Mercy Is!

 Micah 6:6-8 (NLT)

What can we bring to the Lord?

    Should we bring him burnt offerings?

Should we bow before God Most High

    with offerings of yearling calves?

Should we offer him thousands of rams

    and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?

Should we sacrifice our firstborn children

    to pay for our sins?

No, O people, 

the Lord has told you what is good,

    and this is what he requires of you:

to do what is right, to love mercy,

    and to walk humbly with your God.

I recently spent some time wondering just how those scripture verses in Micah applied to Christ followers in our world.  
It seems that the word "Mercy" is used in different ways in the Scriptures, but one of the most moving to me is that "Mercy" seems to be connected with "God NOT doing something." 

The mercy of God is ultimately shown in His forgiveness - in God NOT punishing us for our sins, for the way we let him down, and the way we lack true obedience.  God doesn't punish his followers, his children, as they deserve - He forgives.  

God paid the price for our failures.  

The Latin word merced or merces - translated as Mercy, means "price paid." It has the connotation of forgiveness, benevolence and kindness. 

Mercy from God says that He acts gently and kindly towards his children.

So if we look at it that way, we see what this Mercy is.

It is God not giving us what we deserve. 

And that's a very humbling thought.  

In Micah 6, the people are being told that loving mercy is truly understanding our own sinfulness.  He says, "the Lord has told you what is good," stressing our dependence and station as created children of the God of the universe.  

The God of the Universe!  This is the one and only God who has so graciously forgiven, loved, and gifted us with his help and compassion.

How can we do anything other than walk humbly before Him?

We lay our sin-filled lives before you

with eyes downcast, almost afraid. 

We seek You Father, King, Creator,

dejected, daunted and dismayed.

We know you've promised not to leave us

even when from your path we've strayed.

So

We ask for Grace and Mercy from you,

And with a gentle touch you tell us 

My Child, my love, your debt is paid.

“How Deep The Father's Love For Us” is a timeless hymn from British songwriter and Christian worship leader, Stuart Townend.

This song seems like it must have been with us forever, but it was just  written in 1995.  Mr. Townend has written many songs used in Christian worship.  This one, however, stands out to me as more than a normal hymn: it's a sermon.  This song/sermon  tells us the real truth about God and His love, and it speaks of the price that He paid for our sins.  The words denote true worship, focusing on Him primarily, and focusing on us as recipients of God's love, His sacrifice, and His grace. You'll want to click on the link below to hear the words.

How deep the Father's love for us

The song tells of the sacrifice of God's only Son as proof of His great love for mankind.

I can't quote the entire song here, but the words create in me deep feelings of regret and sadness for the pain my sin has to have caused our Father, but they also inspire feelings of tremendous gratitude for this sacrifice.  

The lyrics end with that sacrifice.

"His wounds have paid my ransom."

We can continue to thank God for the ministry of this writer and pray that God will continue blessing us with the thoughts and music that come from Mr. Townend's heart.

Next week I'll be talking about sacrifice - I wonder what thoughts will show up in my scripture reading time.  God has so much to tell us.

 

"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27 (NIV)

Right now I'm wondering about the God who is so powerful that He can control the stars, the sun, the wind and the water.  Why would He ever want to come down to my level and care for me.  

Why would the God who created the world, bend down and breathe life into His created man?  It seems so strange that God would bend down from the heights of heaven for someone so small and so helpless as man.

Soon I'll be spending time studying with a group of ladies, the lessons by Beth Moore, called "Chasing Vines."

I cheated and began reading the student book.  The first pages I read brought thoughts of God's work in creating mankind.  He made man out of the dust of the ground - out of dirt.  That's a picture that hadn't come to mind for me in the past.  "Out of Dirt."  

Thinking of the value of dirt in growing living things, I'd be interested to know what picture that brings to your mind.

But for now - 

We're told of the God who is King of the earth.

and we picture His majesty, power and worth.

We speak of His glory, 

We're awed by the sight.

We speak of His infinite knowledge and might.

Yes, 

Over all things He's master.

Over all things He reigns.

He's Lord of the universe and all it contains.

But 

That God of the universe made you and me.

And in order to know Him, His love I must see.

Not only the majesty, power and worth,

But His care and compassion for the children on earth.

"How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings." Psalm 36:7  (NIV)

He is so good.

  Happy New year 2023.

I didn't think I'd make it to 2023.  Years ago I thought 2010 might be stretching it.  But dear friend, we did, and I truly  don't want to miss what God has ahead for me, for all of us - and yet, sometimes I fear it.  Don't you?

Sometimes I feel more than a tiny bit afraid of what this year will bring, but the word I hear within my fear is - TRUST!

I heard the song again this morning,  "Trust His heart." sung by Cynthia Clawson.  You can find it on YouTube.  It really says what I wish for all of us.  "When you can't see His hand, trust His heart."

Can you do that, can you trust God's heart?  I believe you can - and I can.  He's proven time and again that He is powerful, He's just, and He's good and loving enough to be trusted.

When you sit on a chair, you may believe it will hold you.  

But,

when you reach for the Savior, 

you know His arms will enfold you.

When you're tired of the day, with its sin on display,

When your thoughts circle round and the sleep is not found. 

Then there's only one way to end every day 

Only one word brings sleep on the way

Only one God

Trust Him.

Is Christmas Over?

Another Christmas has come and gone Let's talk of what we’ve seen. 

      The angels sang of Jesus birth, 

announcing peace to all the earth. 

Shepherds ran to see the son, 

the promised, long awaited one.

We stop to ponder Jesus birth and sing of glorious peace on earth, we praise the baby in the hay and pause to celebrate the day - 

and then we pack it all away.

 The trees and lights and treasures fair, we put the crèche with Jesus there. And for one more year we put away the trappings of that special day. 

But, if we this year instead, take Jesus from his manger bed 

and see the holy life He led,

then watch the Son of God and see Him die upon that cursed tree. 

If we do -

then Christmas might be just the start 

of Jesus living in our hearts. 

Has this season of concentrating on the birth of my Savior made a difference? Tomorrow, when I start to “undecorate” my house, I will not be putting Jesus away for another year. This year, as I looked at Christ’s birth in a different way, I found so much more about God to worship and to love. He will not be living in a box in the attic; he will be living in my heart. 

We read in Galatians 2:20  

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 

 

Today, I'd like to show you a picture that could have been ...

On a hillside he sits, alone in a crowd,

his tears sketch a picture of gloom.

On his heart there’s an old heavy burden

‘cause his mind is forever replaying

the words he remembers saying

those terrible words, “There’s no room.”

Yes, he offered his stable, the manger and hay,

but he gave not his best to the Savior that day,

and he fears that the Father in heaven will say

those same awful words

“There’s no room.”

On that hillside he sits, still alone, still remembering

The crowd is silent and still - the Master is speaking

of the love of the Father and the hope He can give.

Christ knows of the man’s heavy burden,

the crippling fear and the heartache,

so He  looks at that man as He utters

those beautiful words

“I forgive.”

I’m the one who was born in your stable that day

when my mother and Joseph had nowhere to stay.

You gave safety and warmth with the shelter and hay.

Without knowing the outcome 

“You made room.”

You made room in your stable and room in your heart.

Small acts can have great value too.

Go home and be comforted - cast guilt aside,

and remember how much I love you.

There are rooms in God’s mansion and room in his heart,

in a place to refresh and renew.

God offered that room

when He gave his own Son

to be born and to die just for you.

Peace and forgiveness, comfort and love, are yours 

because

Jesus was born 2000 years ago

and He lives eternally. 

Peace and Forgiveness are such beautiful words.  I can’t begin to think about Christmas without thinking about the forgiveness and love that Jesus brought to the world.  It’s so personal to me.

Of course, if you read the Bible's account of the birth of Jesus, you won't find this story there.  You won't even find a reference to the innkeeper.  But I found this story in my heart, in my imagination.  Most likely because it could have been.  

The innkeeper is a person who, in my imagination, carries with him all of the worry and guilt that so many of us harbor in our minds and hearts.  He tells himself all of the things he thinks he should have known - he should have done.  

We do that sometimes – the “should haves” hold us captive.  We know that the good that we do is not good enough.  We spend our time in gloom.  Our minds are continually replaying our past and believing that even the small good things we have done are not pleasing to God.  

The innkeeper in this story did something good.  Maybe his heart wasn’t totally in it.  Maybe he knew that he really should have been more caring.  So he continually beat himself up over the fact that it was such a small thing to do.

We forget that we don’t have a right to harbor unforgiveness in our hearts, for other people but also for ourselves.  If God can forgive us, can we believe our standards are higher than his?  

We can be comforted by the fact that there is room in God’s heart for us.  God will never say, “no room.”  

Jesus said; 

“ In my Father’s house are many rooms, if it were not so I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you…. I will come back and take you with me.”

(John 14:2)

 

I was once asked this question, “If you had been there in Bethlehem,  would you have known the Christ child when you saw Him?”

Consider this story of the watcher.

I watch there in the stable yard and see not far away,

a gentle mother kiss her child and place Him on the hay.

I see the father touch her face.  I see his look of pride

in the woman's strength and tenderness, 

his wife, his love, his bride.

I see the love shine in his eyes, for the baby lying there, 

his face, a mask of wonder, as he touches silky hair.

And I wonder at that young man’s smile, 

and I wonder 

what God had planned, 

for the little family staying there –

the child,

the woman, 

the man. 

But, I wander down the road again.  A hillside comes in view, 

I see shepherds, watching quiet sheep.  I’m the watcher,  watching too.

Then as I stand there at the scene, 

the heavens burst with light.

Mighty beings with wings of gold 

illuminate the night.

And the chieftain of this angel band roars out across the skies,

“Fear not!” he says, “Be not afraid!” 

Trembling, I close my eyes.

“Behold I bring glad tidings! 

Behold the time has come!  

For unto you is born this night, your Savior, 

God’s own Son.”

And then he spoke about the child and where He could be found 

 in a stable back in Bethlehem - 

and then

I looked 

down 

at 

the 

ground.

‘Cause then I knew the answer to the 

question asked of me.  

For I had been a watcher at his birth, 

and didn’t see.

As we celebrate this Christmas - as we gather round the tree, may we never be the watcher who looks, but doesn’t see. 

Consider the watcher – looking around, walking the road, observant?   We’re all watchers at times.  We walk through our lives watching the world around us.  But do we actually see?  Do we look beneath the “scene” and see what is really there?

In the poem, the watcher saw Jesus and Mary and Joseph, but she didn’t really see.  It wasn’t until the angels pointed out what was happening in Bethlehem that her eyes were opened.

Let's look for God’s hand in the events, the “scenes”, of our lives.  Let's look into the faces of the people that we meet.  God expects us to be his hands to his people.  We cannot help if we do not see the need.

If we look beneath the surface of the Christmas story; we'll see there the mighty love of God.  Look for Him, and you will find Him.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.”  (Hebrews 12:2)