Show Mercy As We Have Been Shown Mercy

Psalm 130 KJV

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.

Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?

But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.

Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

I woke up this morning after a dream that included major flashbacks of my life. It was not good! When I look back on my life there are definitely things that were done or said that I still can't help but wonder what in the world I was thinking. It was nothing fruitful, that is for sure!

As I grow older memories like this seem to still infiltrate my thinking. It would be very nice if they would go away. But, then I consider that maybe God gives these memories to me to remind me to show mercy to others who make the same stupid mistakes. 

He reminds me that if he had not sent his only begotten son to take away my sins; if he continued to count my iniquities against me, I would surely fall. 

We are all sinners. Without the love and mercy of God given to us through Christ Jesus there would be no hope in this world. 

Let us all hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy and plenteous redemption. He has redeemed us from all of our sins. Thanks be to God!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Peace Like A River

This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches you what is best for you,
    who directs you in the way you should go.
If only you had paid attention to my commands,
    your peace would have been like a river,
    your well-being like the waves of the sea.

                                    (Isaiah 48:17-18 NIV)

 

Indeed, the Lord does know what is best for us! But, we often think that we know better than God. We often choose the wrong paths and find ourselves in chaotic messes trying to figure out what went wrong and how in the world we are going to find some semblance of peace. What went wrong sometimes just happens to be is that we rejected the Word of the Lord; we have rejected those things that our Father in heaven has sought to teach us. We have rejected the good gifts that He desires us to have. We have chosen to follow in the ways of the world and we ultimately find ourselves wallowing in the depths of despair.

 

The world is a mess. We have helped to make it that way. But, no matter what kind of mess we find ourselves in we can know peace. We can know the peace that only God can give to us. In the midst of the storms, we can know peace that flows forever like a river. We can know peace as refreshing as the cool waters of a gently flowing river.

 

Do not fear! Do not despair! God is with you. Listen to Him and know the peace that only He can give. 

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Bless That Which We Say And Think And Do

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart    
    be pleasing in your sight,
    Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
                                              (Psalm 19:14 NIV)

As we go through this day and all the days following let us consider if what comes out of our mouths is actually pleasing to the Lord. Would we dwell upon it; would we say it if God Almighty were standing next to us? He is, you know! He hears and see all things that we say and think and do. He knows if we are tearing up the Body of Christ. He knows if we are ripping apart His children. He also knows when we are lifting them up for His glory.

May the words of our lips and the meditations of our hearts; all that we say and think and do be acceptable in His sight at all times and in all places.

God's Peace - Pr. J

It's Time For The Old Adam To Die

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!" (Matt 18:6-7 NIV)

I was watching an episode of Last Kingdom last night. It is fiction based on the life and reign of King Alfred the Great. A couple things occurred to me while watching it:

1. That all those wars and rumors of wars that I hear are escalating today really have been around for a long, long time. As King Solomon said there really is nothing new under the sun. The hateful lust after power; control; and wealth turning humankind against God and neighbor is not a new thing. The sinful nature of humankind has been around since Adam. It has not gotten better. It doesn't appear to have gotten much worse, either. It is just there. Sin continues to reign in the hearts of many and atrocities occur. Woe to those

2. The church was not any different than the leaders of the various tribes and regions. The lust for power was immense and so false teachings prevailed. I pray that the church is different today. Unfortunately, the old Adam still reigns in many hearts and the lust for personal power creeps in and the focus is switched from the cross of Christ for the reconciling of the nations to God and one another to worldly endeavors; to personal power; to absolute control; for financial success. When the church focuses on such things it causes many to stumble.

Woe to the person who would cause any who believe in Christ to stumble by their false words and deceptive actions. Woe to those who would cause any who believe in Christ to stumble.

May God help us to always lift up the cross of Christ; proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God through the loving sacrifice made for us by Jesus Christ, our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Peace Like A River

This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches you what is best for you,
    who directs you in the way you should go.
If only you had paid attention to my commands,
    your peace would have been like a river,
    your well-being like the waves of the sea.

                                    (Isaiah 48:17-18 NIV)

 

Indeed! The Lord does know what is best for us. But, we often think we know better than God. We often choose the wrong paths and find ourselves in chaotic messes trying to figure out what went wrong and how in the world we're going to find some semblance of peace. What went wrong usually happens to be that we have rejected the Word of the Lord; we have rejected those things that our Father in heaven has sought to teach us and the places He has desired to lead us. We have rejected the good gifts that He desires us to have and have chosen to follow in the ways of the world and we ultimately find ourselves wallowing in the depths of despair.

 

The world is a mess. We've helped to make it that way. But, no matter what kind of mess we may find ourselves in we can know peace. It is the peace that only God can give to us. In the midst of the storms, we can know peace that flows forever like a river. We can know peace as refreshing as the cool waters of a gently flowing river.

 

Do not fear! Do not despair! God is with you. Listen to Him and know the peace that only He can give. 

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Calm The Sea

The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?” Jonah 1:11

I listened to the book of Jonah dramatized on You-Tube after my evening prayers last night. It is a fascinating story. What, indeed, shall we do when we feel as though the storm we are going through is about to take us down? Shall we attempt to make a bargain with God to save us? Shall we attempt to find the guilty party; the person or persons, that may have offended God and make a scapegoat of them? Shall we offer up a sacrifice to God? That is exactly what the men on the ship with Jonah did. They threw him overboard to drown in the depths of the sea. Only, he did not drown. He got another chance. He lived to continue on the mission that God had sent him on in the first place.

When the sea gets stormy and when times get rough, we don't get to make scapegoats of others. Because the truth is that we are all guilty. We all make mistakes. We all sin. We all, at times, by our actions or our inactions, put others in harm's way.

Justifying our own sins by blaming others will not erase our sins. We cannot and will not be able to appease or bargain with God by making someone else the scapegoat. The Good News is that the only sacrifice for our sins that is required has already been made by Jesus on the cross. With him and in him, we have died; and, have been born again. We have been given another chance and even another to live as a child of God; to go forth and continue in the mission God has called us to.

Let us go forth and proclaim the Good News that our sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus the Christ. Let us proclaim that, through him, we are reconciled to God our Father for time eternal.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Praise Ye The Lord!

"Praise the Lord from the earth,
     you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
    stormy winds that do his bidding,
you mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all cattle,
    small creatures and flying birds,
kings of the earth and all nations,
    you princes and all rulers on earth,
young men and women,
    old men and children."
                                  Psalm 148:7-12 NIV

God is God of all of creation. He has made all things marvelously. Let us intentionally look around us today so that we might be better able to understand his awesome sovereignty; to grasp more firmly the reality of His gifts to humankind and all of creation. God, alone, is worthy to be praised. Let us all praise the Lord!

God's Peace - Pr. J