Obtaining Mercy

Today, I'm thankful for hot water.

 

I know…it doesn't sound very spiritual, does it?  I don't even have a verse to go with it! 😉

But, nevertheless, that is what my heart is full of gratitude to the Lord for today.

 

Hot water.

Running water.

Indoor plumbing.

Electricity.

A roof over my head.

All the little things I take for granted every day.

Today, I'm going to try to notice them, and give thanks to the Lord for them.

 

Oh…and hot coffee…yeah…that's a good thing to be thankful for, too!

 

🙂

I pray that today, no matter your difficult circumstances, you will look for the simple everyday things for which you can give thanks.

 

In Him,

Alesha

 

Mark 8:[6] And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he
took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his
disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.
[7] And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them.
[8] So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.
[9] And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.

 

Today, I am thankful for miracles.

The Lord has fed our family when we had no money and no groceries.

He has given us a place to live when we had no job, no money and no family in the area.

He has given us 3 – THREE – vehicles!

God gave us a child, when we were unable to conceive one.

The Lord has blessed us with favor and jobs, when we had nothing to commend us to our employers.

He has put people in our lives to mentor us, to show us how to teach, how to preach, how to parent, how to advocate for our child, how to be a friend.

God has protected us time after time from people who meant to prey on our marriage, on our convictions, on our beliefs, on our family.

My God has performed SO many miracles on my behalf!  Sometimes I read the stories in the Bible, and think,

"Oh, that's nothing!  You should see what God has done in MY life!!!"

I am just that blessed!

Thank You, Father, for the miracle that is my life.

Blessings,

Alesha

 

 

 

 

 

James 4:[13] Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into
such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
[14]
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life?
It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then
vanisheth away.
[15] For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

 

Luke 12:[22] And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you,
Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body,
what ye shall put on.
[23] The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
[24]
Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have
storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better
than the fowls?
[25] And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
[26] If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
[27]
Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and
yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these.
[28] If then God so clothe the grass, which is
to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more
will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
[29] And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
[30] For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
[31] But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.

 

I am so, so thankful that I do not know what tomorrow holds for me.

I know for a fact that I would not be happy with that revelation, and would spend all my "todays" trying to properly prepare for or delay the inevitable occurrences.

No, I do not want to know about tomorrow – its sorrow or its joy.

But I am happy that I can say I know WHO knows about tomorrow…and I trust Him to make everything "ok" as I walk through each circumstance with my hand held securely in His.

The saying is trite, but it is true,

"I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know Who holds tomorrow."

Do you know the God of tomorrow?  I pray that you do.

Blessings,

Alesha

 

Luke 17:[11] And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
[12] And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
[13] And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
[14]
And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the
priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
[15] And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
[16] And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
[17] And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
[18] There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
[19] And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

 

Yesterday, during our church services, our choir sang a song with the following line:

"The chains that bound me no longer hold me."

Every time I sang the words, my heart just filled up with gratitude for the ways that Christ has set me free.

Oh, I was not dying from a disease of the body, like the 1 thankful leper in the above Scriptures; but rather, I was a spiritual leper – dying from a sin-diseased soul.

I was bound by chains of sin, and had no power to loose myself from the shackles that were dragging me to Hell.

However, Jesus had mercy on me, when I called out to him for salvation. 

He made me clean.

He broke the chains of sin that bound me.

I am no longer shackled, but can live a life of freedom and joy and thanksgiving because of the wonderful work Jesus Christ has done in my life.

He is my Great Physician.

He is my Deliverer.

He is my Saviour.

Praise His Holy Name for His work of salvation in my life!!!

I am so, so thankful…

And I pray that you know Him as your Saviour, too.

If you do not know the freedom of salvation, please feel free to leave a comment here or send an email to the "email me" link right below my picture.  I would be thrilled and honored to share with you how Jesus saved me.

In Him,

Alesha

 

 

 

 

Romans 1:9 "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;"

Ephesians 1:16 "Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;"

I Thessalonians 1:2 "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers"

Philemon 1:4 "I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers,"

 

Today, I am so SO thankful for friends and family who pray for me…

Because I know they DO pray for me…a LOT!

In fact, if you are reading this, YOU have probably prayed for me…

And I am so grateful for that!  Thank You!!!

It leaves me feeling that I am in debt to those who lift my name to the Lord, and I try my best to pray for them often, too.

I also appreciate that the Holy Spirit often leads me to pray for this one or that one, without even knowing their needs or struggles.  When they come to mind, I try to pray as I want them to pray for me.

Prayer is such a priviledge.

It is communing with our Heavenly Father.  It is an act of intimate conversation.  It is something we should never take for granted. 

Thank you, Lord, for letting me pray, and thank You, too, for the pray-ers who pray for me!

In Him,

Alesha

 

Matthew 15:[34] And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
[35] And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
[36]
And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake
them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
[37] And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.

I am so thankful for God's constant provision. 

Whatever I have need of, He provides – in His way and in His time.

Sometimes, I don't quite understand or approve of His way and His time.  I'd rather He work according to my plan and timetable; but inevitably, as His plan unfolds, I see that it was best for me.

I'm sure the little boy had a few uneasy moments when the disciples carried his lunch over to Jesus; but as we all know, he did not go away hungry that day.  His tummy was filled and all his needs were met.

His childlike faith is our example.

Whatever you need, God will provide. 

Philippians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

He has promised, and as the old saying goes,

"God has never broken one promise spoken."

Trust Him today.

In Him,

Alesha

 

Jonah 2:[1] Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,
[2]
And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he
heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
[3]
For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the
floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over
me.
[4] Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
[5] The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
[6]
I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars
was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption,
O LORD my God.
[7] When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.
[8] They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
[9] But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
[10] And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

 

I am so thankful for second chances.

And third chances.  And fourth.  And fifth.

Let's face it…God's mercy will allow us to begin "again" – over and over again.  He will never deny a repentant heart His forgiveness and strength to start over in obedience.

While Jonah's disobedience was SO blatant, (God said, "Go to Nineveh, " and Jonah hopped on board a ship going in the exact opposite direction!), often our own disobedience is not so clear to us.

There have been times that I moved forward in disobedience to God and didn't even realize it.  It may have been weeks or months later that the slow realization began to dawn on me:  "The Lord does not want me involved in this."

Sometimes, I think, I have spiritual ADD or ADHD!  I just don't pay attention.  I don't listen carefully.  I don't catch the subtle messages that my Heavenly Father is graciously giving me; and that's all because I am so busy, busy, busy…being busy, thinking busy thoughts, reading everything but His Word, listening to all other advice rather than seeking His, trying so hard to take care of things in my own power.

Those are the times – when my disobedience finally comes to my attention – that I am SO SO thankful for second chances.

He allows me to step away from my sin, He lets me see what He would have me to do instead, and then – miracle of miracles – He gives His divine aid to my efforts of obedience.  He blesses me abundantly when I finally begin to be do what He wants me to do.

How He can be so loving to me is something I don't understand, but I pray that my gratitude for it colors every minute of every hour of my every day.

I don't ever want to get used to God's forgiveness and His eternally-offered "second" chances.

How about you?  Has the Lord ever gifted you with a second chance?  I'd love to hear about it!  You can leave a comment by clicking the word "comment" below.  It will open up a comment box for you to write in. 🙂

In Him,

Alesha