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God has long used Mercy with Judgment to compliment each other. The people of God experienced the bountiful mercy of God but that didn’t exempt them from the heavy hand of his judgment. Often, the blessings of God caused them to become overconfident in their own abilities and they would abandon the ways of God. Each time judgment came into their lives to lead them back to the mercy and grace of God.
Through the pages of the scripture the co-mingling of Mercy and Judgment was often present. The Ark of the Covenant contained within it the bowl of Manna that had been provided by the grace of God. That wonderful token of blessing was a consistent reminder that God had shown them his mercy. However, in the same ark, under the same mercy seat, right beside the manna lay Aaron’s budded rod, a consistent reminder of the authority and judgment of God.
David said it, in the ever-popular Shepherd’s Psalm, “Thy rod (judgment) and thy staff (mercy) comfort me…” The shepherd’s staff was to sustain and console the sheep. It was the symbol of loving kindness and mercy. But the rod was to discipline the sheep. It was the symbol of correction and judgment. And David said, together, they comfort me!
Even in the Old Testament Tabernacle, we find judgment and mercy mingled together. The Bronze Altar provided the only means of approach to God. It was there that the blood was shed, in judgment. And it was the blood, from the altar, that would be poured out upon the Mercy Seat, obtaining the grace and forgiveness of God. However, the neat thing is that on that brazen altar there was a bronze grate that rested on a recessed ledge inside the altar. The grate, where the sacrifice was placed, was the same height from the ground as the mercy seat. The place where judgment and wrath were poured out and the place where mercy and grace were granted, existed on the same level in the tabernacle of God.
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ fulfilled all the ordinances of the law. He became both our sacrifice and our saviour. Even in his life, mercy and judgment were intertwined. He was bruised for our iniquities and the chastisement of our peace was upon him. God poured out all the fury and wrath of judgment upon himself at the old rugged cross. However, the story doesn’t end there, by his stripes, Isaiah declares, we are healed. The blood that was shed has set us set free. He offered one sacrifice, one time, facing judgment for every man and loosing mercy for whosoever will.
The only place where there will be no judgment is heaven and the only place that there will be no mercy is Hell. Everything suspended in between contains a mixture of judgment and mercy. Some will be constrained by judgment and discover everlasting mercy. Others will reject God’s mercy and afflict themselves with unending judgment. But, in any case, judgment and mercy will always be comingled in this life. The one doesn’t exist without the other. It is the two working together that produces the song of the redeemed.
“I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing.” Psalm 101:1
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Mercy and Judgment (Part 1)
On the occasion of assuming the throne of Israel, David wrote the 101st Psalm, which is regarded as the Psalm of the Magistrates. It is said that rulers, after David, read this Psalm on the day of their inauguration. It would certainly be a great beginning point for any administration. Contained within it, is the wisdom of a king and great guidelines by which to rule a kingdom. However, at the outset, as David takes his harp and begins to sing, he reflects upon his life and pronounces a mixed blessing. “I will sing,” David says, “of Mercy and Judgment.”
What a wonderfully strange mixture! When David looks across the landscape of his life and the events that have brought him to this place he is compelled to sing of both Mercy and Judgment. Hidden within the history of his life is a beautifully tapestry composed of both extremes of God’s love. One is the antithesis of the other. One exists on the opposite end of the spectrum from the other. But in the course of his life, David sees the two of them woven together in such a glorious harmony that it produces singing in his heart.
Mercy, taken alone is the obvious instigator of praise. It is the result of God’s blessing and his provision. Everything about mercy is wonderful and good. And one can easily see how David would sing, as he often does in the Psalms, of the wondrous mercies of God. Mercy is a magnificent thing and there is no doubt that this shepherd boy elevated to the throne had ample opportunity to rejoice in the glorious mercy of God.
But David doesn’t just sing of Mercy, he sings also of Judgment. This is much harder to understand. Judgment speaks of the wrath and chastisement of God. No doubt, as David looked back upon the course of his life he saw, mingled among the shining diamonds of Mercy, the dark lumps of Judgment. He remembers the times that God has chastised him. He sees dark moments when, because of his own pride or self-will, he defied the will of God and did things his own way. And he remembers, in vivid detail, the stinging rebuke and the painful punishment of judgment in his life. He remembers what it is to face the judgment of God.
In this critical moment of reflection, David recognizes that any life that knows Mercy will, inevitably, also know judgment. He recognizes that, even in the pain of judgment, there is the understanding that this is the price of Mercy. Had there been no judgment there would have been no mercy! Had God not loved him enough to hold him accountable for his wrongs, God would never have cared enough to deliver Mercy in his darkest hours.
Mercy and Judgment are on opposite ends of the spectrum of God’s love. But they work together in every life. Judgment, chastisement, and the impending threat of them provide boundaries in the life of a believer even as mercy and grace sustain and provide for us. If you took the time this evening to reflect upon your life, you would find the same comingling of Mercy and Judgment that inspired David to sing.
Across the fabric of your past you will see a bright and glorious thread of mercy, that reflects each time God has blessed you and delivered you. That wondrously golden thread of blessing and provision. But braided through the same life is the equally dark and bold thread of judgment. It doesn’t take us long to remember the hard times and difficult places that we got into by our own hand. When we were stubborn and stiff-necked and refused to heed the gentle call of God. We can all remember those times when Judgment compelled us to seek Mercy. When trouble and trial pushed us to our knees and compelled us to seek the face of God. Thank God for that dark thread of judgment in our lives, for it is the judgment of God that keeps us humble and watchful. It is the judgment of God that has taught us to depend on him. We’ve learned, over time, through the venue of our missteps that we can’t place our faith in our own abilities or resource. But we’ve discovered, by the same avenue, that the mercies of God are tender and lovely. And we can place our trust in him.
Judgment keeps us honest, it keeps us submitted to God. While Mercy, precious mercy, keeps us hopeful and confident in the grace of God. We live in a world and a generation that would like to strip God of his judgment. They want to serve and worship a God of mercy but deny that he is also a God of judgment. David understood what this generation has failed to grasp, without judgment there is no mercy. And where there is mercy, there will always exist, right along side of it Judgment. In David’s song, we find them bound together in praise. When they are mingled together in the life of a child of God they produce a reason for worship.
Thank God for Mercy AND Judgment.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Playing Hide & Seek With God
When my boys were younger one of their favorite things to do was to play "Hide and Seek" with me. My youngest son, particularly, delighted in the game. He was really good at finding a great place to hide, but he wasn't so good at staying hidden. As I would begin to search for him he would get tickled at how great his hiding place was. The closer I would get in my unfruitful search, the more he would giggle, until he simply couldn't contain himself. Inevitably his laughter and sheer delight with the game would betray his carefully chosen hiding place.
In my study and sermon preparation this weekend I read a familiar scripture from a translation that I don't use very often. The imagery provided by this different translation brought the memories of playing hide and seek with my young son to my mind. Jeremiah 29:11 begins like this, "I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will hear you. When you look for me, you will find me." However, the last portion of verse 13 and the first part of verse 14 are what jumped out at me. The Lord declares, "When you wholeheartedly seek me, I will let you find me..." (Jeremiah 29:11-14 GWT)
The wonderful news enclosed in that verse is that we serve a God that wants to be found! To my young son the joy of the game was in being found by his loving father. He wasn't near as interested in evading me as he was in being found by me. That's why it never bothered him that he gave himself away. I want you to know, today, that God wants you to find him. As a matter of fact, He's gone out of his way to make it easy for you. He said, "If you will seek me with your whole heart, I will let you find me."
So many times we convince ourselves that God is hard to find. We often feel like a blind man stumbling in the dark looking for the light switch. When the real truth of the matter is that God is easy to find. The only prerequisite is that we seek him with our whole heart. I wonder, today, what you would discover in God if you would only take him at his word and seek him with your whole heart. I am persuaded that he longs to reveal himself to you, that he has a strong desire to draw you closer to him.
So, what are you waiting on? Perhaps its time that you found a place of prayer and said, "Ready or not, here I come..."
In my study and sermon preparation this weekend I read a familiar scripture from a translation that I don't use very often. The imagery provided by this different translation brought the memories of playing hide and seek with my young son to my mind. Jeremiah 29:11 begins like this, "I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will hear you. When you look for me, you will find me." However, the last portion of verse 13 and the first part of verse 14 are what jumped out at me. The Lord declares, "When you wholeheartedly seek me, I will let you find me..." (Jeremiah 29:11-14 GWT)
The wonderful news enclosed in that verse is that we serve a God that wants to be found! To my young son the joy of the game was in being found by his loving father. He wasn't near as interested in evading me as he was in being found by me. That's why it never bothered him that he gave himself away. I want you to know, today, that God wants you to find him. As a matter of fact, He's gone out of his way to make it easy for you. He said, "If you will seek me with your whole heart, I will let you find me."
So many times we convince ourselves that God is hard to find. We often feel like a blind man stumbling in the dark looking for the light switch. When the real truth of the matter is that God is easy to find. The only prerequisite is that we seek him with our whole heart. I wonder, today, what you would discover in God if you would only take him at his word and seek him with your whole heart. I am persuaded that he longs to reveal himself to you, that he has a strong desire to draw you closer to him.
So, what are you waiting on? Perhaps its time that you found a place of prayer and said, "Ready or not, here I come..."
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Issues of the Heart
Today my wife and I took our boys to Arkansas Children's Hospital for their heart checkups. As many of you know, both of our sons are under the care of a Cardiologist. They share a common heart defect (they both have bicuspid aortic valves.) However, my younger son was also born with a congenital blockage in his aorta that required heart surgery when he was only 6 days old. The purpose of this visit was to listen to both heart murmurs and insure that nothing was changing in their condition and, in the one case, to check on the integrity of the repair that was done.
Being parents of heart patients, my wife and I have learned a lot along the way about the different conditions that our boys have. One of the things that we learned early on was that they check for problems with scar tissue around the blockage repair by comparing blood pressures taken in the arm and the leg. These two should be relatively close together. Today was the first check in over two years and we were surprised to discover that the nurses noted a 20 point difference between the arm and the leg. This was an immediate source of concern for me and I was quite certain that it would concern the doctor as well.
When the doctor finally came to see us, after a resident and a student had their turns with our boys, he brought up the disparity in blood pressures and told us he had decided to do an echo to check on the heart function and the site of the repair. After the echo was finished, it was determined that the heart function was normal but that the repair was too difficult to see with an echo. Next we discussed an MRI in order to get a better look at the site of the repair. However, much to my surprise, the doctor ordered the MRI to be done next summer.
“Next summer?” I couldn’t believe it. I was ready to find out something right now! The doctor proceeded to explain that even if there was some restriction from the scar tissue developing it wasn’t anything that was happening fast. “Next summer we will be 10 years removed from the surgery,” he said, “and that’s a good point to assess any possible problems.” What he said next stirred my soul. In issues of the heart, according to the doctor, things develop slowly.
I began to turn that over in my mind. It appears to me that, once again, physical truth bears out a greater spiritual reality. In matters of the heart, things develop slowly. I’ve been in church all my life. I’ve watched people come and go. I’ve seen folks lose out with God along the way. But the truth is that I’ve never seen anyone walk away from God overnight. I’ve never seen anyone decide on moments notice to walk away from grace and abandon their faith. The truth is that these things happen slowly.
Bitterness takes time to get a grip on a heart. Unfaithfulness and deceit take time to overtake a person’s convictions. In matters of the heart, it is a slow process that turns one away from God and separates one from the presence of God. I would venture that there are many out there today that are far from God that never intended to end up there. They never intended to grow cold in their spirit. They never intended to let their faithfulness slip. They never intended to put distance between themselves and the loving presence of God. But it happened to them. And it happened so slowly that many of them didn’t even realize, until it was too late, just how far they had drifted from God.
I simply want to remind you today that in matters pertaining to the heart, things happen slowly. It is absolutely critical to each of us that we maintain the condition of our hearts on a daily basis. A drift away from the presence of God may be a slow and gradual process but the absolute truth is that if we aren’t vigilant to bring ourselves into the presence of God on a regular basis, we will drift away from him. It doesn’t happen fast and it isn’t sudden. But, mark my words, it does happen. This is why it is so essential that you maintain a relationship with God, that you spend regular time in prayer and the study of the word. This is what Paul was talking about when he admonished us not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by a process of renewal.
I want to encourage you today to renew your mind in the Lord. Renew your heart in his presence. Allow the goodness of God to wash over you, allow the presence of God to minister to your life. In his presence, those little things that would take root and begin to develop in our hearts are exposed and rooted out. In his presence, conviction stirs our souls and attitudes and issues are resolved. In his presence all things are made new and old things pass away. It is that continual exposure to the presence of God that guards your heart against that inevitable slow drift away from God.
The good news is that, in issues of the heart, things develop slowly. If you've neglected your relationship with God, there's still time to turn back to him. If you've been drifting away from his presence there is still time to get things back on track. I want to encourage you today to make it a point to spend time in his presence. We could all use an honest heart checkup from the master physician...
Being parents of heart patients, my wife and I have learned a lot along the way about the different conditions that our boys have. One of the things that we learned early on was that they check for problems with scar tissue around the blockage repair by comparing blood pressures taken in the arm and the leg. These two should be relatively close together. Today was the first check in over two years and we were surprised to discover that the nurses noted a 20 point difference between the arm and the leg. This was an immediate source of concern for me and I was quite certain that it would concern the doctor as well.
When the doctor finally came to see us, after a resident and a student had their turns with our boys, he brought up the disparity in blood pressures and told us he had decided to do an echo to check on the heart function and the site of the repair. After the echo was finished, it was determined that the heart function was normal but that the repair was too difficult to see with an echo. Next we discussed an MRI in order to get a better look at the site of the repair. However, much to my surprise, the doctor ordered the MRI to be done next summer.
“Next summer?” I couldn’t believe it. I was ready to find out something right now! The doctor proceeded to explain that even if there was some restriction from the scar tissue developing it wasn’t anything that was happening fast. “Next summer we will be 10 years removed from the surgery,” he said, “and that’s a good point to assess any possible problems.” What he said next stirred my soul. In issues of the heart, according to the doctor, things develop slowly.
I began to turn that over in my mind. It appears to me that, once again, physical truth bears out a greater spiritual reality. In matters of the heart, things develop slowly. I’ve been in church all my life. I’ve watched people come and go. I’ve seen folks lose out with God along the way. But the truth is that I’ve never seen anyone walk away from God overnight. I’ve never seen anyone decide on moments notice to walk away from grace and abandon their faith. The truth is that these things happen slowly.
Bitterness takes time to get a grip on a heart. Unfaithfulness and deceit take time to overtake a person’s convictions. In matters of the heart, it is a slow process that turns one away from God and separates one from the presence of God. I would venture that there are many out there today that are far from God that never intended to end up there. They never intended to grow cold in their spirit. They never intended to let their faithfulness slip. They never intended to put distance between themselves and the loving presence of God. But it happened to them. And it happened so slowly that many of them didn’t even realize, until it was too late, just how far they had drifted from God.
I simply want to remind you today that in matters pertaining to the heart, things happen slowly. It is absolutely critical to each of us that we maintain the condition of our hearts on a daily basis. A drift away from the presence of God may be a slow and gradual process but the absolute truth is that if we aren’t vigilant to bring ourselves into the presence of God on a regular basis, we will drift away from him. It doesn’t happen fast and it isn’t sudden. But, mark my words, it does happen. This is why it is so essential that you maintain a relationship with God, that you spend regular time in prayer and the study of the word. This is what Paul was talking about when he admonished us not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by a process of renewal.
I want to encourage you today to renew your mind in the Lord. Renew your heart in his presence. Allow the goodness of God to wash over you, allow the presence of God to minister to your life. In his presence, those little things that would take root and begin to develop in our hearts are exposed and rooted out. In his presence, conviction stirs our souls and attitudes and issues are resolved. In his presence all things are made new and old things pass away. It is that continual exposure to the presence of God that guards your heart against that inevitable slow drift away from God.
The good news is that, in issues of the heart, things develop slowly. If you've neglected your relationship with God, there's still time to turn back to him. If you've been drifting away from his presence there is still time to get things back on track. I want to encourage you today to make it a point to spend time in his presence. We could all use an honest heart checkup from the master physician...
Friday, August 7, 2009
Today Is The Day!
For those that don't know it, I am a habitual last minute kind of guy. I have lived by the motto, never do today what you can put off until tomorrow. However, the older I get the more I realize the uncertainty of tomorrow. There are things that I desire to do in this life that, if I keep putting them off, may never get done. This is the thought that was on my mind this morning as I read from the 28th chapter of Genesis.
The story is a familiar one. Jacob is on the run, fleeing from his brother's wrath. Esau is sure to pursue him and will definitely be angry enough to kill him if he catches him. So Jacob leaves Beersheba and heads towards Haran but exhaustion and nightfall catch up with him along the way. Stopping for the night, this fugitive lies down to sleep. However, in the darkness of night, God visits his dreams.
Jacob dreamed that night of a ladder stretching from heaven to earth and he saw angels ascending and descending on the ladder. In his dream, the Lord stood above the ladder and declared, "I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac..." The most interesting thing, at this point in the story, is what God didn't say. He said, I'm the God of Abraham and of Isaac, but he didn't say anything about being the God of Jacob.
This meeting between God and Jacob was not just a chance encounter. Jacob is on the run. Life's problems are more than he can bear. He has caused in his life a situation that he simply cannot face. Death and Destruction are on his trail and he is desperately looking for a place of escape. He needs some shelter, he's in desperate need of a savior. It is fitting that, while he was running from his problems, he ran headlong into the problem solver!
He didn't plan it this way. He wasn't looking for God. He wouldn't have counted himself worthy to be in His presence. Rather, God came looking for him. God steps right into the middle of the mess he's made of his life and confronts him face to face. Remember me? Remember sitting on your Grandfather's knee and hearing stories about me? I am the God of Abraham. Remember the God that your daddy served? I am the God of Isaac.
God was doing more than just reminding Jacob of the past. The dream that night was about an invitation to a fresh start. The God of Abraham and Isaac was saying to Jacob, I want to be your God too. Cast your cares and burdens on me, I can shoulder your heavy load, I want to be your God. Come walk with me and I will walk with you. god made promises to Jacob that night, follow me and I will fulfill in you the covenant that I have made with your Father and Grandfather.
Jacob woke from that dream wit the knowledge that he had been in the presence of God. The experience was so extraordinary that it frightened him. “Surely the Lord is in this place," he said, "and I did not know it.” In awe and respect he erected a monument to the glory of God. He changed the name of the place, calling it Bethel meaning "the house of God." It was his first real encounter with God. In his darkest night God became more than just a story his Daddy told him. God became more than just the provider his Grandfather had talked so much about. God became real, a present help in a time of trouble.
The thing that got my attention this morning was Jacobs reaction to God's overtures. Jacob vowed a vow saying, "“If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God." Jacob had a supernatural experience with God. God had found him at his lowest point and overshadowed him wit the glory of his presence. However, Jacob walked away from that experience with a mind set that said, "One of these days the Lord shall be my God."
God reveals Himself to Jacob. He invites him to taste of the goodness of God. He sends an implicit invitation, I want to be your God. But, while Jacob was awed at the display of God's glory, he wasn't ready yet to relinquish control of his life. Instead he was content to say to God, if you help me then, one of these days, I'll make you my God. What a shame...
The truth, today, is that many of us do God the same way. We know we need to get closer to Him. We recognize that He is calling us to a deeper walk with him. But we procrastinate, saying to God, one of these days I'm going to answer your call. When I get a little older. When i get married. When I settle into a career. When I finally retire. When I have more time. Then I will serve you and you will be to me my God. The tragedy of this is that none of us is promised that we will ever see tomorrow.
There is a reason why Isaiah 55:6 admonishes us to “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found.” It is the same reason that Paul admonished the church in Corinth that "today" is “the day of salvation.” The truth is that there is no guarantee that our "then" will ever become "now." The only now that we have is the day that we were given when the sun came up this morning. I want to encourage you today to make this the day that your "then" becomes a "now."
If you've been thinking that "one of these days" you are going to get right with God, make today that day. If you've been telling yourself that "one of these days" you are going to answer his call, then make this that day. Today is the day, for none of us is promised any other day.
God is still calling out to you. How will you answer Him today?
The story is a familiar one. Jacob is on the run, fleeing from his brother's wrath. Esau is sure to pursue him and will definitely be angry enough to kill him if he catches him. So Jacob leaves Beersheba and heads towards Haran but exhaustion and nightfall catch up with him along the way. Stopping for the night, this fugitive lies down to sleep. However, in the darkness of night, God visits his dreams.
Jacob dreamed that night of a ladder stretching from heaven to earth and he saw angels ascending and descending on the ladder. In his dream, the Lord stood above the ladder and declared, "I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac..." The most interesting thing, at this point in the story, is what God didn't say. He said, I'm the God of Abraham and of Isaac, but he didn't say anything about being the God of Jacob.
This meeting between God and Jacob was not just a chance encounter. Jacob is on the run. Life's problems are more than he can bear. He has caused in his life a situation that he simply cannot face. Death and Destruction are on his trail and he is desperately looking for a place of escape. He needs some shelter, he's in desperate need of a savior. It is fitting that, while he was running from his problems, he ran headlong into the problem solver!
He didn't plan it this way. He wasn't looking for God. He wouldn't have counted himself worthy to be in His presence. Rather, God came looking for him. God steps right into the middle of the mess he's made of his life and confronts him face to face. Remember me? Remember sitting on your Grandfather's knee and hearing stories about me? I am the God of Abraham. Remember the God that your daddy served? I am the God of Isaac.
God was doing more than just reminding Jacob of the past. The dream that night was about an invitation to a fresh start. The God of Abraham and Isaac was saying to Jacob, I want to be your God too. Cast your cares and burdens on me, I can shoulder your heavy load, I want to be your God. Come walk with me and I will walk with you. god made promises to Jacob that night, follow me and I will fulfill in you the covenant that I have made with your Father and Grandfather.
Jacob woke from that dream wit the knowledge that he had been in the presence of God. The experience was so extraordinary that it frightened him. “Surely the Lord is in this place," he said, "and I did not know it.” In awe and respect he erected a monument to the glory of God. He changed the name of the place, calling it Bethel meaning "the house of God." It was his first real encounter with God. In his darkest night God became more than just a story his Daddy told him. God became more than just the provider his Grandfather had talked so much about. God became real, a present help in a time of trouble.
The thing that got my attention this morning was Jacobs reaction to God's overtures. Jacob vowed a vow saying, "“If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God." Jacob had a supernatural experience with God. God had found him at his lowest point and overshadowed him wit the glory of his presence. However, Jacob walked away from that experience with a mind set that said, "One of these days the Lord shall be my God."
God reveals Himself to Jacob. He invites him to taste of the goodness of God. He sends an implicit invitation, I want to be your God. But, while Jacob was awed at the display of God's glory, he wasn't ready yet to relinquish control of his life. Instead he was content to say to God, if you help me then, one of these days, I'll make you my God. What a shame...
The truth, today, is that many of us do God the same way. We know we need to get closer to Him. We recognize that He is calling us to a deeper walk with him. But we procrastinate, saying to God, one of these days I'm going to answer your call. When I get a little older. When i get married. When I settle into a career. When I finally retire. When I have more time. Then I will serve you and you will be to me my God. The tragedy of this is that none of us is promised that we will ever see tomorrow.
There is a reason why Isaiah 55:6 admonishes us to “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found.” It is the same reason that Paul admonished the church in Corinth that "today" is “the day of salvation.” The truth is that there is no guarantee that our "then" will ever become "now." The only now that we have is the day that we were given when the sun came up this morning. I want to encourage you today to make this the day that your "then" becomes a "now."
If you've been thinking that "one of these days" you are going to get right with God, make today that day. If you've been telling yourself that "one of these days" you are going to answer his call, then make this that day. Today is the day, for none of us is promised any other day.
God is still calling out to you. How will you answer Him today?
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
His Blood Was Precious Blood
Did you know that blood has a voice? When Cain slew Able, God said to him, in Genesis 4:10 (ESV), "the voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground." The voice of innocent blood has the ability to speak and it gets the attention of God. I don't know what all was going on in the throne room of heaven that day but the blood of Able would not be denied an audience with the Ancient of Days. It pressed its way into the presence of God and made its plea known.
Able's innocent blood cried out for vengeance and retribution. Able's blood demanded judgement for a stolen life, for innocence crushed beneath the weight of jealousy and hatred. Able's blood said, "I am innocent and I demand judgement." God responded to the cry of Able's blood and confronted Cain, passing judgement upon him for the murder of his brother.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that the blood of Jesus also has a voice. However, the blood of Jesus speaks better things than the blood of Able. Where the blood of Able cries out for judgement and vindication, the blood of Jesus cries out for Mercy and Forgiveness. This is why I'm so thankful for the blood of Jesus. When He shed his blood on that old rugged cross he became my advocate, the vocal defender of my soul.
Revelation 12:10 describes Satan as the accuser of those who trust in Jesus. It goes so far as to declare that he "accuses them day and night before our God." But, in 1 John 2:1, the word tells me that we have an advocate, a voice that speaks on our behalf. I beleive, this morning, that the voice of our advocate is the voice of the blood of Jesus. That precious blood covers our faults and failings and cries out for mercy and forgiveness. It offers no defense, it makes no excuses, but rather, by virtue of its own innocence, it demands mercy! So John writes in Revelation 12:11, "and they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony."
I'll be the first to admit I've made mistakes and I've not always been perfect. But, when the accuser comes around to remind me of my past, I'll be content today to let the blood speak for me. His blood speaks better things. His blood speaks of mercy and forgieness. And his blood, combined with the word of my testimony is how I'm going to overcome the accuser of my soul!
This morning I celebrate the voice of that precious blood! It speaks of healing and deliverance. It speaks of mercy and grace. I'm so glad that His blood was not just the blood of another spotless lamb. But his blood had the power to cleanse the hearts of men. His blood has the power to heal my body and set my spirit free. I'm so glad that I know that his precious blood still flows from Calvary.
Thank God for the blood!
Able's innocent blood cried out for vengeance and retribution. Able's blood demanded judgement for a stolen life, for innocence crushed beneath the weight of jealousy and hatred. Able's blood said, "I am innocent and I demand judgement." God responded to the cry of Able's blood and confronted Cain, passing judgement upon him for the murder of his brother.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that the blood of Jesus also has a voice. However, the blood of Jesus speaks better things than the blood of Able. Where the blood of Able cries out for judgement and vindication, the blood of Jesus cries out for Mercy and Forgiveness. This is why I'm so thankful for the blood of Jesus. When He shed his blood on that old rugged cross he became my advocate, the vocal defender of my soul.
Revelation 12:10 describes Satan as the accuser of those who trust in Jesus. It goes so far as to declare that he "accuses them day and night before our God." But, in 1 John 2:1, the word tells me that we have an advocate, a voice that speaks on our behalf. I beleive, this morning, that the voice of our advocate is the voice of the blood of Jesus. That precious blood covers our faults and failings and cries out for mercy and forgiveness. It offers no defense, it makes no excuses, but rather, by virtue of its own innocence, it demands mercy! So John writes in Revelation 12:11, "and they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony."
I'll be the first to admit I've made mistakes and I've not always been perfect. But, when the accuser comes around to remind me of my past, I'll be content today to let the blood speak for me. His blood speaks better things. His blood speaks of mercy and forgieness. And his blood, combined with the word of my testimony is how I'm going to overcome the accuser of my soul!
This morning I celebrate the voice of that precious blood! It speaks of healing and deliverance. It speaks of mercy and grace. I'm so glad that His blood was not just the blood of another spotless lamb. But his blood had the power to cleanse the hearts of men. His blood has the power to heal my body and set my spirit free. I'm so glad that I know that his precious blood still flows from Calvary.
Thank God for the blood!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Bad Things And Good People
This week several preachers that are very close to me are facing very dangerous medical situations. These are good men and what is happening in their lives amounts to a bad thing. Have you ever wondered why bad things happen to good people?
A few years ago my wife and I went through an incredibly difficult time. Our first son was born and required surgery when he was only 6 days old. In the following 2 years he had 6 surgeries for a variety of reasons, none of them was particularly life-threatening, but each of them represented a difficult obstacle for his mom and I. We discovered, in that time, that one of the most difficult things you can do, as a parent, is to relinquish your baby into the hands of a surgeon and watch them walk down that lonely cold corridor that leads to an operating room.
Two years and 23 days after my first son was born, his little brother made his grand entrance into this world. The doctors recognized, almost immediately, that there was a problem with our newborn son. The saga that followed was the culmination of an incredibly difficult 2 years. Our baby boy was born with a congenital heart defect. As they rushed him to a special care facility we were cautioned that it was likely that he wouldn't survive the trip.
I'm so thankful, today, for the power of prayer. Prayer was made that day, in the name of Jesus, and a process of healing began. There was an immediate radical change in the condition of our son's health, however, six days later he still had to undergo heart surgery. When the surgeons were finally done with us and he had recovered enough to finally go home, they warned us that we were looking forward to, at least, one more surgery within the next 4 years. However, that 4 years came and went and my precious son has not needed the second surgery. God is good!
During that trying time I contemplated the question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" During one of my study times, God impressed an answer on my heart. I'll never forget preaching a message that rose from the answer to that famous question.
Today, nine years later, I find myself contemplating the same question. I'm going to have to go digging through my old notes and see if I can find and revisit the sermon I preached then. But I don't have those notes handy at this moment and I just want to jot down some random thoughts that are running through my mind in relation to the subject.
God, in his infinite wisdom, treats all men equally. As the scriptures say, time and circumstance happen to every man and, when it rains, it rains on the just and the unjust alike. Just because you are a "good person" doesn't mean you are sheltered from the rain. It only means that you will never go through the storm on your own. It will rain, the trials will come, and the difficulties will be there. But through it all, God is there with you to strengthen and encourage you as you overcome the obstacles in your path.
I believe that there is a reason for this. If God began to reserve hard times and difficult things for only those who truly "deserved" them then he would no longer be the impartial judge that his very nature dictates that he must be.
Consider this: God is no respecter of persons. Our salvation is based upon this premise. The gospel is to "whosoever will." It wasn't reserved just for those that were "good" enough because if it were, we would all be lost. Rather, God shows his mercy, without partiality, to anyone that will hear and obey his word. David said, in Psalm 130:3 (ESV) "If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" The answer is simple, none could stand if God wasn't impartial in his mercy.
This simple truth follows that premise. God doesn't mark down your righteousness as reason to exclude you from the storms of this life because if he did, his righteous nature would dictate that he mark down your iniquities and exclude you from his mercy.
Because of this I choose not to fear the storms of this life but rather to celebrate the fact that the same God that is impartial in the trials and tragedies of this life is abundant in his mercy towards me! He walks with me through every valley. His rod and his staff, they comfort me. He prepares for me a table in the presence of mine enemies and all of this is possible, in his righteousness, all because he didn't shelter me from the valley!
A few years ago my wife and I went through an incredibly difficult time. Our first son was born and required surgery when he was only 6 days old. In the following 2 years he had 6 surgeries for a variety of reasons, none of them was particularly life-threatening, but each of them represented a difficult obstacle for his mom and I. We discovered, in that time, that one of the most difficult things you can do, as a parent, is to relinquish your baby into the hands of a surgeon and watch them walk down that lonely cold corridor that leads to an operating room.
Two years and 23 days after my first son was born, his little brother made his grand entrance into this world. The doctors recognized, almost immediately, that there was a problem with our newborn son. The saga that followed was the culmination of an incredibly difficult 2 years. Our baby boy was born with a congenital heart defect. As they rushed him to a special care facility we were cautioned that it was likely that he wouldn't survive the trip.
I'm so thankful, today, for the power of prayer. Prayer was made that day, in the name of Jesus, and a process of healing began. There was an immediate radical change in the condition of our son's health, however, six days later he still had to undergo heart surgery. When the surgeons were finally done with us and he had recovered enough to finally go home, they warned us that we were looking forward to, at least, one more surgery within the next 4 years. However, that 4 years came and went and my precious son has not needed the second surgery. God is good!
During that trying time I contemplated the question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" During one of my study times, God impressed an answer on my heart. I'll never forget preaching a message that rose from the answer to that famous question.
Today, nine years later, I find myself contemplating the same question. I'm going to have to go digging through my old notes and see if I can find and revisit the sermon I preached then. But I don't have those notes handy at this moment and I just want to jot down some random thoughts that are running through my mind in relation to the subject.
God, in his infinite wisdom, treats all men equally. As the scriptures say, time and circumstance happen to every man and, when it rains, it rains on the just and the unjust alike. Just because you are a "good person" doesn't mean you are sheltered from the rain. It only means that you will never go through the storm on your own. It will rain, the trials will come, and the difficulties will be there. But through it all, God is there with you to strengthen and encourage you as you overcome the obstacles in your path.
I believe that there is a reason for this. If God began to reserve hard times and difficult things for only those who truly "deserved" them then he would no longer be the impartial judge that his very nature dictates that he must be.
Consider this: God is no respecter of persons. Our salvation is based upon this premise. The gospel is to "whosoever will." It wasn't reserved just for those that were "good" enough because if it were, we would all be lost. Rather, God shows his mercy, without partiality, to anyone that will hear and obey his word. David said, in Psalm 130:3 (ESV) "If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" The answer is simple, none could stand if God wasn't impartial in his mercy.
This simple truth follows that premise. God doesn't mark down your righteousness as reason to exclude you from the storms of this life because if he did, his righteous nature would dictate that he mark down your iniquities and exclude you from his mercy.
Because of this I choose not to fear the storms of this life but rather to celebrate the fact that the same God that is impartial in the trials and tragedies of this life is abundant in his mercy towards me! He walks with me through every valley. His rod and his staff, they comfort me. He prepares for me a table in the presence of mine enemies and all of this is possible, in his righteousness, all because he didn't shelter me from the valley!
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