Mercy Never Goes Unrewarded

I began my Sunday message this morning titled "Give... Mercy" with this short story I ran across as I researched "'mercy". Not sure who the author is, but it simply accents a profound Biblical truth. Enjoy.

One hot summer day, a lion was fast asleep in the cool shade of a big tree. A mouse lived in a nearby hole. Suddenly it came out of its hole and saw the sleeping lion.

Unmindful of the lion’s strength, the mouse was tickled by an idea. It thought of waking the lion by running over his body for fun only.

But to his bad luck, the lion seized it in his strong paw. He was going to kill it when it begged, “Spare me, sir ; I may repay your mercy some day.”

The lion was amused to hear the words of the mouse and let it go with a smile. But a few days later, the lion was caught in a hunter’s net under that very tree. So, he roared aloud.

The mouse came out of its hole to hear the roar. It was time to repay the lion’s mercy. So, it set about nibbling the cords of the net and set the lion free in no time.

Remember to GIVE MERCY! Afterall, Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy." Matthew 5:7.

"Give away your life..."

Grateful

Give Freely and Spontaneously

(7-9) When you happen on someone who's in trouble or needs help among your people with whom you live in this land that God, your God, is giving you, don't look the other way pretending you don't see him. Don't keep a tight grip on your purse. No. Look at him, open your purse, lend whatever and as much as he needs. Don't count the cost. Don't listen to that selfish voice saying, "It's almost the seventh year, the year of All-Debts-Are-Canceled," and turn aside and leave your needy neighbor in the lurch, refusing to help him. He'll call God's attention to you and your blatant sin. (10-11) Give freely and spontaneously. Don't have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers God, your God's, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors. -- Deuteronomy 15:7-11 (MSG)

Count it all joy!
Grateful

But Among You It Will Be Different.

In this New Testament passage, Jesus teaches His own about serving others. The first seven words of verse 43 is where Jesus really nails the truth home for those of us who will be called "His fully devoted disciples".

(35) Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to Him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.” (36) “What is your request?” He asked. (37) They replied, “When You sit on Your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to You, one on Your right and the other on Your left.” (38) But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?” (39) “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!” Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from My bitter cup and be baptized with My baptism of suffering. (40) But I have no right to say who will sit on My right or My left. God has prepared those places for the ones He has chosen.” (41) When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. (42) So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. (43) But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, (44) and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. (45) For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
-- Mark 10:35-43 (NLT)

Consider it all joy. -- James 1:2-4
Grateful

A White Rose, A Baby Doll And A Picture

The following is a touching Christmas story by an author who simply calls herself Annie:

I hurried into the local department store to grab some last minute Christmas gifts. I looked at all the people and grumbled to myself. I would be in here forever and I just had so much to do. Christmas was beginning to become such a drag. I kinda wished that I could just sleep through Christmas. But I hurried the best I could through all the people to the toy department. Once again I kind of mumbled to myself at the prices of all these toys. And wondered if the grandkids would even play with them.

I found myself in the doll aisle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a little boy about 5 holding a lovely doll. He kept touching her hair and he held her so gently. I could not seem to help myself. I just kept looking over at the little boy and wondered who the doll was for. I watched him turn to a woman and he called his aunt by name and said, “Are you sure I don’t have enough money” She replied a bit impatiently, “You know that you don’t have enough money for it. The aunt told the little boy not to go anywhere that she had to go get some other things and would be back in a few minutes. And then she left the aisle. The boy continued to hold the doll.

After a bit I asked the boy who the doll was for. He said, “It is the doll my sister wanted so badly for Christmas. She just knew that Santa would bring it.” I told him that maybe Santa was going to bring it. He said “No, Santa can’t go where my sister is…I have to give the doll to my Momma to take to her”. I asked him where his sister was.

He looked at me with the saddest eyes and said “She has gone to be with Jesus”. My Daddy says that Momma is going to have to go be with her. My heart nearly stopped beating. Then the boy looked at me again and said, “I told my Daddy to tell Momma not to go yet. I told him to tell her to wait till I got back from the store”. Then he asked me if I wanted to see his picture. I told him I would love to. He pulled out some pictures he’d had taken at the front of the store. He said “I want my Momma to take this with her so she don’t ever forget me.” “I love my Momma so very much and I wish she did not have to leave me”. “But Daddy says she will need to be with my sister.”

I saw that the little boy had lowered his head and had grown so very quiet. While he was not looking I reached into my purse and pulled out a handful of bills. I asked the little boy, “Shall we count that money one more time?” He grew excited and said “Yes, I just know it has to be enough”. So I slipped my money in with his and we began to count it.

Of course it was plenty for the doll. He softly said, “Thank you Jesus for giving me enough money.” Then the boy said “I just asked Jesus to give me enough money to buy this doll so Momma can take it with her to give to my sister.” “And he heard my prayer”. “I wanted to ask him for enough to buy my Momma a white rose, but I didn’t ask him, but he gave me enough to buy the doll and a rose for my Momma.” “She loves white roses so very very much”.

In a few minutes the aunt came back and I wheeled my cart away. I could not keep from thinking about the little boy as I finished my shopping in a totally different spirit than when I had started. And I kept remembering a story I had seen in the newspaper several days earlier about a drunk driver hitting a car and killing a little girl and the Mother was in serious condition. The family was deciding on rather to remove the life support. Now surely this little boy did not belong with that story.

Two days later I read in the paper where the family had disconnected the life support and the young woman had died. I could not forget the little boy and just kept wondering if the two were somehow connected. Later that day, I could not help myself and I went out and bought some white roses and took them to the funeral home where the young woman was. And there she was holding a lovely white rose, the beautiful doll, and the picture of the little boy in the store.

I left there in tears, my life changed forever. The love that little boy had for his little sister and his mother was overwhelming. And in a split second a drunk driver had ripped the life of that little boy to pieces.

“We make a living by what we get; We make a life by what we give.”

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son...
Grateful

Enter The Mystery

Psalm 40, verses 1-4, from the Message Paraphrase is a testimony and an invitation that touches the depths of the soul:

I waited and waited and waited for God.
At last He looked; finally He listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch,
pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
to make sure I wouldn’t slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
they enter the mystery,
abandoning themselves to God.
Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
turn your backs on the world’s "sure thing,"
ignore what the world worships.

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

Lord, Give Me Your Eyes.

The Lord is teaching me to pray today through Colossians 1:24:

Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of His body, which is the church. (NIV)

But part of my work is to suffer for you; and I am glad, for I am helping to finish up the remainder of Christ’s sufferings for His body, the Church. (TLB)

I pray that the Lord will allow me to enter His agony in my prayer life. Why? I want to see the world He died for from His perspective. He invites you and me to share in the fellowship of His sufferings when we pray. Surely, if we see from His perspective while on our knees, we will walk into the world and make it different.

I don't know about you, but I now pray fervently the words of the contemporary Christian song by Brandon Heath: Lord, give me Your eyes. Amen.

Click here: YouTube - Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes

Pray all the time. Ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirit’s wishes. -- Ephesians 6:18 (TLB)

IF MY PEOPLE... WILL? I WILL! God's Promise in 2 Chron. 7:14.
Grateful

The Bread That Leads To Forgiveness

The great prayer Jesus taught His disciples includes these words:

...and give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us...

This morning I noticed how closely related "asking God for bread" and "asking Him for forgiveness" and "offering our forgiveness to others" is linked in this prayer. Yes, the daily bread prayer leads to prayers of forgiveness.

Is there anyone that we might need to share daily bread with, yes a meal with, over these holidays -- a meal that would lead to forgiveness? Is there anyone we might need to ask for forgiveness or offer forgiveness to? If so, let's recognize that the unseen but undeniable Lord will be present at our holiday meals, breaking the bread of love, friendship, and forgiveness and offering it to us, all the while realistically expecting us to then pass the loaf of His love to others at the table, offering them the same measure of love, friendship, and forgiveness that Jesus has given to us.

ALL... JOY TO YOUR WORLD!
Grateful

...To Forgive Us, Not To Forget Us!

When we hear John 3:16-17, we should know undeniably that God gave His Son to forgive us, not to forget us! God sent His Son to be the World's Savior from Heaven, not Heaven's Bully to Earth!

Hear these Christmas words of Jesus written in John's Good News Report, verses 16 & 17 (NLT): (16) For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (17) God did not send His Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.

Because God didn't forget us, there is a Christmas. Let us remember Him during these Holy Days of Advent and beyond. In the words of that moving contemporary love song, it seems I can hear the Lord saying: I will remember you. Will you remember Me?"

ALL... JOY TO YOUR WORLD!
Grateful

Christmas is Synonymous With Forgiveness

Father God sent His Son as a meal invitation, yes to offer us His love, friendship, and forgiveness. That's the meaning of sharing a meal in our Lord's Middle Eastern background. That's why Jesus got in trouble with the religious folk. He offered His love, friendship, and forgiveness to the sinners, evidenced by these words, "Jesus ate with sinners."It was the way He disarmed them and invited them to Eternal Life. (*See Bible reference below)

So, Father God sent His Son to be born in Bethlehem, a town known as "the House of Bread". Yes, the Baby Jesus was sent to be "the Bread of Life", and his cradle was a manger, "a feeding box". It's all about the most basic and blessed definition of Christmas -- forgiveness. So whatever Christmas is, it is an invitation to share a meal of love, friendship, and forgiveness with God. There are many wonderful words to explain Christmas, but to me Christmas is synonymous, yes, one-in-the-same, with forgiveness.

Christmas is undeniable evidence that God totally gives and God totally forgives. Will we share God's love, friendship, and forgiveness meal with others? Will we share the Baby Jesus, the Crucified Christ with those who are the seemingly hopeless among us and beyond us? Will we totally give our lives to God and totally forgive others? Will we celebrate Christmas for what it really is -- a meal invitation from God for our Eternal Life and meant to be shared with others?!

* Matthew 9:9-13 (NLT) -- (9) As Jesus was going down the road, He saw Matthew sitting at His tax-collection booth. "Come, be My disciple," Jesus said to Him. So Matthew got up and followed Him. (10) That night Matthew invited Jesus and His disciples to be His dinner guests, along with His fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners. (11) The Pharisees were indignant. "Why does your Teacher eat with such scum?" they asked His disciples. (12) When He heard this, Jesus replied, "Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do." (13) Then He added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to be merciful; I don’t want your sacrifices.’ For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough."

ALL... JOY TO YOUR WORLD!
Grateful

Holiness...

Holiness is not about what we put on, but about Who God puts in us -- the Spirit of Truth.

John 14:16-17 (NIV) -- (Jesus speaking...) (16) And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—(17) the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know him, for He lives with you and will be in you.

Lord, we do not want a humanly manufactured self-righteousness of our own. We do want a holy manifested Holiness that is Yours.

ALL JOY!
Grateful

Does My Life Sing & Shout "Hallelujah?"

People who are much smarter than me tell me that there is one well-known word of praise to our Holy God that transcends all cultures and languages -- the word "Hallelujah!"

"Hallelujah" is the Hebrew word for "Praise", "Praise Ye," leading to "Praise Ye the Lord". My earliest recollections of experiencing God as a young child include singing (with great passionionate motions) this familiar praise chorus:

"Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah! Praise Ye the Lord."

The personal question on my mind as a grown man is this:
Does my life sing and shout "Hallelujah" to my Holy God?

I wrote a praise song a few years ago. If you mix all the words together they sing and shout a loud "Hallelujah" to our Holy God.

Here's the chorus portion of the praise song if you want to sing and shout "Hallelujah" along with me and if you play guitar, or play at the guitar like I do, simply choose the chords of G, Em, Am, and D and the tune will likely work itself out as you strum and sing with a childlike heart of wonder-filled worship:

Let us give our praise... to our King of Kings;
Let us give all praise... yes, give Him everything.
Let us give our praise... to our King of Kings;
He is worthy of....... all our worshipping!

ALL JOY!
Grateful