New Podcast: The Significance of Mercy w/ Special Guest Tom Bixler

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ,

 

On this episode of the Innocence Redeemed podcast, my good friend and brother in Christ, Tom Bixler, joins me for a discussion on mercy and how the Lord desires we live out our lives when it comes to our dealings with each other as Christians while we run the race of endurance during uncertain times.  

 

 

 

Revealing The Health of Your Spiritual Heart – The Spiritual Heart Check

 

 

Verses as they were referenced in this podcast:

 

 

Matthew 5:7 (NLT)

 

7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

 

1 Corinthians 13: 1-7 (NLT)

 

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing

 

3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

 

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

 

Romans 12:9-21 (NLT)

 

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

 

14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

 

17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

 

19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;
    I will pay them back,”
    says the Lord.

 

20 Instead,

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
    If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
    burning coals of shame on their heads.”

 

21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

 

1 Corinthians 12: 12-13, 25-26 (NLT)

 

12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

 

1 Peter 4:7-10 (NLT)

 

7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. 8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. 10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

 

Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NLT)

 

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
    and desperately wicked.
    Who really knows how bad it is?
10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts
    and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
    according to what their actions deserve.”

 

Colossians 3:12-15 (NLT)

 

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

 

1 John 1:8-10 (NLT)

 

8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

 

Romans 3:10 (NKJV)

 

10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;

 

John 8: 1-11 (NLT)

 

Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

 

4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

 

6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

 

9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

 

11 “No, Lord,” she said.And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

 

Matthew 18: 21-22 (NLT)

 

21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

 

22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

So forgiveness also ties in with being merciful.

 

Matthew 7:1-5 (NLT)

 

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

 

3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite!  First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

 

Matthew 9:9-13 (NLT) 

 

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.

 

10 Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. 11 But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”

 

12 When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” 13 Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

 

Matthew 6: 22-23 (NKJV)

 

22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

 

Acts 4:12 (NKJV)

 

12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

 

John 14:6 (NKJV)

 

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

 

Romans 10:8-9 (NKJV)

 

8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

 

John 15:5 (NKJV)

 

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

 

Leviticus 19:11 (NKJV)

 

11 ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.

 

Exodus 20:16 (NKJV)

 

16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

 

Proverbs 20:19 (NKJV)

 

19 He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets; Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his lips.

 

Ephesians 4:29 (NKJV)

 

29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

 

James 1:26 (NKJV)

 

26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.

 

Galatians 1:10 (NKJV)

 

10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

 

Proverbs 29:25 (NKJV)

 

25 The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.

 

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (NLT)

 

6 Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

 

Acts 2:45 (NLT)

 

45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.

 

James 2:14-17 (NLT)

 

14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? 15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

 

17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

 

Philippians 2:3-4 (NLT)

 

3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

 

Matthew 6:14-15 (NLT)

 

14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.

 

15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

 

Matthew 5:23-24 (NLT)

23 “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, 24 leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.

 

Ephesians 2:4-5, 8-9 (NLT)

 

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.

 

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

 

Philippians 4:9 (NLT)

 

9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

 

James 3:13 (NLT)

 

13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.

 

Hebrews 4:16 (NLT)

 

16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

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