He Will Have Mercy On The Righteous

Reading from Genesis 18:20-33 KJV - He would save the city for 10 righteous people; but, he could not find 10 righteous. They sought after their own desires and did not pay heed to the desires of the Lord.

Patience From Trials

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. (James 1:2-3 KJV)

2022 seems to have already been filled with all kinds of temptations to be upset; to be angry; to be anxious. Crime has skyrocketed over the last few years. Wages have gone up; but, as many of us predicted, inflation has gone up even higher.  The supply chain has gotten incredibly slow.  

Our vehicle went into the shop yesterday. There is something wrong with the gear shift that caused the key to get stuck in the ignition on accessory when we try to take the key out. The mechanic was able to clean it up a bit so hopefully we can continue driving it until the part comes in. The part is expected in about four weeks.  For this kind of test, patience is required. We will attempt to not drive it unless necessary and hopefully it will last until they can do a more permanent fix. We are retired so this is probably doable for us. But, what about those who have to go to work every day? What happens when their only means of transportation goes down and they can't get the part to fix it? That would definitely be a temptation to much frustration, anxiety, and even anger. It would be a very trying test of one's faith.

As I've gotten older, I have noticed that generations below me have much less patience than I had at their ages. I accepted the temptations as reality and dealt with them. Yes, I would get upset at times; but, not usually enough to take it out on the world around me. 

It would be very wise for those who get so anxious that they can't function when they are faced with trials and temptations to remember that this will all pass and a new trials will come. That is the way of the world and until we learn to patiently deal with whatever comes our way  the anxiety that comes with trials and temptations will be compounded.

With faith; rejoice for God is with you in whatever you are going through and this too shall pass.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Do What Is Right

"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

But ye have not so learned Christ;

If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Neither give place to the devil.

Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." 

                                                                                                  (Eph 4:17-32 KJV)

As Christians we are given new life through the sacrifice of Jesus' blood for us. No matter how hard we try we will also continue to sin. That is our nature. But, we must at least try not give place to evil in our lives. The indwelling spirit of Christ will be there to aid us; to guide us in the way that we should be going. St. Paul admonishes in his letter to the Ephesians to do what is right.

As Christians who are sinners; but, by the grace and mercy of God we are also saints. We have been chosen by God and sanctified by the blood of Christ.  St. Peter wrote: 

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

                                                                                                            (1 Pet 2:9-10)

As Christians we have been set apart. We should be set apart from our old ways of thinking and doing and being.. Let us not live in those old ways; but, in the new life in Christ live that so that we do not dishonor our Father in heaven.

As people of God may God help us by the power of the Holy Spirit to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God has forgiven us.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Rejoice In The Lord's Mercy

PSALM 85

Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.

Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.

Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.

Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.

Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?

Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?

Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.

I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.

Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

 Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.

Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

+++

He has forgiven us. He spoken peace to us in that he has reconciled us to himself by the sacrifice of his only begotten Son for our sins. We have been revived; given the opportunity to dwell in his glorious presence. Let us rejoice in our salvation!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Be Not Consumed By Anger

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

                                        (Gal 5:13-15 KJV)

The Holy Scriptures remind us over and over again that we are to love one another. Anger does very little good. There are a times when anger can motivate us to do as when we someone being abused. But, we do not turn that anger into hate. (Eph 4:26-27) We use it to try to make the world a better place to live in by serving others.

Anger damages the person our anger is directed at. But; it also damages the one who is angry for end up living without peace. As St. Paul advises us in Galatians: "...if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another." 

Peace is found in being reconciled to God and to one another by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus. It is a gift from God. Living in anger with others will give us no peace. 

"Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." 

                                                                                         (Matt 5:42-45)

Love your neighbor. Bless them that curse you and do good to those who hate you. Live in peace.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

He Pardons Iniquity

 

Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. 

                                                                                   (Micah 7:18-19 KJV)

Unfortunately, humankind does not pardon iniquity easily. We can hold a grudge forever and in doing so we bring about even more iniquity.  We usually cause more iniquity; we often sin when we are angry or hurt. 

Jesus tells us to love one another and not to hate even those who persecute you.

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."

                                                                                   (Matt 5:44-45)

The Lord desires that we should forgive one another. But, we are not required to stay in situation or relationships that will provoke us to continue to live in a sinful manner. St. Paul wrote to the Romans: 

"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them." (Rom 16:17)

Micah tells us that God will subdue our iniquities. If God will do that for us; if God will forgive us our sins; why would we walk right back into that which inspires us to sin? Daniel could walk into a lions den and live. You and I should most probably not try that if we want to live. We should not test God. 

When the devil took Jesus up and set him on a pinnacle of the temple he told Jesus that if he really were the Son of God then he should jump and God will send His angels to save him.

"Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." (Matt 4:7)

If the very Son of God would not test his Father in heaven, neither should we.

Yet, when we do test God by going against His will, God is willing and able to pardon our iniquities. Unlike us, God does not retain his anger forever. Unlike us, He is always ready to be merciful. 

Forgive one another; but, try to stay out of situations that will require you to receive forgiveness yourself later. It will make life a whole lot easier to live.

May the God of mercy, subdue our iniquities and forgive us all of our sins.  

God's Peace - Pr. J.

I Prefer The WIlderness

 

"It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman." (Prov 21:9 KJV)

Whether it is a contentious man or woman or even a contentious and angry neighbor, it is better to dwell in the wilderness where one is not wholly distracted by conflict. God did not intend for us to spend our lives fighting with others.

I have had more than my share of contentious neighbors. I have often said that I would prefer to live in a tent than in a situation where I don't even want to go outside. There have been more than a few places like that. The last place that we lived in had a dock on a canal that I could launch my kayak from. By the time we finally moved I rarely sat on the dock because my neighbor would watch every move I made. I felt like I was being stalked!

I am now living in a more rural area without too much land; but, with wooded areas surrounding us. The area is growing. But, at least for now my yard is not visible to any of my neighbors. We also own a small home in a cedar swamp on a river off of Lake Superior. We should sell it since we don't use it much; but, I am reluctant to because I am not sure if one day I will begin to feel closed in again and I will have to retreat to it and hide out in the wilderness.  Many would disagree that this would be a right way to go; but, that is who I am.

Simply put: After years (decades) of living house to house with others, I love the wilderness. I love people too. But, I do need quiet time and space to spend with the one I love most. I don't appreciate it when anyone disrupts my ability to commune and communicate with my God; with my Lord and Savior. 

The prophet Isaiah wrote:  "Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!" (Isa 5:8)

I thank God that He has provided me with quiet and at least semi-wilderness places to abide with Him at this point in my life. (I also thank God for Robin who shovels our roof in Michigan and makes sure home in Michigan still has a roof when we get there!)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

A Perverse Or Wholesome Tongue?

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so. 

                                                                                     (Prov 15:1-4, 7 KJV)

God does see both the physical and mental abuse that goes on in this world. Nasty tones and attitudes do indeed stir up anger. They stir up hatred. They stir up division. 

It is human nature to become angry when offended. It is more Christ-like not to act upon that anger. It is best to walk away for your sake and everyone else around you. If an angry person is in need of aid help if you can and if they are willing to let you. But, do not become so involved in their lives that you risk the chance of becoming a person filled with anger yourself. Nothing good will come of it. The book of Proverbs reminds us: 

Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:

Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul. (Prov 22:24-25)

The world is full of anger and hate. But, we do not have to be. In Christ we have been born again. We do not have to live the old life that included so much anger. We can live in peace with joyful spirits when Christ abides in us and we in him.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Gal 5:22-23)

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. (2 Cor 13:13)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

He Has Been Merciful

Psalm 85 KJV

Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.

Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.

Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.

Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.

Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all 

generations?

Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?

Shew us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.

I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.

Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.

Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

+++

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Listen To His Voice

So, as the Holy Spirit says:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
     do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
    during the time of testing in the wilderness,
 where your ancestors tested and tried me,
    though for forty years they saw what I did.
 That is why I was angry with that generation;
    I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
    and they have not known my ways.’
 So I declared on oath in my anger,
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

                                                                                                              (Heb 3:7-13 NIV)

It was not only Israel that has seen and heard what God had done for them. If we are honest with ourselves; we, too, have seen and heard what God has done for us. God has done great things for all people. Yet, many refuse to see. They refuse to hear. They harden their hearts as in the great rebellion. They refuse to follow in "the way." Sadly, those who continue to rebel against the Lord our God will never enter His rest as He has promised. Sadly, some of those people who reject Him are people that we care about and love. It is up to those who do believe to continue to encourage others and remind them that it is a privilege and a blessing to hear his voice. It is up to God's children to remind all people to listen to Him.

May God open our ears to hear and our eyes to see and our hearts that we might desire to listen and follow in His way. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Paranoia or Peace?

Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.” Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death.  1 Sam 20:30-33 NIV

Saul was more than a little paranoid. He was afraid that David wanted him dead. He was unreasonably afraid. David did not want him dead. David did not want his throne. But, Saul was afraid and so his anger consumed his life. 

This morning we hear on the news that there were more than fifty people killed and over two hundred injured by a lone shooter in Las Vegas. What could possibly stir up a person to this kind of anger? I cannot help but think that paranoia had something to do with this kind of tragedy. Paranoia is not only a mental health problem; but, a spiritual problem, as well. It is a serious symptom of not trusting the Lord or His promises to us. 

When we think that others, even the whole world is out to get us, paranoia can set in. Paranoia begets depression. It often also begets anger. It's sets off in us a self-defense mechanism - the really stinking thinking that we have to get them before they get us. That was Saul's thinking as he wallowed in his own paranoia and fear. Paranoia, fear, and anger are to be avoided at all costs. Do not let yourself be consumed by them. We are to live reconciled to God and one another through Christ Jesus. Live life in Christ! Live in the knowledge that nothing in this world can take away your salvation. Nothing can take away your peace; unless you let it. What have we to fear? We have eternal life in the presence of God Almighty. What can be greater than that?

God's Peace be with you all - Pr. J

Which Is Easier?

"For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’?"  (Matt 9:5)

I often see, posted on Facebook, comments about how someone did not have to use Algebra at all that day, insinuating that it is a wasted study on our young people. It apparently was and is for those people who have to ask me to do some mental math for them. After all, there's no need to learn something if someone else will do it for you. Actually, math problems run through my head sporadically throughout the day, especially when I am sitting around waiting for something. It can be something as simple as counting the tiles on a ceiling or floor and figuring the area of a waiting room. I don't do too many complicated equations; just what I can do in my head. I like numbers! I enjoy the challenge of solving problems in my head instead of on paper or on a calculator. I taught myself mental math when I was very young and to tell you the truth I sometimes wonder why others have not shown an interest in learning it when it can be so much easier than the traditional ways we've been taught. It is way easier than the methods they are using to teach Math in elementary schools today. But, there will always be those who always prefer to do things the hard way.

The scribes were a bit upset when Jesus forgave a paralytic man his sins. They judged that he was blaspheming. His response was "which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven; or 'Stand up and walk?'" Indeed, which is easier? Four simple words and they are not as difficult to say as one would expect and when said they heal a multitude of wounds. "Your sins are forgiven!" Practice saying them. It is easier to forgive than to be angry or to hold a grudge the rest of your life. Forgive those whom you are angry with; whether, you feel justified in your anger or not. Forgive others. Forgive yourself. Jesus died so that this might happen. He worked out the problem of sin. He did all of the work. Don't be trying to work things out according to your sense of justice. That is the hard way and the wrong way. Step out in faith and receive your forgiveness. Step out in faith and forgive others their trespasses against you. Step out in faith and receive wholeness! It is easier than staying angry your whole life. With Christ, it is easier than one might expect.

God's Peace - Pr. J

A New Day!

   You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

   Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.  (Eph 4:22-28 NIV)

St. Paul reminds the Ephesians and us that as followers of Jesus Christ we are to put off our old selves; to put away our deceitful desires. In order to live a new life in Christ; the old way of living must die.

If yesterday or many of your yesterdays did not been turn out so well for you; maybe, just maybe, it's not the world's fault. It is not God's fault. It is not anyone's fault but your own. Just maybe there is some desire or habit; call it a sin, in you that must die. Just maybe it's time for the old man or woman in you to go away to make room for the new person in Christ. If you are sinning and suffering the consequences of that sin then maybe it's time for you to stop repeating that sin. Each and every day we have another chance to live life and to enjoy life according to God's good will for us. Each and every day, hour, and minute God will forgive you your sins. Each and every day, hour, and minute you have the opportunity to start all over again.

It is a new day! Love it and live it in Christ!

God's Peace - Pr. J