Merciful

I want to share a story of God's mercy.

There once was 5 kids between the ages of 13-18. They were all camping together and learning how to work togther as one. They sought desperately after God's own heart and with questions they sought after a bible study with their pastor. Wanting to bless these kids, the pastor took them out of the heat and into the air conditioning where he answered all their questions and more. The lesson: faith. What these kids learned that night was that God wanted to bless them with faith, they just needed to believe that He could. The pastor, in all his love decided to bless the kids even more and take them all out for dinner and ice-cream. It was beyond their belief that the pastor would be so kind to them, but he was teaching them to have faith. With rich blessings and a full stomach, the kids went on their way home and played together until they could no longer keep their eyes open.

The next morning, the kids woke up late. The alarm that was supposed to ring for 7 a.m., rang for 10 a.m.! Realizing they had slept in too late they quickly arose and set out to their responsabilities. One of the kids left for a party, three of them left to run the weekly errand, and the third stayed behind. When the three returned, they all went their seperate ways with their thoughts on when they could go swimming or what they would cook for dinner. When the pastor came as they were all back together eating their supper, he asked if they had any questions for another bible study. The kids were silent. They realized they had no questions, that they had gone the whole day never thinking about God. They woke up, lived life, and never once gave thought to God. A normal routine of waking up at 7 and reading God's word, giving thanks to Him, it was all lost. It was lost because they forgot. The pastor asked if they had questions and they had none. After being richly blessed the night before, they never acknowledged God's blessings and instead only acknowledged themselves.

In utter conviction, they cried out to God to forgive them and admitted to the pastor of their sins. Then the first thing out of their pastor's mouth was, "I can see God is moving in all of you." "Really?", the kids thought. Not only that, the pastor told them that they would be the ones to save an entire congregation that had lost their love for God. Save a congregation? After their disobesdience to God? Impossible! But God who is rich in mercy taught them the meaning of grace. That He would love His children despite their disobedience and He would use them to save the lives of a congregation.

What these kids learned:
1. Do not forget God's blessings
2. Do not be lazy
3. Do not separate yourself from one another
4. Listen to God's whispers (convictions)
5. Don't forget God

God is always going to give you favor. Be mindful of satan's schemes and in all ways, acknowledge God. Do not forget God because the minuite we forget, His whispers fade the the world begins to shout. And remember, God is merciful. When you mess up, get back up on your feet and tell God, here I am Lord, how can you use me today! God is so rich in mercy!