Tender mercies

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Tender mercies

The world in which we are living has become a pressure cooker, where all the inhabitants of the planet are forced under great heat, driven to reactions rather than responses, and dissolving into deep conflict at every turn. We are seeing the foreshadowing of the opening of the seals, as our world is showing the signs of coming birth pangs, that will herald the approaching end of the age.

“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”
Matthew 24:6-8 NKJV

The pressure the is afflicting the world is also afflicting the church, as those same pressures are spilling into the pews. Instead of nations rising against nations, it is member rising against member, congregations imploding over issues instigated in the world by the evil one and used to divide and conquer the body of Christ.

The devil has used so many different things to bring about the destruction he desires, for he is one who observes, probing for weaknesses. One effective weapon he has used is the culture of the natural man. Humanity in its natural state is driven by appetites, a drive to seek satisfaction of the flesh by any means necessary.

From the garden of Eden up until now, the devil has learned to use the same basic temptations to draw people away from God, and place a wedge between even believers. For in our natural being is an innate love of the world, from which these temptations have their greatest pull.

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
I John 2:15-17 NKJV

In the church of God, there are those who are more devoted to the world and those who are devoted to Christ, and the resulting battle causes all those involved to turn away from the great commandments of God, to turn toward the self defined laws that they had created for themselves.

““Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.””
Matthew 22:36-40 NKJV

In the heat of battle it is easy to lose sight of these elemental commandants, for we are daily buffeted by the devil and awash in a world that belongs to him.

In reading Colossians chapter three, I was reminded of the help the Lord has given us in walking as Christians should walk in these evil days. We who have called upon the Lord for salvation and have been converted have been given the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to assist us in doing the impossible: loving in the face of opposition.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ demonstrated His love for us by laying aside His glory He knew with the Father, to come and live as one of us, to ultimately go to the cross to die for our sins. Out of sacrifice came the Gospel, the Good News, that we can shake off the curse of Adam, and be made new, reconciled with God, destined for eternity with Christ, rather than eternity in hell.

Lest we forget:

“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.”
I Corinthians 15:1-8 NKJV

He was seen by over five hundred at once. Oh what a joy that must have been to see the risen Christ.

We will see Him for selves one day soon.

Brothers and sisters, we have been given the power to love one another, for each of us, saved and born again has the Holy Spirit and the word to guide us, to govern us as we live in unity. The things that we are to put on, are the things that we have received from the Helper, for each is but a fruit of the Spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
Galatians 5:22-26 NKJV

Let us find the unity that the Lord has provided, being reminded daily that we too have been forgiven, for it was for our sins that Jesus went to the cross and suffered a gruesome death that we deserved. Let us be willing to forgive, to lay no burden of debt for sins against each other, for the Lord has forgive us, and better still, given us an inheritance, that one day, we will rule and reign with Him.

My people, be willing to express that love for we are all going to need it in the coming days weeks and months, for the world has gone insane, and the seals are soon begin opening. The world as we know it will never be the same again.

Let us have the hearts of our forerunners, who took those steps of faith in the face of great danger and hostility. May tender mercies abound.

“Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.”
Acts 4:32-35 NKJV

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https://www.allaboutgod.com/the-roman-road.htm