Mercy

Our Intersessor

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“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.

Let us then approach the the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Hebrews 4:14-16

(This photo was taken in July of 2012 while on a walk in northwestern Wisconsin)

His Mercy

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The words written by the Apostle Paul in his letter to Titus, a pastor serving in Crete…

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.”

Titus 3:4

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake near Minneapolis, Minnesota)

God’s Mercy, God’s Patience

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These are the words written by Paul in his first letter to Timothy…

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”

1 Timothy 1:15-16

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)

Hope Because of God’s Mercy and Grace

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Paul writes in a letter to Titus, a pastor serving in Crete…

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.

He saved us through the washing of re-birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”

Titus 3:4-7

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming)

What is your Spiritual Gift?

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We all get into routines in life and several days begin to look the same.  Depending on what you choose to focus on in life, this repetition can become mundane and begin to feel like a rut you have created for yourself.  God has created each of us with a purpose in mind and that purpose also came with a spiritual gift.  This gift is something that comes naturally to us and sometimes it gets overlooked because it comes to us so easily.  This doesn’t have to be something complicated to figure out…we typically make things much more complicated in the world than necessary (I speak from personal experience).

In the Bible, the gifts of the spirit are as follows…

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  If a person’s gift is prophesying, let them use it in proportion to their faith.  If it is serving, let them serve; if it is teaching, let them teach; if it is encouraging, let them encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let them give generously; if it is leadership, let them govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let them do it cheerfully.”

                                                                                                Romans 12:6-8

Think about moments in your life where it was easy for you to provide for another…not financially, there are far greater needs in the world than money.  The gifts described above are all related to our interactions with others…what have we been given that we can share with other people?  Many of us go about the business of “our” lives first and wonder why we get discouraged so easily?  One of the best ways to cure your discouragement or disappointment is change your perspective…

Begin by approaching your situation by thinking what can I do that helps others…don’t be so quick to think “nothing” it simply is not true.  You are a valuable part of God’s world…you are his creation…and I have heard it said often “God don’t make no junk!”

Look at the list of Gifts…one of these does apply to you…you just need to spend time praying that God will guide you to opportunities to use it and then be very aware of invitations or things you may read or just hear about that are happening in your community…there is a place for you…do you believe it?

The Gifts given according to grace:

  • Prophecy – calling for action based of God’s truth
  • Service or ministry – serve and meet the needs of others
  • Teaching – explain truth so others can understand it and apply it
  • Encouraging – to strengthen and inspire others to be their best
  • Giving – to generously share what you have been given by God
  • Leadership – to govern by steady and earnest effort
  • Mercy – to show compassion for others and to do it cheerfully 

I pray we all spend time in prayer asking for God to guide us to our gifts and we begin to use them to make this world a better place for others.

Peace.

Patience and Persistence

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Sometimes we all wish God worked like a drive-thru…quick, cheap and efficient?  We could just pull in and get whatever we needed whenever we needed it.  Those thoughts come directly from the world we live in.  Everything in this world seems focused on the quick, convenient, fast and easy…we want more we want more.

My toughest moments in my faith journey…times when I have felt a letdown or disappointment have occurred because I lacked Patience and Persistence.

Patience – defined as “bearing pain or trials without complaint”; “showing self-control”

Persistence – defined as “to go on resolutely or stubbornly in spite of difficulties”

These are two qualities that are not promoted in our world yet when we focus on them we usually are closer to living God’s plan for our life rather than our own plan.  I have always been a better husband, father, son, brother or friend when I practice patience and persistence.

In my spiritual life I define Patience as waiting for the Lord.  He is always there and he always working his plan in your life even when you think nothing is happening.  Every interaction with another person is an opportunity and a blessing.  When we are patient we can smile and make eye contact with the grocery store or convenience store clerk.  When passing by someone we know we can say “Hi” with a smile instead of “Hey, How you doing?” as we speed past not waiting for a response because we didn’t really want to know how they were doing at that moment.  When we are patient as a friend we really listen to what our friend is saying and not thinking about what we are going to say next in conversation.  When we are patient we will be willing to sacrifice some of our own wants and needs to help others.

Persistence can be defined as never giving up of God.  Things will not go the way you want or just the way you planned but maybe you ran ahead of God and it wasn’t time for you to get that job or start that adventure.  Maybe he knows you have some more trials coming ahead.  It is not punishment, that is not how God works.  He has a plan for how he wants you to use the gifts he gave you and he knows the events you are going to encounter in life.  Your job is to learn from trials and pray about them and listen for God to respond.  For example, if you need the courage to ask someone for forgiveness or you need to forgive someone for something…pray about it daily and be watchful for that opportunity to be forgiven or to forgive…it will come.  Just be persistent about your prayer.

In closing, one of my favorite Bible verses speaks to these qualities it is this:

“I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord”

                                                                                                                     Psalm 27:13-14

Peace.

Look At the People God Uses

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While I was thinking about starting to write this blog, I often thought, “What could I have to offer?” or “Why would God want me to speak about him to others?”  This kind of thinking is exactly what the Evil in the world wants us to believe.  Then I read about people in the Bible or I read what authors like Max Lucado, Charles Swindoll or Rick Warren and Billy Graham have to say about the people God uses and I begin to realize this is exactly what God wants me to do.

As we learn about faith and God’s love for each and every person in the world through life experiences and through the experiences others have written about, it turns out we all have something to offer the world.  We all have our own life.  We all have had an experience or heard about someone’s experience that was horrific and then it became extraordinary.  It all depends on your perspective.

From the Bible we have the stories of…

Noah

Abraham

Moses

David

Joseph

Plus many more….

All of these people had suffered through some tragedy of sin and had extraordinary things occur afterward because of God’s love and God’s grace.  Through some of my own life experiences that I have mentioned in earlier posts I have learned to ask, “What does God want me to learn?” or “How does God want me to use this experience to help others?”  Rather than asking “Why is God doing this to me?”

God doesn’t “do” sinful things to us…the human race has created and brought about sin all by ourselves.  It was our choice.  God knew we aren’t strong enough to overcome sin so he did the one thing he could…he sent us his Son.  The human race killed him…so God resurrected him to save us all.

So if you are wondering “What do I have to offer anyone?” try asking God and be patient for his answer….he created you, he knows the gifts he gave you.  You could start by reflecting on events in your life and this time when you think about them ask yourself, “What did God want me to learn from that experience?”  Remember he is about love, grace, mercy and forgiveness.

Peace.

Living In The Present

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Living in the Present.  What does that mean?  I think it begins with making sure you are “present” in whatever you are doing.

To me, being “present” means focused attention.  The world is filled with distractions and when we choose to allow those distractions to take our attention away from everything else by trying to change the past or worrying too much about the future we end up missing what is right in front of us…..the beauty of creation, a child smiling and laughing or a child who needs help, a friend who encourages us or a stranger who we should pray for.  We should stop replaying what happened yesterday or what might occur tomorrow in our minds and live today to the fullest.

So how do we get there?

Answer….The Word of God.

I have struggled for many years concerned about what I should have said in a previous conversation or worrying about how I would handle things in a future interaction.  I would beat myself up for not doing something or worry constantly about what was to come…..as if I really was the one in control of such things. 

Then during a difficult time in our life financially, about 3-4 years ago, I was really down about the way things were going and when I thought they were just about to drop off a cliff completely…we were saved by the Grace of God.  My wife and I had completed all the paperwork to file for bankruptcy and left it with a lawyer…..we thought this was our only option…we thought we might lose our home we really didn’t know how things would turn out…meanwhile I had been looking for work.  One promising position was progressing well and they needed to complete the background check……if that report showed a bankruptcy I would not get the job….a few days had passed since we left the attorney’s office.  I figured I would call the lawyer to see if by chance he had not yet filed the papers, I figured there was no chance….and then God stepped in…..I called and asked “have you filed our papers with the court?”, he responded… “No not yet”……..oh my goodness, I couldn’t believe it.  I immediately put a stop to the process and I got the job and we have been working our way to the best financial position we have ever been in.  After that phone call and seeing the grace of God in our life, I decided I needed to start dedicating some time every morning to devotions and the Bible…..my reasoning, if I have time to read the newspaper I better have time to spend with God every day.

This was something I needed to commit to priority wise so I bought a Billy Graham devotional book and put it with my devotional bible I received from my parents 16 years prior and I began reading and praying for a few minutes every day I could.  This time has become something I look forward to each day…it sets my mind and thoughts up with an encouraging perspective, mindful of how God wants us to think and act and the more I stay focused on that the more peace and contentment I find in life.

For me, the hardest part and the biggest obstacle in becoming a man of faith has been ME!  Once I confess to God that I am only human, I am a sinner and I trust him because as it says in the gospel of John 3:16….For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  After reading so many different parts of the Bible about God’s grace, God’s love and God’s mercy I am so thankful for all that he has done for me that I have to do my best to live for Him.

Peace.