How Can I Be Filled with God’s Love & Mercy?

How Can I Be Filled with God’s Love & Mercy? Bible, Women & Bathrobes Episode 3 In today’s episode we will talk about Matthew 5:6-7 about what it really means to hunger for righteousness and what being filled feels like. We will also discuss how that plays into being merciful since we so often need God’s grace and mercy.Key Talking Points·     Sometimes if we have strayed from the gospel path we forget how hungry we are for the things of God.·     Bonnie shares her story of going to church with her sister after being on a prodigal journey and being filled—how she didn’t even realize how much she was missing.·     Sometimes in the super-busy times of life we may feel like we are so hungry because we are giving so much because it is a daily challenges to fill that inner well we each have.·     Ask God daily:o  What do I need to be filled?o  What is depleting me or weighing me down that I can let go of?·     Here is the promise if we let go of those things: that we will be filled witho  God’s righteousness?o  God’s truth?o  With more of His glory?o  With more Jesus?·     Sometimes when we’re not sure how to let go of something we can ask God how to do it and then ask Him to help you figure out the next right step—line by line, one baby step at a time.·     Bonnie shares the concept of a quote she heard one that the first voice you hear when you're praying is God or the spirit. And the second inevitably, is the adversary because he wants us to doubt ourselves.·     Answers come as thoughts, ideas or good peaceful feelings. Also we can trust that any good thought that you have comes from God because that is what the Bible teaches us.·     Definition of Mercy: Compassionate treatment of those in distress, especially when it is within one's power to punish or harm them.·     We all need God’s mercy in our lives because we are constantly making mistakes.·     Sometimes people may feel others getting mercy (especially in an abusive situation) is not merited, and so they will hang onto that grievance instead of forgiving because they feel it is just. But refusing to forgive only hurts the one who was injured.·     Other times we forgive others but not ourselves, which is also sad.Main Takeaways·     From Bonnie: “If we are seeking Him and we need to be filled, we will be. And it starts with just that little desire. Just that little mustard seed, right? …That if we go to him He promises we will be filled.”·     From Tiffany, “If you're struggling, if you're having a hard time, if you've walked away from Jesus, and you're just coming back, just take time to read some of the Scriptures and read the blessings that are given to those who come to him. He is so gracious and so kind and so loving and willing to receive us.”·     From Tamara, “If you're at that point where you're like, I would love to have mercy [or] would love to be filled, [You] have a choice. We can even start with dear God. I want to be filled. Help me to have the desire to hunger and thirst after righteousness or help me have the desire to give mercy because I don't feel like it right now.”Keywords#mercy #filledbyGod #forgiveness #bibleverse #hunger #sermononthemount #jesuschrist #answertoprayerTranscriptBonnie Randall 0:00 Good morning! Have you guys ever felt like you were starving? And you were so so hungry? Or have you ever wished for forgiveness--Mercy from someone and they weren't giving it to you? If you've ever wished for those kinds of things, we're going to talk a little bit about them in the Sermon on the Mount today. So join us and see how these principles apply to you.Tamara Anderson 0:24 Welcome to Bible, Women & Bathrobes the podcast where faith meets comfort. Join us Tuesday and Thursday morning. As the gals from women warriors of flight and their guests, Dawn bathrobes and dive into the inspiring stories of women in the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ. From Esther's bravery to the Sermon on the Mount. We explore it all with warmth, laughter, sisterhood, and maybe even a few sleepy eyed moments. tune in live or at your leisure as we learn lessons from scripture which empower women today.Tamara Anderson 1:05 Welcome to Bible, Women & Bathrobes. I am your host Tamara K. Anderson and joining me are Tiffany Fletcher. Say hi, Tiffany.Tiffany Fletcher 1:16 Hi.Tamara Anderson 1:17 And Bonnie Randall. Good morning, Bonnie.Bonnie Randall 1:20 Good morning, ladies.Tamara Anderson 1:23 We are so excited to join you today. And today we are covering the second part of the Sermon on the Mount verse, Matthew chapter five, verses six through nine. And so I thought we would just dive in. Last week we had a great discussion about being poor in spirit and meek some of these words that just we don't use very often and and today, we're gonna start off with verse six, and I'll read it and then we'll kind of dive into what we think the lessons are. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." Tiffany, what do you think about that verse as far as being hungry, or something.Tiffany Fletcher 2:12 Um, I, when I read that verse, it made me think about-- so yesterday, in our church service, there was someone who talked about how she was coming back to Jesus, you know, coming back to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And she said, she made a really interesting analogy, which I wanted to share. And she said, it's like, being hungry, like not eating for so long that you forget that you're hungry. And then when you come back, you realize exactly how hungry you were when you bring Jesus back into your life. And, and it made me think about this verse and how when we are hungry, sometimes we forget how hungry we are, like, we go fast for a day or two, like we really do forget sometimes, I mean, as we get busy as women, but they Oh, I forgot to eat today, right? Because Because we forget, we set it aside.Tiffany Fletcher 3:01 But then when we actually acknowledged it, we recognize just how hungry we are, and how much Jesus Christ fills the hunger, how much he really does feel the things that we're lacking, and, and makes it so that we can feel full and spiritually full in our lives. And, and that's what I think about that. That's, that's kind of I just love that analogy that that is what the gospel does. It fills us up and allows us to recognize that we were hungry in the first place.Tamara Anderson 3:37 Yeah. Bonnie, what else? What other thoughts have you had with regards to being hungry?Bonnie Randall 3:43 I love that you started off like that with Tiffany. Because it Gosh, that Scripture is so full of emotion to me. And so full of promise and that, I think I shared last time. Yeah, last time when we were talking about Sermon on the Mount, about my prodigal journey a little bit and how I wandered for a while and wanting nothing to do with Jesus. And then my sister helped me come back.Bonnie Randall 4:18 And a part of that story that I didn't share was kind of like what your friend shared yesterday, when I did eventually go back to church with with my sister and her family. When we were sitting in, you walk in and she's I can't remember what denomination she is, but doesn't matter. You walk in and there's this worship band playing. And it was beautiful. I love Christian music and I'm a big, I sing and play the piano and just music is a part of my life.Bonnie Randall 4:58 And so I walked in, I didn't really know what to expect. But this worship music was playing and it was all about coming unto Jesus, and letting him heal you. And then so I was, I started getting kind of emotional and like, oh gosh, okay. And the spirit started hitting me. And all of a sudden it was like this tidal wave of the Spirit. And I hadn't realized how much I had been missing out on those years. So that I'd kind of been wandering and lost. And just so broken. And then the pastor gets up. And guess what his sermons on?Tamara Anderson 5:46 What?Bonnie Randall 5:48 The prodigal son. Right, I turned to my sister I'm like, did you tell them I was coming? And she's like, No, I swear, I didn't say anything. And we just sat there soaking up his message of love and mercy, and forgiveness. And how, it doesn't matter what we've done, we can always turn to Him and be forgiven. And then they get up and they start singing another song. And I can't remember what one it was. But it was as if the entire host of heaven came down and wrapped their arms around me. I couldn't even stand. My knees buckled and I fell to the floor, just bawling.Bonnie Randall 6:36 And I felt, I felt like what your...