Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: RECORD (04/22/21)
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TITLE: It is Not Our Record to Keep, Grateful For A Merciful God! | Previous Challenge Entry
By Lakella Davenport
04/28/21 -
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We all do things and say things we shouldn’t from time to time. Sometimes, we may even hurt others with our actions. As Christians, we have been called by God to have a forgiving heart like our savior Jesus Christ. Our God is a merciful God. The bible tells us, “his mercies are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23). God would rather have mercy than sacrifice (Matthew 9:13). There are a number of stories in the bible where God or Jesus has shown his mercy toward his people. For God has commanded us to love one another, as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31). “To love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mark 12:33).
I will look at two biblical examples, of God’s never ending mercy toward mankind. To be merciful means to withhold punishment, and love others without keeping a record of their wrongs. These two biblical examples demonstrate the true love of God and Jesus Christ and how he keeps no records of our wrongs (I Corinthians 13:5).
The first biblical example, of true Christian love, is found in the book of Jonah, chapters one through four. God had called on Jonah to go preach a message of repentance to the people of Nineveh. Jonah in response to God’s request refused to go to Nineveh to warn them about the dangers of their wickedness in the sight of God. Instead of going to Nineveh, Jonah hoped aboard a ship to Tarshish. He believed the people of Nineveh were not worthy of such a teaching because of their wrongs and disobedience to the word of God. Jonah had a heart full of un-forgiveness. When he got aboard the ship to Tarshish the sea became very aggressive and violent that it threatened to break the ship. All those aboard, began to call out to their false gods. They found Jonah asleep and asked him to call on his God, the Hebrew God, Jehovah, to make the sea calm. They cast lots to see who aboard the ship was responsible for the raging sea and the lot fell on Jonah. They awakened Jonah and Jonah told them to throw him overboard into the sea to calm the sea. They threw Jonah overboard and the sea returned to calmness. “God had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah.” Jonah stayed in the fish’s belly three days and three nights. Jonah began to pray unto God in the fish’s belly, and God released Jonah. “The fish spit Jonah out on dry land.” Jonah had agreed to preach to the people of Nineveh.
After the first day, he was glad and excited about God’s plan to destroy the city of Nineveh. He was looking forward to that decision. “And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried and said, yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4)
However, the people of Nineveh, believed God’s message sent to them by Jonah, and all of them fasted, and put on sackcloth and sat in ashes and repented of their sins to God. God saw their repenting hearts and decided not to overthrow the city of Nineveh. God forgave the people of Nineveh and kept the city alive. This in turn angered Jonah, for he felt that they should be punished for their disobedience (Jonah Chapters 1-4). Jonah was keeping a record of the people’s wrongs. He was blind and could not see what God saw: their repenting hearts.
A second biblical example, of true Christian love, occurs in Luke chapter seven verses 37-50, when Jesus sat at meat with a Pharisee and a woman who was known throughout the city as a sinner broke an alabaster box of oil on Jesus’ head and anointed Jesus with the ointment. “And she stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment” (Luke 7:38). And when the Pharisee saw Jesus’ response to the sinful woman; he was bothered by it. He felt she was not worthy to even touch Jesus because of her wrongs. The Pharisee was keeping a record of her wrongs. Jesus saw her repenting, sorrowful spirit. He saw her pain and he forgave her of her sins (Luke 7:37-50). We as Christians must be like Jesus.
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Might better flow as 'In response to God’s request, Jonah'
It helps to read your entry out loud to see how it flows.
Your article was great in content, however punctuation and grammar need some polishing.
There are writing lessons under in the forums under Jan and Ann's sub title.
It's ironic that you wrote about this specific topic 'cause yesterday I was a real piece of work. At one point I became so frustrated, I asked God to please bring someone across my path to pray for because a side eye glance from anyone could have been the catalyst to me acting a fool...
Haha God has a wonderful sense of humor-He honored my request and I calmed down and shared a prayer and some Jesus love!