Tag: love

Choose To Show Mercy

Author, Nicole L. RossLeave a comment

letstalkaboutlife365.com(mercy)

Choose To Show Mercy

Compassionate treatment toward someone who you really could be mean and nasty to is what it means to show mercy.  Often times, we get so angry with people and fly off the deep end.  They made me mad, so I am going to give them a piece of my mind.  I’m not going to do this for them or I’m not going to do that.  Bottom line is this, we all make mistakes.  You make mistakes, I make mistakes, we all do.  That’s just a part of life and we expect people to have mercy on us.  We expect people to forgive us when we wrong them, sometimes whether we ask for that forgiveness or not.  Yet, find it virtually impossible to show that same mercy towards someone else.  Why is that?  To me, this goes back to the simple principle of the golden rule.  Aren’t we suppose to treat people the same way we want to be treated?

Taking this a little bit deeper, God shows us mercy each and every day.  Nobody is perfect and He knows that we have all fallen short of His Glory.  He continues to love on us, bless us, protect us, provide for us in spite of our shortcomings because He is just that kind of God.  When I think about mercy, I’m always reminded of John 8, where the lady is caught in adultery and the people are ready to stone her to death.  Jesus steps in and tells them, “he without sin, let him throw the first stone”.  I love that story because as I said earlier is just seems like everyone is quick to point the finger at others and throw stones, when truth be told you should have a few bricks thrown right back at you.  We hand folks over to God’s mercy, yet show none ourselves and that is just not right.

Think about that the next time you are ready to call somebody out and start pointing fingers.  We all have our faults.  Your fault may be different from mine, but it does not make one any worse than the other.  A sin is a sin, but God’s love supersedes all.  Do not beat yourself up over your mistakes and do not beat anyone else up over theirs.  Instead choose to show mercy.  This day and every day I want you to remember that you are clothed with God’s tenderhearted mercy.  How greatly God has blessed you!  How greatly God truly loves you! #iDeclare #ChooseToShowMercy

Scripture Reference:

Psalms 86:5 KJV “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.”

Ephesians 2:4 ESV “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us”

Titus 3:5 NLT “He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.”

Blood is Thicker Than Water…Or Is It???

Author, Nicole L. RossLeave a comment

letstalkaboutlife365.com(familyblessings)

Growing up, I’ve always had a very tight-knit and close family.  My mother has seven siblings, all of whom live in the same city.  Holidays, birthdays, graduations, any type of celebration you can think of was always such a big event within our family because we all came together to show love and have a good time.  To this very day, my family is still extremely close and I wouldn’t trade any of them for the world.  That being said, I have also come to learn that not everybody’s family is like mine.  Some people don’t have close relationships with their parents, siblings, aunts, uncles or cousins.  Some people come from a small family and most of them have passed away.  Whatever the structure is, all families are different which got me to thinking about the phrase “blood is thicker than water”.  What that has always meant to me is that family sticks together and you never let someone who is not apart of the family come in and tear it apart.  Ok, this sounds good in theory, but truth is some people who may not be your blood will treat you better and love you more than any blood relative you have.

Family is not always blood. True family is those individuals in your life who want you in theirs, the ones who accept you for who you are.  The ones who would do anything just to put a smile on your face and who love you no matter what.  If you have people who God has placed in your life who may not be related to you, but who are concerned about your well-being and who have welcomed you into their life with open arms, embrace it.  If they love on you and treat you with sincere compassion and kindness, thank God for them. These people are what I like to call divine connections and they are heaven sent by God to show you just how much He cares for you.

I consider myself blessed because I have the best of both worlds.  A loving, fun, down to earth family who I know only want what’s best for me and has my back no matter what.  And I also have a few people in my life who I know have been sent as divine connections, to further exemplify the love that God has for me.   God shows His love to us in so many amazing ways.  Yes, He provides the physical needs in our life such as food, shelter, clothes, etc.  But it’s the other small things that we sometimes take for granted such as relationships that He is also concerned with. Some people will hurt you, but we must remember that not everyone is like that.  There are a few people who God will send your way just to bless you.  They will always encourage, lift up and support you in such a way that you know it’s nobody but God.

Thank God for your family, those who are blood relatives and those who are not.  Either way you look at it, there will always be a select group of people you hold near and dear to your heart.  Keep it that way.  These are the people who are going to make this journey called life a lot more endurable.  So the phrase “blood is thicker than water” may or may not always be the case.  The reality is, it does not matter.  Stick with those who are for you.  Who have your best interest at heart.  And who are overall concerned about your well-being.  Anyone who does not meet the required criteria, relative or not, do not deserve a place in your life.  #iDeclare #BloodIsThickerThanWater…OrIsIt???

 letstalkaboutlife365.com(familylove)

Prayer:

Father God, in the name of Jesus. I thank you for my family and I thank you for the divine connections you have placed in my life.  I decree and declare that only those who are for me will earn a spot in my life.  I ask that You would use me to bless other people’s life, the same way you have sent them to bless mine.  I honor you and thank you for caring about the small things in life, such as relationships and blessing me with people who love and care for me with a sincere heart.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

Scripture Reference:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”