Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. Psalm 45:10-11 Listen, set your affections upon, ready your ear, mislay or be oblivious to thine own people and thy father’s house. Put them out of your mind. Don’t remember them any longer. The king will take pleasure in this beautiful sight; your humble attention, removing distractions of former attachments, entering into a concentration on him alone. Beloved, as we lay aside our identity in Adam, including our natural upbringing, genetical makeup, personality traits, cultural traits, and persona, we set a gaze on a new identity, which is — the state in which we are being loved, receiving affection, and being admired by another. Not resulting from our observable qualities, but from looking away from these…
Tag: <span>mercy</span>
“And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2 Samuel 9:1 David never forgot the love of his friend, Jonathan. This man had helped David escape at a time when Saul’s jealous wrath was pointed toward him. Jonathan was a friend that loved at all times, a brother born for adversity — a rare, but loyal and true friend. As we navigate the perils of the Christian’s call, we certainly have a similar friend, Jesus. Touched with the feelings of our infirmities, He meets us at the Throne of grace. Here we find acceptance in spite of our broken hearts, mercy that rejoices against a certain judgment. As the story of 2 Samuel goes, found in the shadows of Lodebar (pastureless), was a forgotten son of Jonathan whose name was Mephibosheth. “Then King David sent and brought…
In Revelation 5 a Lamb prevails worthy to open the 7 sealed scroll. This Lamb had been slain, an obvious reference to Christ Himself, who rose from the grave. In Revelation 6 the seals are one by one removed from the scroll, thus opening it. At the opening of the first seal appears a white horse. The horseman held a bow and a crown — he went forth conquering. At the next opening, the second, came a red horse. This rider was enabled to take peace from the earth, to kill one another. He was given a sword. The third seal was opened and came a black horse, he carried a scale of balances. A shout, “A quart of wheat for a shilling, and three quarts of barley for a shilling; but do not injure either the oil or the wine.” A fourth seal and fourth horse, pale, had…
1Peter 1:3-5 teaches, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Friends, our salvation accords with His abundant mercy, pardon not deserved but undeserved by us. Can we imagine this realm of existence? “The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.” Psalm 147:11 Hope births in the comfortable confines of mercy, steady as a rock, as secure as resurrection, defying death; mercy rejoices over judgement. Folks, in mercy/resurrection, a conscience freeing world excluding judgement, and an eruption of confidence…
Psalm 85:10 teaches, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. ” Here are some definitions from G. Campbell Morgan: Mercy — the tenderness which bends over in love. Truth — integrity and uprightness, that which is stable and builds Righteousness — a straight line without deviation. Peace — absolute safety. Because of man’s sin, a reconciliation becomes necessary. The nature of God’s reconciliation is “unto Himself.” Colossians 1:20 Reconciliation has this meaning: “an exchange; change in relationship; the bringing into fellowship things that have opposed.” “The reconciliation of things on earth is that of their restoration to the government of God, and the consequent restoration of a perfect order throughout the world, of man, and of all that is beneath him in the scale of being; “Healing of the wound. Closing of the breach. The gathering together into one of all things that have…
What lacks in a contemporary person who finds themselves outside of Christ? They have no expectation of the daily blessing which Our God has for his children. They have no realistic expectation of Christ’s soon coming return. Hope deferred makes their heart sick. In the story of Ruth chapter 1, Naomi finds herself bereft of husband and two sons. Her comment to her daughters in law goes, ” If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.” Ruth 1:12-13 A life without hope is a frightful proposition. Job 14:7 teaches us “For there is hope for a tree, if it be…
We must be clean to be wise, so says James 3:13. We must be clean to love, 1Timothy 1:5. David washed his hands in innocency, and so compassed the altar of God. Jesus washed the disciples feet, He declared them “clean every whit” in John 13:10, “clean” in John 15:3. “Clean” is a state of grace, a state designed by mercy, a purged state washed by the blood of Christ and entering our soul by the Word of God. Because of the radical nature of “clean” Old Testament Lot is declared righteous in 2 Peter 2:7-8. Yes, the same Lot who pitched his tent toward Sodom, Genesis 13:12, who refused to leave Sodom at it’s judgement, Genesis 19:18, and committed incest with his daughters, in Genesis 19:36, Peter declares righteous. Saul had the kingdom torn away from him in 1 Samuel 15:23. as Samuel announces “…he hath also rejected thee from…
John was beckoned to “come up hither” as he saw a door. The voice was like a trumpet. Immediately, in the spirit, John saw the throne. He saw a person, Jasper and Sardius stone emanated from the person, red, justice and pure white, holiness. A rainbow of emerald encompassed all, mercy. Green surrounded the throne, a lifting to new beginnings. All things are made new! Justice, our understanding and ability to differentiate; Purity, our foundation for wisdom, both rest in a brand new existence, to which we are birthed as mercy upholds it all. John discovered the above life. Free from Law’s judgement, one of condemnation, we find our discernment of fleshly deeds, leads now to “no condemnation,” through mercy. Yes the Law brought a sting, but sin died, so went the sting. Justice now guards the soul from all inhibitors preventing practical mercy’s life giving. Holiness, freedom from the…
Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God…” Proverbs 20:28, “Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.” Romans 14:4, “…to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.” A person stands, is upheld, and his rational service is founded, in something he does not deserve. Paul the Apostle beseeches men, by the mercies of God… William Newell comments, “We must believe that these divine mercies have persuasive powers over our wills.” “It is not that we can move our own wills; but that faith in God’s…
So, not worthy, so unworthy, we are made worthy (…God the Father, who has enlightened us and made us worthy partakers of the inheritance of the saints…). Colossians 1:12. Lamsa translation. Unworthiness is defined, “ lacking in excellence or value, not meritorious, not deserved, inappropriate to one’s condition or station” – merriam-webster The problem of unworthiness has been tackled by many a well-meaning therapist, who offer a re-teaching, chipping away at, working through approach. However, even in visiting childhood’s ‘unfortunate but nonetheless forming events and words,’ presupposed in this visit is something not Biblical: that somehow we were seeing ourselves as worthy, but lost it, and not of our own fault, most of the time. Precious souls, our unworthiness is entrenched in the depths of an old sin nature, which has not just stigmatized us, falsely identified us, or named us wrongly, but has called us correctly; unworthy, unworthy, unworthy! Unworthy cannot morph into…