Mercy; Truth; Righteousness; and Peace

Psalm 85:1-13 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.

+++

Verse 10 caught my eye this morning. Mercy and truth; righteousness and peace... I have seem some wonderful examples of this in the people around me. I have also witnessed just the opposite as well.

As the world seems to go wonkers around me my greatest hope for life in this world is to live the rest of it out in peace. I am tired of the greed; the jealousy; the anger that I witness so often. Yes, there is a righteous anger that impels us to aid those who are in desperate need because of various forms of persecution. The well-known Serenity Prayer reminds us there are some things that we can change and there are others that we cannot do anything about. Worrying and complaining about things we cannot change takes away time and resources from the things that we can change. There are some things we must just leave in the Lord's hands whether he works them by some miracle or through someone he has called and gifted to make changes that we cannot. 

Prayer for Serenity

God, grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,

enjoying one moment at a time;

accepting hardship as a pathway to peace;

taking, as Jesus did,

this sinful world as it is,

not as I would have it;

trusting that You will make all things right

if I surrender to Your will;

so that I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

                                                             Reinhold Niebuhr

Live life in peace! -  Pr. J.

Mercy and Truth

 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.

+++

A Good Name

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. (Prov 22:1 KJV)

It is terribly easy to destroy your own reputation. All it takes is one misstep and the gossip will take over. We all make mistakes. We all sin. To do so knowingly and willingly in order to have great riches or an ill-gotten reputation is folly, indeed! Yes, there is a generation (more that one generation) that thinks being popular, by any means, is something to be proud of. Unfortunately, this ill-gotten reputation actually harms one's future prospects. Opportunities will be closed to those who cannot be trusted.

We all make mistakes. We all sin. Stuff happens to us and by us that shouldn't happen; that does not contribute to our peace or our reputations. 

But, there is hope. In Christ our sins are forgiven. In baptism our sins are washed away and we can begin each day anew. By faith in Jesus, we bear a good name. That name is Jesus. Let us live each day rejoicing for all that has been done for us in his good name.

God's Peace - Pr. J

A Fool's Lips

Proverbs 26:5 -6; 11-19 NIV

Answer a fool according to his folly,
    or he will be wise in his own eyes.
Sending a message by the hands of a fool
    is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.
 As a dog returns to its vomit,
    so fools repeat their folly.
Do you see a person wise in their own eyes?
    There is more hope for a fool than for them.

A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road,
    a fierce lion roaming the streets!”
As a door turns on its hinges,
    so a sluggard turns on his bed.
A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
    he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.
A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
    than seven people who answer discreetly.

Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears
    is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own.

Like a maniac shooting
    flaming arrows of death
is one who deceives their neighbor
    and says, “I was only joking!”

Just totally disturbing to read the nasty comments about the victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. It is unbelievable to me that anyone could have such a lack of empathy! Yet, those comments are out there. Thankfully there are not too many of them; but, enough to realize how foolishly hateful some people are in this world.

Proverbs 26 warns us of the downfalls of being a fool, not just a fool, but a lazy fool with deceitful lips. It also warns us to be careful when it comes to trusting a person who is foolhardy. He or she should not be honored for their ways. They should not be lifted up. It would be foolish for us to enable them to continue in their ways.

What then should we do with the one who acts foolishly? "Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes." (Prov 26:5 NIV) Speak the truth, not rashly or harshly. But, with love; correct them, guide them, teach them the way in which they should go. Teach them to honor and respect others so that others may live pleasant and peaceful lives and not on edge when they are around. Teach them that it is better for everyone to live in peace than to be constantly starting quarrels. It is better to live in peace than to continue instigating division.

There are very few things that bother me more than to hear someone lying to or insulting another person and then when the person responds in a hurt manner, the first person will say "JK," just kidding.  Jokes that hurt other people are not funny. They are not jokes! "Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death is one who deceives their neighbor and says, “I was only joking!”  (Prov 26:18-19)

The wise person will respect others for who they are. They will be kind, not acting out of anger or revenge. But, they will also speak the truth to the one who is acting in a foolish, hurtful manner. They are unable to empathize with anyone other than those who agree with their foolhardiness. Freedom does not give us the right to hurt others. Freedom is given so that we can all live in peace, reconciled to one another. The foolish one does not comprehend this living in peace. They much prefer to cause divisiveness by feeding their foolish egos.

May God be with all the victims and families of the horrible massacre in Las Vegas. May God help us all to learn to empathize with and love one another.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Dead Flies

As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,    so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
                                                    (Eccl 10:1 NIV)

Yes, the odor of dead flies can really mask the odor of any perfume. Just ask any person who lives where they come out in swarms in the heat of the summer sun and they will confirm it. I lived in one home, years ago, that actually had to be vacuumed as you made your way into the house on the warmest of days as dead and dying flies covered the floors. Believe me! The odor of dead flies can really overpower the smell of perfume of the finest of roses.

So, too, a mistake here or there, whether purposely or not, can really mess up one's day if not their whole life. It is best to try to think things through. It doesn't hurt to listen to the options in order to help you decide if your choice is the "little folly" or "wisdom and honor." Choose wisely, your future, your life, may well depend up on it.

May God help you to choose His wisdom over the world's folly.

God's Peace - Pr. J