This is the time of the year that we hear words that have been made up
to push people to spend their money. 
“End of the year savings!”  “Black
Friday sale …”  “Inventory blow-out
…”  If you are not careful, you can
exhaust yourself just trying to catch up to all the incredible “deals” that are
being offered today.  Let me just remind
you that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be
true.  We are promised all kinds of great
things that require no effort, or far less money than we expected.  It sounds too good to be true … You will
probably find out that it was not all that they promised it to be.  Many people were out shopping at two in the
morning on the day after Thanksgiving in order to get that “one thing”
everybody on their list wanted.

This made me think about the things I would get up early to do, or
get.  It made me think about what my
priorities really are in my life.  It
made me think about what is the thing that is most important to me today.  Many are asking, “What do you want for
Christmas?”  I honestly don’t have
anything that is on my heart that I really “need” for Christmas.  And then I read this verse today … “He
that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and
honor” (Proverbs 21:21).  For
Christmas this year, I would love to receive life … righteousness … and
honor!  How about you?

Did you see that there is a price-tag for these things?  My father used to say to me that if you
wanted something of value, you had to work hard to get it.  It is the same here.  If I want life, righteousness and honor, I
must pursue righteousness and mercy.  I
must pursue righteousness in my own life. 
I need to get away from the things that God hates, and incorporate the
things He loves.  I need to stay out of
some places that promote ungodly habits and lifestyles, and make sure I am
getting into other places that promote righteous living and behavior.  I need more righteousness in my personal life
and I must pursue it constantly.

I must also be willing to offer mercy if I want to have life,
righteousness and honor.  I cannot expect
God to extend mercy to me if I refuse to extend it to others.  I cannot think that God will give me the mercy
that I need and crave for if I am unwilling to demonstrate that same kind of
mercy to those who offend me and hurt me. 
I firmly believe that if we gave mercy like we want others to do to us
and our family members, God would be free to give us more mercy.  I don’t know about you, but I need all the
mercy I can get!  Today I want to pursue
righteousness and mercy with all my energy!