xjwsforChrist

May you all have peace!

Normally, I would share this in a more private room, but I am directed by my Lord to share it on the open board so that any who might just be visiting, etc., might also see it. I received part of it yesterday evening, but was woken by my Lord at 1:50am this morning with the rest and a reiteration.

At the time he woke me up, he started by saying that I needed to stop "throwing pearls before swine" in my secular/personal/professional life. I knew what he meant because I am often asked and/or offer "guidance" to folks I associate with professionally. While some do take what I share with them as to our shared industry (housing and, often, related laws) to heart, many respond resentfully. People have in THEIR minds what the law is (or should be)... and don't like it when what they THINK does not comport with what IS. And so, he was telling me that I needed to stop giving away... and freely... information that many charge and others pay for.

He said that that was the case with the secular... AND the spiritual, although the spiritual was not to be worried about too much, as we now have this site and most here want to hear what we share with one another, even if all can't/don't agree. That it's not like other sites where the is intentional opposition... and thus, pearls often thrown away.

I understood what he meant and so am VERY grateful, for his admonishment... and this site. BUT... the issue of "mercy"... and "doing unto others as I would have them do unto me"... came to mind, and so I asked him about that... and from there the discussion got quite interesting.

He asked me:

"WHO is deserving of mercy, child?"

Given the thought by some that ALL are "deserving" of mercy, I responded, "Aren't ALL deserving of mercy, Lord?" And his response was not only TRUTH... but sublimely so. He said:

"No."

Well, actually, he said a vehement, "NO!"

Er?!

Then he asked me,

"Who did I TELL you was deserving of mercy, child?"

And right away "heard" the answer. Before I share it with you, I have to share that, when sharing this account with a couple/few others this morning, the responses from them ranged from "those who belong to Christ," and "those who hear him and do what he says," to "those who are invited and become a part of him," etc. But, no... that was not the answer, dear one. True, such ones may be INCLUDED in those who are deserving of mercy, but the answer was and is:

"It those who are MERCIFUL... who are deserving of mercy!" Matthew 5:7; 18:33; Luke 6:36, James 2:13

He went on to explain:

"And those who RECEIVE mercy are not DESERVING of such in and of themselves, simply because they ARE merciful. NO one is DESERVING of mercy, for all have sinned. The mercy they receive... is UNdeserved... and thus, a GIFT... from the Father, through ME. That is why it IS mercy! Because they SHOW mercy, through ME they will have righteousness ACCOUNTED to them... and by means of THAT... are "deserving" of mercy."

He went on:

"There are those, in WISHING for mercy, child... and rightly so... who believe that saying ALL will RECEIVE mercy will go well with them. And while their HOPE for mercy from all is RIGHT... the saying is not TRUE, either to all RECEIVING it... or SAYING all will receive it. It is good to HOPE for mercy for all, but to say that all will RECEIVE it... is not truth and so it a lie. And it states that my words are lies. For did I not say to my disciples, to search out those "deserving"? If ALL were deserving, why would I not have just told them to speak to EVERYONE? Why look for/have sent to you specific ones, rather than just tell ANYONE? And why would I caution you as to throwing pearls before swine, if no swine existed? All are NOT merciful, child - indeed, many there are whose hearts are hardened!"

So...okaayyyy, Lord...

"But what about YOUR words as to the Father loving the WORLD... SO much... that he gave YOU... FOR the world?? What of those who look to those words to say that EVERYONE... WILL be saved?"

He asked me, "What did I SAY, child?"

And so I thought of the saying and recalled that it reads:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son." John 3:16-18

Ohhh... that's right...

"Of course, that shouldn't stop YOU... from SHOWING mercy... even to such ones."

And my response was, "Of course, not, Lord!"

From there, the discussion returned to me sharing what he gives me spiritually, and secularly, with others. He said that while I wasn't too worry too much about here (this "city", because it is not like other "cities" where such sharing garners all manner of opposition, even maliciousness), that the time had come for me to TRULY UNDERSTAND that many don't listen to what I share... because they don't even listen to him. And then he reminded me of one particular matter, which I have shared openly for close to two (2) decades now... and on this board in several instances, which I will post in a separate thread so that the it does not become lost within this one.

At any rate, I hope this sharing helps... those who truly want to know the TRUTH about these things. I realize that not all do, of course, and that's okay - it's for those who do, those who truly want to know the basis for RECEIVING mercy... because although by grace (mercy)... it is NOT without "works" that DEMONSTRATE mercy.

Servant to the Household of God, Israel, and those who with, and a slave of Christ,

Shellamar

I agree Shel.
Not all are deserving or mercy, heck some don't even want it

Those that are merciful deserve mercy, those that are repentant deserve mercy, those that forgive, deserve mercy.
But as you said, it isn't that they deserve it because of what they have done ( forgive, repent or be merciful themselves) but because of God'd grace through Christ.

Peace also to you, Shelby.

I can say nothing to what you received from our Lord, other than "Amen".


Peace to all, as our Lord Jaheshua gives peace,


tammy

Thank you so much for sharing what you heard from our Lord as to mercy!

It is something I need as a reminder AGAIN, and I appreciate your love and the love our Lord has in sharing this with us All.

Peace and love to you my sister n CHRIST
Justmom

I forgot to add (and have been reminded by our dear Lord - peace to you ALL!), to give the proper glory! My sincere apologies, dear Lord (although, I know you have already forgiven me - LOL!). But in order to set the matter RIGHT, I must add:

I, SA, have shared this with you just as I RECEIVED it... from my Lord, Master, and King, the HOLY One of Israel and Holy Spirit, JAHESHUA, the Chosen One of JAH (MischaJah), who is the Son of the MOST HOLY One of Israel, JAH of Armies.

Again, peace to you!

Servant to the Household of God, Israel, and to all those who go with, and a slave of Christ,

SA

Peace to you all, again! I also have to add (because I didn't as I was in SUCH a hurry to get to the rest of the event, sorry!)... what he said as to:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

He said the meaning there, which some render as "believes in him"... denotes an ACTIVE FAITH in him. Which is why the WTBTS renders that verse as "exercising faith." As our dear brother James wrote:

"Faith... WITHOUT WORKS (works/deeds that DEMONSTRATE that faith!)... is useless/dead!" James 2:20

The primary "works/deeds" that DEMONSTRATE faith... is LISTENING to Christ. As Noah did. And Abraham. Abel. Joseph. Christ, who listened to the Father... and did what the FATHER told him to do... rather than his own will.

Hence, it does NOT mean attending falsely contrived meetings 5-6 times a week. It DOES mean feeding someone when our dear Lord SAYS to us, "Look! Your brother's household is hungry! FEED them!" even if such food is physical, not spiritual! Or, "Look! Your brother is risking destruction by hardening his heart! REASON with him so as to turn him back from the fire!" And things like these.

Anyway, I needed to add that.

Again, peace to you all!

YOUR servant and a slave of Christ

SA

As I initially started to read your post, Shelby, I was thinking, "well, surely, no-one actually deserves mercy, it is God's gift", and then as I read on I found that was there.

The next thing that occurred to me was the Lord's Prayer. (OK, I know that Jehovah's Witnesses don't use that terminology, but please bear with me for now.) It's a model of how we should pray, and thus also guidance as to how we should think and what we should ask for. It contains, in whichever translation is used "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Put another way, it could read "show us mercy in the same measure that we show mercy to others".

The post opening this thread rang true.

I am TRULY humbled by your corroboration, dear, dear Char.

Peace to you... dear sister.

YSSFS of Christ, as I have always been,

Shellamar

Nothing to humble, you, Shelby!

It was just what I thought. It rang true, and that fact struck me very strongly. So I thought I'd say so.

Even so, thank you, my dear!

Peace!

YSSFS of Christ,

Shellamar

Thank you, Shelby.



(Sorry, I still don't get how these smileys work.)

(It is not your fault about the smilies, Char. I screwed up the formatting so some work, and some don't. I don't want to take the focus off the thread, so this is just a little side-note so that you know it is not you. Peace!)

Thank you! This is what I've always intrinsically known but could not put it into words. A question, though... how does one actually show mercy? I have my own thoughts on this, but would like to hear other input.

There are MANY ways to show mercy to another/others, dear LQ (peace to you!). The easiest way is to not "close the door of your tender compassions" upon one. It may be easier, though, to say what NOT showing mercy is:

- Not forgiving/releasing someone from a transgression, whether against you personally or against the Law

- Sitting in judgment of someone (especially while you're existing in your own sins! Take heed, WTBTS "elders"!!)

- Ignoring someone when they ask something of you (including, but not limited to food, clothing, shelter... going a "mile")

- Ignoring someone in need of help (think, the account of the Good Samaritan, who felt compassion for his enemy, a Jew who had been robbed and left for dead, and so took him and had his wounds bandages, and then paid for his care until he recovered - notice, the Samaritan did not take the man to his OWN home; who knows what kind of man the Jew was? Even so, the Samaritan felt enough PITY/COMPASSION to see that the man was cared for until he recovered, even if at an inn)

- Placing burdens on others that you yourself can't bear (for instance, WTBTS elders who sit in judgment of others for, say, "fornication"... while they themselves are alcoholics, adulterers, cruel to/absent from their own spouses/children, etc.)

- Not wanting to touch someone with, say, HIV, AIDS, leprosy... because of fear of being "contaminated," yet forgetting that, in the eyes of God, we are ALL "unclean"

- Not caring for one's own... child(ren), parent(s), etc., when it is within one's power to DO so but NOT doing so in exchange for giving one's time, attention, and mammon as "corban" (a gift to the church/temple/religion)

In essence, anything that ignores the "fast" of JAH... and "profanes" HIS "Sabbath"... rather than GLORIFIES Him... and these (fast and Sabbath):

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of JaHVeH will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and JaHVeH will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
JaHVeH will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and JaHVeH's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
then you will find your joy in JaHVeH,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of JaHVeH has spoken.

Isaiah 58:6-14

What, though, is "the Sabbath"? Does JAH mean Sunday? Or, for some, Saturday? Or, for others, the time from sundown one (last) day of the week to the sundown the next day? The weekly sabbath? The "Great Sabbath"?

No. He means HIS "sabbath". A "sabbath," is a day of REST. JAH rested... on the "seventh" day of His creation. And we are still IN that Sabbath, the "day" of resting... from OUR "works"... in observance of HIS works! Hence, EVERY day is a "sabbath"... or "day of rest"... to JAH! EVERY day we are to cease from doing our OWN will... and do HIS. Because our dear Lord, the HOLY One of Israel, JAHESHUA, the Chosen One OF JAH (MischaJah)... His Christ... is LORD... of the sabbath!

And so, HE did the works of his FATHER, not his own works... and that is the "pattern" we are to follow, those of us who belong to him, who are in union with him. We "enter" into JAH's "rest"... when we cease doing our OWN will... and speaking a word... call each day a DELIGHT... and HONOR His "day"... by NOT going our own way, but following HIS "Way"... Christ... THEN we not only enter into His REST... but His JOY.

Those works, JAH's works... are works of mercy. Yes? If one isn't sure, then all one need do is look at Christ... and HIS works... to see! Because he did NOTHING of his own initiative, but as he observed the Father doing! He did his Father's works (of mercy): feeding those hungry, healing those sick, and in EVERY way releasing the captives (to sin), etc.

I've shared what those works can be generally, above. What those works can be SPECIFICALLY, however, are on a day-by-day, case-by-case basis, dear one.

I hope this helps!

Again, peace to you!

Your servant and a slave of Christ,

Shellamar

And isn't showing mercy an attitude of seeing the other person as they are, empathising, valuing them as a person unique in the eyes of God, a person with hardships and vulnerabilities and faults and failings just like us, but maybe someone who loves a little and weeps a little, maybe a lot sometimes, each person being a child in the eyes of God, just like us?

Hardening the heart, standing in judgement (as I observed JW elders do) is certainly not showing mercy. Willingness to forgive a fault or a hurt inflicted, understanding a poor one, doing what we can to ease the suffering of another or many others...these things and many others are acts of mercy, coming from a compassionate and loving heart.

Give, and ye will receive, we are told, and that, surely, is true of mercy, bringing us back to the opening post of the thread.