26 May, 2011

Mercy!

A few days ago I had breakfast with a couple of friends.  While we were eating a police officer came in to enjoy a meal.  My friends and I outstayed everyone else as we visited and finished our delicious food.

After one friend left, she called to tell me that she had gotten pulled over by the same police man that had been in the restaurant.  She didn’t realize she had been speeding, but she was going well over the posted limit.  Instead of giving her a ticket, the state trooper gave her a warning.  

As I was leaving my office later that day, I noticed a state trooper car parked in our parking lot.  I make it a habit to offer them cold water and let them know that they’re always welcome to use our bathroom facilities whenever we’re there.  As the officer got out of his car, I recognized him from the restaurant.  I asked him if he was the one who had stopped my friend that morning.  He recognized her name and said he was.

I thanked him for being nice to her.  The state trooper admitted that he normally doesn’t give people warnings when they’ve been speeding as much as my friend was.  He didn’t even know why he let her off with just a warning, but he showed her mercy.

Photo source http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images

Micah 6:8

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.   And what does the LORD require of you? 
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

What does today’s God’s Story teach us about Mercy?
He couldn’t be any clearer – “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  The way we act speaks loudly about who we are.

How can we connect today’s God’s Story to our lives?
When was the last time someone showed you mercy?  How often do you show mercy to others?  Is this an area of your life that you can improve upon?

How can we connect today’s God’s Story to our lives?
When was the last time someone showed you mercy?  How often do you show mercy to others?  Is this an area of your life that you can improve upon?

How can we connect today’s story, God’s Story scripture, and our story to others?
Remembering that God shows us mercy by forgiving our sins, determine to be merciful to others.  Pray for those who wrong you.  

Ask your friends if there was a time in their life where they were shown mercy.  Share your story of God’s mercy with them.   Be thankful for the mercies in life that keep us from the punishment we deserve.

Comments

Ornament

The Daily Bide is brought to you by a team of writers from Youth for Christ/USA. The writers all have various years of experience in youth ministry but share a common bond in serving Jesus and discovering what it means to abide deeply everyday and to connect God's Story with those around them. A number of the Daily Bide writers have also written portions of our 3Story® resources. You can check out our resources at the 3Story.org website or connect with our writers at 3story@yfc.net. If you have a question or a story you would like to share, please reference the Daily Bide date in your email.

YFC works with young people on campus and in the community in over one hundred countries around the world so that they might have an opportunity to become a follower of Christ and be a part of a local church.