Tag: God’s mercy

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Joshua Devotionals

Forgetting the “therefore”

Bible

Therefore, fear the Lord and worship him in sincerity and truth. (Joshua 24:14)

Therefore.

When I first read verse 14 this morning, I’ll admit my first focus was on worshiping God in sincerity and truth, and thinking about what that meant.

But as I read it again, the word “therefore” leapt to my eye.

What was the “therefore” there for?

Joshua had been reminding the Israelites of God’s goodness and mercy towards them.

And only after having done so, did he then say, “Therefore, fear him, worshiping him in sincerity and truth.”

It reminded me of another “therefore” in the Bible.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. (Romans 12:1)

It’s so easy to start with God’s commands to give our all to him. To put aside the idols and sin in our lives and to serve and worship him with all our heart, soul, and mind.

But let’s not skip over the “therefore.”

Rather, let us always start with these two truths:

Our God is so good to us.

And he has shown us so much mercy and grace.

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Joshua Devotionals

Whether hard or pleasant

Your Word is Life

Joshua read aloud all the words of the law—the blessings as well as the curses…There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read. (Joshua 8:34-35)

Those words struck me today.

Joshua didn’t just read the parts of God’s word that he liked. He read the parts that were hard to read too.

Not all places in the Bible are pleasant, talking about God’s love and mercy.

Some places are hard, talking about God’s justice and judgment.

Forgetting that can lead us to treat sin, and more importantly, God, lightly as Achan did (Joshua 7).

But beyond that, whether hard or pleasant to hear, all God’s words are for our good.

So let’s not just read the parts of the Bible we like and which are easy to read. Instead, like Joshua, let’s read all of it, not failing to read a single word.

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Matthew Devotionals

The disciples we’re raising

Blessed are the merciful

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are! (Matthew 23:15)

The Pharisees and scribes, needless to say, were terrible disciple-makers.

But Jesus’ words made me think, “What kind of disciples am I making? Of my daughter? Of the other people God has placed in my life?”

Do I ever put heavy loads on their shoulders that are hard to carry, and just tell them, “Good luck?”

Or are they people that know mercy as well as justice and faithfulness? (Matthew 23:23)

Do they see that mercy in me?

More importantly, do they know God’s mercy to them? Do they rest in that mercy? Do they rejoice in it?

And do they in turn show mercy to those around them?

Or are they constantly hard on themselves and just as hard on others?

Father, I want my daughter, my wife, and the people around me to see in me someone who is just and faithful.

But I also want them to see someone who is full of mercy. Who walks in your mercy and shows others that same mercy.

Help me to make disciples like that: disciples who know your mercy and show that same mercy to others.

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Exodus Devotions

God’s wrath and mercy

For this time I am about to send all my plagues against you, your officials, and your people. Then you will know there is no one like me on the whole earth.

By now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been obliterated from the earth.

However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you my power and to make my name known on the whole earth. (Exodus 9:14-16)

This passage really struck me today.

For all the judgment that God poured out on the Egyptians, he also showed mercy.

He could have wiped them out in an instant for their sin. And yet, he didn’t.

More, he gave them warning on how they could save their own lives from the hail he was going to send. (19)

For all the wrath that God pours out on people for their sin, he still shows mercy.

He’s patient. He gives them time to repent.

Ultimately, his desire is that people will come to know and love him.

Pharaoh had said mockingly to Moses, “I don’t know the Lord.” (Exodus 5:2)

So God showed him the kind of God he was. That he is a God of justice who punishes sin. But also that he is a God of mercy to those who will fear him.

But even more interesting to me, we see the truth of God’s words in the life of Rahab.

By letting the Pharaoh live, he showed his power and made his name known to the surrounding nations, particularly when he split the Red Sea.

The result? Rahab and her family were saved. (Joshua 2:8-14, 6:25)

So even in the wrath God poured out on Pharaoh on his army at the Red Sea, the result was mercy shown to Rahab and her family.

Not only that, Rahab ended up in the family tree of Jesus. (Matthew 1:5)

God shows mercy to us all in a sense. He shows mercy to all in not wiping us out right now.

But mercy that leads to salvation comes only with repentance.

God warns us. God gives us time to repent.

The question is what will you do with it?

For he says:

At an acceptable time I listened to you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.

See, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation! (2 Corinthians 6:2)

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Psalms

Telling our story

Psalms

Somehow through my years as a Christian, the beauty of this psalm escaped me.  But the new NIV’s rendition, particularly verse 2 struck me and put it into a new light.  It reads,

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed… (Psalm 107:2)

And that’s what this psalm is about.  People whom God has redeemed sharing their stories with others and praising God for what he did for them.

The psalm starts out with a word of praise, one we see often in the psalms.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.  (1)

And the whole psalm shows just how he showed his goodness by redeeming us.

Some were wandering in desert wastelands, hungry, thirsty, and with no home.  But when they cried out to God, he heard them and led them to a place where they could settle in safety, providing them with food and drink to satisfy them.

Some of us were the same way.  Lost in our sin.  Hungering and thirsting for that which satisfies, but unsettled and unable to find peace.

But when we cried out to God, he reached down and led us out of the wilderness to a place of joy, peace, and contentment.

The psalmist then sings of those who were prisoners, in darkness because they had rebelled against God.  But they cried out to God and he delivered them and broke their chains.  Manasseh was an example of this.

Some of us found us in the same situation.  We had known God, but we willfully turned our backs on him, thinking we would find a life of freedom apart from God and pursuing the things of this world.

Only, in the end, we found that the things we thought would set us free, the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life, enslaved us instead.

But when we turned to him, he broke those chains and led us into true freedom.

Yet others experienced physical suffering through illness because of their sin.  But when they cried out to God, they found forgiveness and healing.

David experienced this if his psalms are to be taken literally and not figuratively.  (Psalm 30, 32, 38-39)

We too may have had times when God had to knock us on our backs to get our attention.  But once he had it, he was swift to show his mercy as well.

He then talks about those who got caught in a storm, and how when all hope was lost, God delivered them.  The story of Jonah comes to mind.

We too sometimes get caught up in the storms of life.  Sometimes through our own fault, and sometimes through the fault of others.  But when we cried out to God, we saw his deliverance.

For others, they saw the times in the desert and God’s provision, and they saw God’s leading into the promised land, only to forget what God had done for them and watching all that they had gained be lost because of their sin.

The whole history of Israel was that way.

But when they turned back to God, he restored them once again to their own land and renewed his blessing upon them.

Some of us have had the same experience.  Seeing God’s blessing through the deserts of our lives, only to forget him when things became good, and as a result losing everything.

But despite this, God showed his mercy to us and restored us.

So what should our response to all this be?

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.  (15, 21, 31)

And let us pass on our stories to the next generation, that they may

heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.  (43)

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Psalms

A cry for mercy

Psalms

It’s not certain when Psalm 74 was written.  There are a couple of problems with trying to date it.

First, the notation attributes this psalm to Asaph who lived during the times of David, Solomon, and Rehoboam.

There is nothing to connect the destruction of the temple as mentioned in this psalm to the times he lived in.  So it’s most likely that when it says Asaph, it’s referring to his descendants.

I would guess this was written after Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion when the Jews were taken into exile.  The main problem with this is that the psalmist writes,

We are given no signs from God;
no prophets are left.  (Psalm 74:9)

It’s possible that it meant no prophets in Jerusalem were left.  Daniel and Ezekiel were both in Babylon.  And while Jeremiah stayed in Jerusalem for a while, he was later carried off to Egypt where he eventually died.

At any rate, this psalm is in essence a cry for mercy.  The psalmist starts by lamenting,

O God, why have you rejected us forever?

Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

Remember the nation you purchased long ago, the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—Mount Zion, where you dwelt.

Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins, all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.  (Psalm 74:1-3)

He then talks about the complete destruction of the temple, and how God was nowhere to be found.

But in verse 12, the psalm turns as he sings,

But God is my King from long ago;
he brings salvation on the earth.

In verses 13-17, he recalls the power of God, how he delivered them from Egypt, and how he created all things.

Finally, he closes the psalm once more with a plea for mercy.

There are some interesting things about this psalm.  And in it, I think we can learn some things about God’s mercy.

The main thing is that we don’t receive God’s mercy based on our own merit.

Nowhere in the psalm does it say, “We’ve been good so please show us mercy.”

Rather, he asks for God’s mercy for his own Name’s sake.  He says,

How long will the enemy mock you, God?  Will the foe revile your name forever?  (10)

In other words, “By allowing these people to destroy your temple and defeat your people, your name has suffered.  People no longer hold your name in honor.”  

And so he says later,

Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; remember how fools mock you all day long.

Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually. (22-23)

The psalmist also asks for God’s mercy based on his promises.  At the beginning, he said,

Remember the nation you purchased long ago, the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—Mount Zion, where you dwelt.  (2)

He was saying, “You redeemed us and promised to make us your own.  You promised to dwell among us.  Remember now those promises and help us.”

Finally, he asked for God’s mercy based on his compassion.

He sang,

Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name.  (21)

None of us deserve God’s mercy.  But though we fall, God is merciful.  So let us never give up hope when God seems to have abandoned us.

Rather let us turn our hearts to him and plead for his mercy.

And just as he delivered the Jews, he will deliver us.

Categories
Psalms

When suffering seems long

Psalms

Psalm 6 was written by David, but it could’ve just as easily been written by Job for all the sentiments it expresses.

Like Job, David seemed to be suffering from some kind of physical illness and apparently, there was no end in sight.

Further, while it seemed that God was bringing discipline into his life, there seemed to be no reason for it that he could see. (David never does confess any sin in this psalm).

And if that weren’t enough, his enemies were using the opportunity of his suffering to attack him.

Despite his suffering, however, David never does question God’s justice as Job did.  He recognized that God really owed him nothing, that in fact, what he deserved was God’s wrath.

And so he makes his plea for deliverance not based on his own righteousness, but on God’s mercy and unfailing love.  He cried out,

Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.

My soul is in anguish.  How long, O LORD, how long?

Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.  (Psalm 6:2-4)

And in the midst of his prayer, he finds God’s reassurance.  He writes,

Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.  The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.

All my enemies will be ashamed and dismayed; they will turn back in sudden disgrace. (8-10)

I remember hearing a Christian comedian, Mark Lowry, talking about his favorite verse.  It was, “And it came to pass…”

Interpretation:  “Our sufferings aren’t here to stay, they will pass.”

Obviously this is not great Biblical interpretation, but it is true.  When we cry out to him, God in his mercy will hear.  And all our pain, all our sufferings, they will pass.

Lowry sings his own “psalm” saying,

There’s a place inside
Full of tears I hide
That I’ve only cried alone.

But I know that He’s near,
And I know He hears,
And I know these tears won’t last.

This pain today
Will be swept away because
This too shall pass.

As night turns into morning,
We will see the truth at last,
That troubles come to everyone
But they only come to pass.

This too shall pass.
This too shall pass.

And the tears that fall like raindrops now
Will finally dry at last.

This too shall pass.