a joy and a challenge for Victoria, but faith, friends and family matter to her far more. She’s a wife, mom, proud grandmother, and a dog-mom to a wacky Jack Russell Terrier. Originally from California, she and her husband currently make their home in Lexington, Kentucky. 

When she’s not writing, Victoria enjoys long walks, travel, and dark chocolate.

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Connect with Victoria:
Website: https://www.victoriabylin.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Victoria.Bylin.Author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VictoriaBylin
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/victoria-bylin
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/568102.Victoria_Bylin

Devotionals for the Heart: On Love

God is Love
A devotional by Christa MacDonald

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 

– 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)

It’s February and by now you’re probably a little sick of love. Valentine’s Day with its pink and red excess means an onslaught of bad takes on love. When you read the above verses, you get the BIble’s take on love, and it’s the best one.

Another solid take is “The Four Loves” by C.S. Lewis. One of my favorite quotes from it is, “To love at all is to be vulnerable.” The entire passage is wonderful, but that first line has some deep wisdom in it. Love is by nature, sacrificial. It’s also sacred.

Our culture talks a lot about love, but it tends to be the sort that’s a pale imitation of the real thing. It’s sugar-coated and dishonest. Think about that line from the movie Love Story: “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”

Right. That’s not how it works. We’re humans and therefore sinners. We’re going to make mistakes. We’re going to hurt each other. The very act of loving someone guarantees you will experience pain at some point.

When someone hurts you, really breaks your heart, the temptation is to hold onto that pain. We tend to revisit old wounds, proudly bearing our scars as if they are badges of courage. They make us tougher and they make our hearts harder. Resentment and bitterness slip in while we’re not paying attention and, before we know it, love is impossible.

God perfectly loves us. We, in turn, start sinning against Him from nearly the moment we are born. If He can offer us forgiveness in the depth of our sin, how can we withhold it from someone we love?

Forgiveness drives out bitterness. They can’t occupy the same space. But, what if the person who hurt you is unrepentant? Forgive them. What if they do it again? Forgive them. That doesn’t mean that you stand still while they pummel you. It’s right and good to create safe distance between yourself and someone hurting you, emotionally or otherwise. But forgiveness sets you free.

Someone I once loved hurt me profoundly. It took years to let go of those scars. Part of the process was acknowledging the pain, believing that what had happened to me was wrong and that while what I was feeling was only natural, it needed to end. I thought of how God loves us, the mountains of sins He forgives. This person never asked for my forgiveness, never acknowledged their harm, but it didn’t matter. As God forgave me…It took time, but I was finally able to forgive the past and let it go. The scars are probably still there, but they’re a reminder, a caution, not a pool of resentment and bitterness that I draw on.

The world will tell you to hold onto your pain, to let love be a shallow, temporary thing. Remember what The Holy Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and what love really is...After all, God is love.

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Author Bio:

Christa MacDonald is a 2017 ACFW Carol Award finalist for contemporary Christian fiction.

A native New Englander, she was inspired by her travels through the north woods of Maine to write The Broken Trail, which would become the first in the Sweet River Redemption series published by Mountain Brook Ink.

Christa's writing focuses on the real-life challenges of the modern world; love’s sometimes crooked path, and the redemptive power of Grace.

When not working or writing Christa can be found ferrying her kids around, reading, or attempting something crafty.

She and her husband live with their three kids, two cats, and one dog along the coast of New England. Connect with Christa at www.christamacdonald.com.