I will share about Christian books I have read or listened to.
I will be sharing about my life before and after Christ. I will include stories about my pet and other pets I have encountered.
Why Do We Turn Away From God’s Mercy?
As Jesus gazed over Jerusalem, His heart broke. He longed to gather its people like a mother hen gathers her chicks—fragile, helpless, and in desperate need of care. But they didn’t want His care.
It's tragic: the ones who most need mercy reject it. Throughout history, God had sent prophets to guide his people, and they killed them. By the end of Holy Week, they would kill Jesus too—the ultimate prophet and the source of their salvation.
Why do we turn away from God’s mercy? Often, it’s because we struggle to believe it’s for us. In our world, mercy feels foreign—too good to be true. But Jesus doesn’t operate like the world.
In this verse, we see that offering mercy is His deepest longing. The cross reveals just how far He’s willing to go to ensure we get what we don’t deserve—His love, grace, and forgiveness—and don’t get what we do deserve—death.
Jesus is aching to gather us into His care. His mercy is marked and matchless. He isn’t hesitant or reluctant; He’s longing to embrace us.
Let’s believe this mercy is real. Let’s receive it with grateful hearts and give thanks to the One who is quite literally dying to extend it to us.
Responding to God at All Times
Throughout our lives, we will all experience both suffering and joy. We'll have times of great grief and times of overflowing happiness. Sometimes, they’ll be separate seasons—but other times, these experiences come together.
In either case and in any situation, James expected Christians to come to God. If someone was suffering, prayer was the call to action. If someone was cheerful, people were to pause and praise God.
This might seem obvious, but when suffering clouds our thinking, we can sometimes forget to prioritize prayer. And when things are going well and we're feeling cheerful, it’s easy to just enjoy our season and not stop long enough to praise God for it. But every season of life is actually just an opportunity to put into practice what James wrote about…
When we are suffering, let us pray. When those around us are suffering, let us pray. When we are cheerful or happy, let us praise God. When others are happy, let us praise God with ...
