Mercy
Me 05-26-17
Matthew 9:13 (ESV) 13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not
sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus quoted this verse twice in the
Gospel of Matthew.
Matthew 12:7 (ESV) 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not
sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
He spoke it to the same group of
people(the Pharisees) about the same subject(condemnation of
"sinners)
It is a quote of Hosea 6:6
Hosea 6:6 (ESV) 6 For I desire
steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God
rather than burnt offerings.
For some unknown reason, I was reminded
this week of a story that was told me many, many years ago by a pastor that
concerned another pastor.It seems that the denominational leaders of a very
prominent denomination had decided to remove this pastor from his position
because of a particular sin in his life. As his friend,the other pastor(the
storyteller) went before the leaders of the denomination to plead for mercy on
behalf of his fellow pastor,only to be told," to let him go to hell." Upon
hearing that, both pastors left the organization and started their own separate
ministries on either side of a large city. These ministries became very
successful and multiplied thousands of people were brought to the saving
knowledge of Jesus Christ, one of which includes the author of this blog.And
herein lieth the lesson.
The Pharisees were about outward
conformity in conduct and ritual.They were concerned about the "letter of the
law." They seemed to be quick to judge and condemn when someone did not live up
to their preconceived notion of what the law entailed. They demanded
sacrifice,especially as it concerned OTHERS and not themselves. Jesus,in both
cases told them to go and LEARN what that verse meant. LEARN what the knowledge
of God was all about. You see brothers and sisters,the Pharisees were ignorant
of the fact that the fulfillment of every jot and tittle of the law was standing
right in front of them. But,more importantly, they had missed the mark
altogether hadn't they? God's heart all along,even before Jesus came on the
scene,even before He gave the law,His heart and nature toward His creation was
one of mercy and love. God looked throughout His whole creation to find someone
or something that was worthy to pay the ransom for sin. No one, NO ONE among His
creation was found. He had to send His son Jesus to satisfy His justice,His
anger,His wrath. But,the Pharisees in their SELF righteousness believed they had
the formula. Outward conformity. Say the right things. Act the right way.Ya
feelin' me here?
Folks,let me tell you something. I have
been saved since October 8,1975. What is that? let's see here.........upwards of
forty two years,is that right? Yes that's right forty two years that I have
named the name of Christ. In all that time. Every single day and month of those
forty two years I have NEVER...I will say it again.....I HAVE NEVER had to be
told when I was sinning. On every single occasion I KNEW,WITHOUT A DOUBT, that I
had missed the mark. I had transgressed. I had SINNED...... EVERY SINGLE TIME
WITHOUT DOUBT!!!
What I needed was not for someone to tell
me that I had sinned,no,no, what I needed was for someone to tell how to GET OUT
of my sin! How to be released and delivered from my bondage, NOT to be shackled
even more with condemnation and guilt based upon someone's self righteous
standard.
Someone will say "Yes, but you need to be
told the truth." I HAVE BEEN TOLD THE TRUTH!HIS NAME IS JESUS!!THERE IS NO OTHER
TRUTH!!!
Brothers and sisters, if we have named
the name of Jesus,then we are all somewhere on the road to final redemption.
Sometimes,during our journey on that road,we, like the Pharisees before us,
begin to think that we know more than God don't we?Huh? Oh yes. We begin to
demand of those on the same road that we are traveling, to CONFORM to a
preconceived standard that WE have set. Expecting someone to live up to
something that we ourselves can't live. Forgetting where WE came from and how WE
were delivered from OUR sin.By the mercy and grace of God Almighty, through His
Son,the Lord Jesus Christ.
Brothers and sisters,we can LEARN about
the knowledge and mercy of God if we will PRACTICE that same mercy towards other
people. Especially those of the household of faith. Let God deal with the sin
and the sinner.Unlike ours,His discipline is just and and always produces the
peaceable fruit of righteousness in us. Our ONLY job,it seems to me,is to point
them AND OURSELVES to the forgiveness and mercy found in the Lord JESUS. AMEN?
AMEN!!
Psalm 51:1 (ESV) 1
Have mercy on
me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
God Bless
A More Sure
Word 05-19-17
2 Peter 1:19 (ESV) 19 And we have the
prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention
as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star
rises in your hearts,
I read an interesting article this
week.According to the latest Gallup Poll concerning church attendance,the number
one reason that people attend church is to hear the Scripture preached. Not only
that,these same people not only desire to be taught the Scripture,but they want
to know how the Scripture applies to their daily lives. Eighty two percent of
Protestants who attend church on regular basis want biblical lessons and then
want to know how those teachings can be applied to their daily
living.
It seems that the "seeker" is no longer
seeking for an experience.Music,charismatic personalities,kids programs have now
taken a back seat to discovering the truth. That seem to contradict the
prevailing opinion about seekers. Being culturally relevant and accommodating
may have run their course,while Biblical truth,instruction and it's daily
relevance have regained their prominence.
The article goes on to say that the
church too often is a "mile wide and an inch deep".It encourages pastors to
prepare"deep,biblical sermons and education offerings that rest firmly on the
authority of Scripture. In this world chock full of biased media,fake news sites
and the like,there exists only one source of truth on which we can rely. And
herein lieth the lesson.
In the above verse,the Apostle Peter is
explaining the veracity of the written word,we call The Bible. He is recounting
the EYEWITNESS account of the transfiguration and the Father's voice which
he(Peter) heard.However he goes on to say that the "prophetic word"(the
Scriptures) is more confirming of the truth of Jesus than the voice from heaven
which they heard. That is our Biblical lesson for today. But,here is the
application.
Keep on reading that verse.".....to which
you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place,until the
day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,...."
In this world of deception and outright
falsehood, that which we seek,and pay billions of dollars annually trying to
find,.....what's that Ronnie? the TRUTH,....the WHOLE TRUTH,....and NOTHING BUT
THE TRUTH!...... lay within arms reach of most reading this blog today,including
this writer.
All we need do is sit down,open the book
and as Seeger said "turn the page."
This is good advice for all us "seekers"
out here.We will be well served if we carve out some time,sit down with the Holy
Spirit and feed on GOD'S newscast "until the day dawns and the morning star
rises in your hearts." Ya feelin' me here?
Psalm 119:105 (ESV) 105
Your word is a
lamp to my feet and a light to my
path.
God Bless
Not My
Battle 05-05-17
Psalm 35:1 (ESV) 1
Contend, O
LORD, with those who contend with
me; fight against those who fight against me!
Short and sweet this week.
When I walked in the house this
afternoon, I was greeted by Shelley and Chloe.I sat down and Chloe told me that
she had something that she wanted to show me. While I was waiting Shelley
quickly filled me in on what was happening. The girls had gone to Hobby Lobby
this afternoon and while shopping around Chloe saw one of those placards that
you hang on the wall. She told Shell Shell that she would spend her own money on
the placard. So, Shelley said O.K. and Chloe spent 20 dollars of her own money
on a placard that quoted 2nd Chronicles 20:15.
2 Chronicles 20:15 (ESV) 15 And he said,
“Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says
the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid
and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but
God’s.
"....for the battle is not yours but
God's......" It was pretty cool because Shelley and I had prayed a similar verse
every day this week. The one at the beginning of this blog.
Psalm 35:1 (ESV) 1
Contend, O
LORD, with those who contend with
me; fight against those who fight against me!
We had prayed each morning this week
about allowing God to fight the battle and refusing to take matters into our own
hands no matter the outcome.Well, unbeknownst to us and to our surprise it seems
that Chloe had been praying about the same stuff.And herein lieth the
lesson.
It's very tempting to strike back at
someone or something that launches an attack against us isn't it? You know.
Somebody says or does something meaning you harm,
or at the very least rubbing you the
wrong way. Our flesh immediately wants to strike back. To defend ourselves. We
get OFFENDED. We lash out to protect our turf,or we carry it around on the
inside until we are a seething time bomb; and God help the one or ones that are
around when all that pent up anger erupts.I have personally been on both sides
of the above equation and nothing good ever comes out of it.
Brothers and sisters we will all be way
ahead of the game if we can somehow trust God to take care of us no matter how
He so chooses.It's easy when things go our way.. not so much when it appears we
are on the short end. But God promises us that even when things don't go our
way,He still has us in the palm of His hand.
If we will let Him take command we will
be saved a lot of anger,pain and heartburn.
It ain't our fight.
Psalm 56:8-9 (ESV) 8 You have kept
count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know,
that God is for me.
God Bless