Today’s Scripture Threshing for Thursday, May 9, 2019
Today’s Text: Matthew 18:21-35
Key Verse: Matthew 18:33 (ESV): “And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?”
I read a story of Fiorello H. La Guardia, when he was mayor of New York City in 1935. He showed up at a courthouse in the poorest ward of the city. He dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench to preside over a case involving an elderly woman who was caught stealing bread to feed her grandchildren. La Guardia ruled that she be fined “ten dollars or ten days in jail." But as he spoke, he threw $10 into his hat, and then fined everyone in the courtroom 50 cents for living in a city "where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat." The hat was passed around, and the woman left the courtroom with her fine paid and an additional $47.50. I can’t verify if this story is true but I can verify how much the Lord wants and commands us to be merciful to the poor and needy.
Mercy is one of the foremost attributes of God and one of the most highly sought after blessings by all. It is the loving disposition towards those who suffer distress, and/or anyone who needs our help. Sadly, it is not often willfully given to others by those who would wish it given even to them. Today’s text draws from our Lord’s: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). This is not just a command, but it’s a standard set by our Lord himself. We ourselves, in times past have obtained mercy from God, and are now indebted to show the same disposition to others. God is asking us: “Should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?!”
Quote for the Day: “We are not just to be indebted by the overwhelming daily benevolence of God, but we are to be melted to do the same as long as it lies within our power.” (Simon Olatunji)
Prayer: Dear Lord, sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the difficult circumstances of life that we let them deter me from showing others mercy. Father, I repent before you today, and ask for the spirit of grace, in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.
With all my Love and Prayer,
Simon Wale Olatunji, PhD
The Darling Bishop (DaBishop),
2321 S Belt Line Rd., Suite 144,
Grand Prairie TX 75051 USA
Email: reachingout@hopeforallnations.org
BBMme: E3F988D2
[Today’s Scripture Threshing is a devotional guide of The House of Prayer Evangel Church USA. Feel free to use it in your family altar and personal quiet times; and to contact us for further enquiry, help and partnership.]
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