Category: SPIRITUAL FORMATION

GLORIOUS FORGIVEN GLORIA

Are you the religious person with no joy?

And there she stands. Asked to share her new love for Jesus with the congregation, Gloria tentatively takes the mic.  Tattooed from head to foot, she wears a t-shirt with a beer company logo. Weeping, she describes her years of addiction and brokenness. Gloria is amazed that Jesus loves her, despite her baggage of sin. He died for her! As she tells her story, Gloria’s language is rough. She doesn’t know that there are certain words that church people don’t use. Mascara runs down her face as describes her beloved Savior.

CHURCH IS NOT A PLACE FOR WOMEN LIKE THAT

Deacon Roy is horrified. It takes every bit of willpower for him not to storm up to the mic and rip it from Gloria’s hands. Why is Pastor allowing Gloria to share her story? Church is not a place for women like that. Roy’s face flushes with rage. Immaculately dressed, He tightly grasps his red-letter edition of the Bible. Under his breath he utters a prayer, “Thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. Thank you God that Gloria isn’t related to me!”

Roy steers his family away from the likes of Gloria. He has served the church all his life, taught Sunday School, faithfully given 10%, and done his duty for God. His record is spotless. What rankles him the most are her words, “O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.” Why doesn’t Gloria take the hint and worship elsewhere? There are surely more suitable places for a woman like her.

JESUS’ TAKE ON THE SAME STORY

Sadly, (names have been changed) the story of Gloria and Roy is true. This took place in my friend’s worship service. Jesus describes a similar story in Luke 19:9-14; the tale of the Pharisee and the tax-collector. Jesus observes (paraphrase my own), “I tell you, sinner Gloria, not Roy, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

God, in His patience, matured the tax-collector and Gloria in their faith. His Holy Spirit continues to transform Gloria’s heart (including her vocabulary). Today, she glows as one of the King’s beloved daughters. God burdens her to love on and reach similar women imprisoned in sin.

ROY’S PRISON OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS

Alas, Roy (like the Pharisee) remains locked in a cell of self-righteousness. He may look all shiny and clean on the outside, but his Bible has never taken root in his heart. Occasionally Roy feels uneasy during his devotions. Recently, Roy read: You too, be patient; strengthen your hearts [keep them energized and firmly committed to God], because the coming of the Lord is near. Do not complain against one another, believers, so that you will not be judged [for it]. Look! The Judge is standing right at the door. (James 5:8-9)

Roy beamed when he read, “The Judge is standing right at the door.” Roy prayed, “Thank You God that in the end You will give sinners like Gloria what they deserve.” Glancing at his watch, Roy rushed out the door. He did not want to be late for church.

WHICH ARE YOU?

Which are you? Gloria or Roy? The one who revels in God’s forgiveness and reaches out to those desperately lost apart from God? Or are you the religious person in whom Scripture has never taken root? Jesus said, “Who are you to [hypocritically or self-righteously] pass judgment on your neighbor?” Time to fall on your knees before the One Who came to save us and all the Gloria’s of this world. Will you allow Him to love them through you?

TIME TO CLEANSE THE TEMPLE

Where is the quiet, gentle Jesus they know? Where did He get that whip?

Series 5, episode 2 of “The Chosen” can be quite thought provoking. Jesus appears in the Outer Court of the Temple. The occasion is Passover Week and Jerusalem is mobbed by visitors. The Temple Court overflows with animals sold for sacrifice. The money changers charge exorbitant fees to trade regular currency (which features the portraits of idols) to Temple currency. There is money to be made and no lack of greed.

WHERE IS QUIET GENTLE JESUS?

Jesus walks in, horrified at the mayhem in an area meant for prayer and worship of the Father. Out of His bag He takes a whip and begins to turn over the stands, chase out the animals and yell at the merchants. Shock registers on people’s faces. Where is the quiet, gentle Jesus they know? Who is this man demanding holiness and repentance? Where did He get that whip?

DEN OF THIEVES

The frightened disciples see the Roman guards. The guards’ purpose is to keep order. This is not orderly! Temple officials are furious that someone questions their money-making operation. Jesus is in tears and enraged that His Father’s house is a den of thieves.

CLEANING HOUSE

He sees the temple, meant to be a place of prayer for all nations, turned into a marketplace. Genuine worship is non-existent. Taking advantage of people is pre-eminent.  God’s design is for a house of prayer, a place to meet with God and worship Him. Stepping into the Temple courts, Jesus does not see any of this. Jesus sees avarice, extortion, and oppression. He responds by cleansing the Temple (Matthew 21:12-16). The Son of God cleans house.

HOW CLEAN IS YOUR TEMPLE?

What does Jesus discover in the temple of your life? Each believer is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Is your relationship with Him a cornerstone of communion with God with a centerpiece of prayer? Have your turned down the noise in your life? Is it time to bring out the whip, turn over the stands, chase out the animals, and yell at the merchants? Better yet, time to shut down the computer, the phone, and clear the calendar? Are you living your temple purpose: prayer and worship of the Father?

HALFWAY LIVING

Half obedience is no obedience at all! Half love is no love at all!

Hal Halfway loves the Viking Cruise motto, “Time is the only truly scarce commodity.” This invigorates him to severely economize his time, whether in relationships or affiliations. While having coffee with a friend, Hal abruptly leaves whenever he had finishes ½ of his drink. Hal does not care if the conversation is completed. If Hal meets a newcomer at church, he never travels beyond the initial pleasantries. Afterall, he only has so much time to spare. Mr. Halfway loves volunteering at his church but in honoring his new economy of time, he makes sure that in helping at VBS, he leaves every evening at the ½ way point. Hal cannot believe all the time he saves. He takes pride in his great reserves of time.

A HALF DONE OPERATION

Recent events have caused Mr. Halfway to reconsider his attitude toward time. He had a serious car accident. Serious injuries required immediate surgery. While getting prepped for surgery, Hal enthusiastically told the surgeon about his attitude regarding time. The surgeon was intrigued. Unbeknownst to Mr. Halfway, the surgeon stopped the Hal’s operation at the halfway point. Out the door exited the surgeon with Mr. Halfway still on the operating table. Think of all that time the surgeon saved!

JESUS NEVER SKIMPED

So glad that Jesus never subscribed to Mr. Halfway’s economy of time. Even happier that Jesus never skimped by economizing His relationship to both God and to people. Jesus lived for completeness, not economy. He always fully engaged. No miracles ever left ½ completed; no ½ resurrection; no ½ payment for our sins. All interactions fully settled.

ETERNAL LIVING

Jesus didn’t carry on distracted conversations, anxiously looking over the person’s shoulder, hoping to move on to someone of more important rank. He completely loved and loves individuals, giving them His full attention. Jesus never views time as the “only truly scarce commodity” because Jesus lives in eternity.

Who else lives in eternity? Believers! Right now, we are living in eternity. In such a landscape, there are two main pillars: obedience to God and love for God and people. Half obedience is no obedience at all! Half love is no love at all! Eternal living is as vast as God Himself.

Jesus said, I have loved you just as the Father has loved Me; remain in My love [and do not doubt My love for you]. If you keep My commandments and obey My teaching, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy may be made full and complete and overflowing (John 15:9-17).

God wants us to live new lives in Him with complete and overflowing joy, not stuck in economizing. Jesus never does anything ½ way and neither should we. Mr. Halfway does not fit into God’s lavish plan of living fully. God’s design is obedience and love as expansive as God Himself.

THE LOOP OF FUTILITY

Going nowhere fast

Years ago, our family travelled to Annapolis, MD.  I have no clue as to the purpose of the trip, but we definitely got lost (days before GPS).  We repeatedly ended up at the guard shack at the Naval Base.  Of course, my father refused to ask directions.  He believed we would eventually get lucky and end up on the correct road. 

The miles clicked away. I’m not so sure he felt so lucky anymore. We cranky and hungry kids sweltered in the heat of the back seat. The interior emotional temperature of the car’s occupants ramped up.  We kids kept asking, “Are we there yet?”.

KEEP REPEATING THE SAME MISTAKES

Do you feel that way?  Maybe if you just keep at it, eventually you will get lucky and find your life’s great destination.  Yet you keep repeating the same mistakes, caught in a loop of futility.  You do not feel very lucky or favored by God (or by anyone else for that matter).

40 YEARS OF WANDERING

I wonder if that is how the Israelites felt during the 40 years they wandered around in the wilderness. As they progress, the Egyptian culture, mindset, and religion painfully shreds off their souls.  The process is lengthy because the Israelites keep repeating the same mistakes.

The majority of Israelites resist this journey.  When they finally view the Promised Land, they fall back in horror and fear of its inhabitants.  They hear the fearful reports of the scouting party. Numbers 14:1-4 records: That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

THEY PREFER A LOOP OF FUTILITY

They would rather go back into slavery than to go forward with God; rather go back into darkness than to travel to the light.  God’s people prefer a loop of futility, rather than trust this Holy God. 

During your life’s season, has your road map become confusing; a little twisted?  Have you, like the Israelites, decided to trust your own resources rather than the wisdom and resources of a Holy God Who loves you? 

THE INVITATION

This is the ideal season to stop trusting yourself and begin trusting God. He is truthful, honest, holy, loving and reliable.  Jesus invites us in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  Want to break that loop of futility? Jesus invites you: “Come!”

THE UNFORGETTABLE LIKENESS

What does it mean to live life sealed by the Holy Spirit

Read: Matthew 22:15-22

It is a steamy summer night on the streets of Los Angeles as two groups approach each other with the sole intent of payback. One group is the Crips; bandanas and chains wrapped around their necks. The other group is the Latins. Their faces tattooed and scars running up and down their forearms. It does not take a genius from the LA Task Force to figure out who these hombres are and know their plans.

2 EVIL GANGS

Sometimes you can just look at someone and know their evil intentions. In this passage two gangs of religious leaders ask Jesus, “Should we pay to Caesar or just keep the money for ourselves?”  Their purpose is from the pit of hell. They think they have Jesus in an awkward position, but things reverse quickly.

THE TRAP

Honey drips off their lips as they pose their question: “Teacher, we know that You are sincere and that You teach the way of God truthfully, without concerning Yourself about [what] anyone [thinks or says of Your teachings]; for You are impartial and do not seek anyone’s favor [and You treat all people alike, regardless of status]. Tell us then, what do You think? Is it permissible [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” 

CATCH-22

This is Catch-22. Jesus brilliantly counters by asking for the coin used to pay the poll tax. He asks, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”  This specific coin is sacrilege to the Jews. Remember the first of the Ten Commandments? Glaring from the poll-tax coin is Caesar’s likeness; Caesar considers himself God.

GAME OVER

Jesus continues, “Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” Jesus’ enemies become speechless, game over.

SIGNATURE MARK

Great question, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ receive their own signature mark when birthed into the Kingdom of God. It cannot be erased. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)

HOLY SPIRIT’S INSCRIPTION SEAL

“Whose likeness and inscription is this?”  The likeness and inscription seal on the life of a believer is the Person of the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul writes: “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. . .. Don’t act thoughtlessly but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:15-20).  

When individuals interact with you, do they wonder: “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”  Do they see the likeness of a tyrant; a person consumed by the pleasures of this world? In contrast, via the miraculous sealing of the Holy Spirit, they can view the likeness of a life transformed. Let them see the image and likeness of God.

GOD IS NO “BAD ACTOR”

I don’t know why Mr. R. instigated his reign of terror. He had great power to do good and evil in my life. He was a “bad actor”.

I was systematically emotionally kicked in the teeth by Mr. R., my junior high math teacher. Every time we had class, he loudly humiliated me. He delighted in the numerous occasions I gave the wrong answer. I recently saw a classmate I had not talked with for decades. Unexpectedly, the guy brought up Mr. R. and asked, “Why do you think he did that? It was awful!”

DEFINITION OF “BAD ACTOR”

I don’t know why Mr. R. instigated his reign of terror. He had great power to do good and evil in my life, yet he made every class an incredibly painful experience. Mr. R. never looked out for my well-being. Mr. R. was a “bad actor”: “an individual who engages in harmful activities, often with malicious intent.”

GOD’S CHARACTER

Exodus 34:1-14 begins with God again writing out His law for His people. However, this time, God adds some additional lessons about His character. This differentiates Him from the Egyptian idols: “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth (faithfulness); keeping mercy and lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”  God is no bad actor.

THEY STILL DON’T KNOW WHO GOD IS

At this point, most Israelites still do not understand Who Jehovah God is. Just a few months previously, the Israelites were miraculously expelled from the culture which worshipped about 1,500 deities. The Egyptian false deities were bad actors straight from hell. Relationships with these idols were strictly transactional; not relational. Those who revered them were illiterate in Truth. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. (Isaiah 45:20)

THE INVITATION TO KNOW HIM

In contrast, Jehovah God invites His people to know Him. Not just know about Him, but to experience His heart. He wants to prepare His people for the dangerous journey they are going to undertake both to Canaan and throughout Canaan. God wants them to deeply know Him.

WATCH OUT!

The wickedness indwelling the land the Israelites are traveling to is beyond imagination. It is a virulent contagion of sin. So dangerous, that God reminds the Israelites that if the Israelites became like the Canaanites, the same evil would overtake both the Israelites and their generations yet unborn. Watch yourself so that you do not make a covenant (solemn agreement, treaty) with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a [dangerous] trap among you. For you shall not worship any other god; for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous (impassioned) God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His].  

GOD WILL NOT BE CHEATED

God is jealous when a person gives to another something that rightly belongs to Him. The compassionate, gracious, slow to get angry God Who overflows in loving kindness and truth will not be mocked. He will not be cheated by those He redeems. If you are a believer, you belong to Him and Him only. Get to know the One Who loves you.

INVITATION TO KNOW HIM BETTER

God has never been and never will be a bad actor. J.I. Packer wrote: “Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul.” A Bad Actor sought to teach me math. He only taught me failure. Choose to learn from the best. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. (Ephesians 1:17)

PERK UP YOUR EARS

Why wouldn’t God clarify exactly how He was going to restore my life?

A few years ago, I lost my hearing.  No, it wasn’t the physical hearing associated with all the tiny bones in the ear. I lost the ability to hear God’s voice. Life circumstances had plummeted to rock bottom.  Where was God in the middle of it? Had He moved a million miles away with no forwarding address? I thought God zigged when I zagged. He left me in a dark forest with no path, no compass and no flashlight to find my way out.  All I wanted was for life to become normal again. I wanted my life rebuilt on my terms. Where was God?

THE DEPRESSION

For quite a while I sank into a deep depression. Anger and panic became my closest friends.  Why wouldn’t God clarify exactly how He was going to restore my life?  My support system had been washed away. This painful period took far longer than I ever wished.

STEPS TOWARD RESTORATION

That’s when I started to slowly begin looking for the path God laid before me; that which I previously refused to acknowledge.  I wanted my life to be reset to its old modes, but God said, “No.” When I finally demanding life as I imagined it, God began to clearly speak, but on His terms.  He pushed me to view life with gratitude, even for the smallest things.  I slowed down and read His Words no longer because I was supposed to teach them, but because they became my river of strength.  Even church attendance transformed into a thing of beauty, not a place of obligation. God was there all the time, I just had refused listen to His quiet voice.

THE FABRIC OF MY NEW LIFE

All those lovely and vital parts of God’s screenplay that I had missed, became the very fabric of my new life. What at first I considered a great tragedy transformed into one of the greatest gifts I ever received.

GOD’S WHISPER

For all of you who find yourself in the midst of crushing defeat, disappointment and failure, I want to let you know that there is hope.  The pain may be excruciating right now but I beg you to hold on and ride out the tide.  When you feel like you can no longer hang on and you can’t hear God’s voice, quiet down and listen. The prophet Elijah had to listen for the whisper. God is here. (I Kings 19:11-12)

UNRAVELED

Strength is scarce. I don’t know what to do with this weakness I feel.

Having lost my beloved job and all that went with it, my life – and I – fell apart. I experienced a four-year dark night of the soul.  My persona, the identity that I’d built to compensate for the inner sense of brokenness, crumbled. I began to look more deeply, mostly because there was no other option. I had to face the pain of my difficult and sometimes traumatic childhood. Whilst often desperate for some relief or solution, it became clear that this was a process of unbecoming, of unravelling.”  (shared by Fiona Robertson)

CHANGE IS PAINFUL

Have you ever felt that you are also becoming unraveled?  Maybe you knew that an upheaval process might eventually prove for the good, but in the back of your heart have you doubted? Change is painful. Maybe the worst type of change is when the rug is pulled out from under you and you didn’t even realize the rug was loose. In the process, we may actually need to be unraveled; to be taken apart at the seams.

THE “FEAR OF SCARCITY“

I wondered why I become unusually upset during seasons of change. I came up with a term which seems to fit: “fear of scarcity”. When something is scarce, there is a shortage, a famine, a drought. In my life there are times when I have asked for help, resources, or even love from believers and the supplies offered (or not offered) have been scarce. I adapt to such a life by trying hard not to ask for “too much”.  This fear of scarcity in asking help from people can color how I also view God.  I believe that God loves the world, but hey, couldn’t He be just too busy or short-staffed to personally have time for me? 

LOSING RESILIENCE

Then begins my unravelling.  With the tumult of circumstances, I come to the end of my own resources.  Maybe because of age, maybe because of yet another major change, I lose my resilience.  Strength is scarce. I don’t know what to do with this weakness I feel. I’m on the path to nowhere. I need God to unravel the knots I am in. Have I presumed that my God is too small?

GOD BREATHES TRUTH

Despite my fears of scarcity, God breathes truth into my soul. His perfect Word states: He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit. (Psalm 147:3-5) Regardless what my heart may feel, God sticks around for the hard work of reworking my life. He truly loves the unlovable and redeems the unredeemable. No matter what I think or how I feel, there is no scarcity with God. He has the strength, the love and the resources to unravel the largest knots which clutter my life.

HIS RESOURCES ARE ENDLESS

Do you also need to be unraveled? Are you tangled up in knots of fear? Please know that God has plans and knits together the most beautiful creations. You need not fear scarcity from the Father. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit. Call on Him; His resources are endless. Allow Him to unravel at will – He can be trusted. Fear no more.

HOW TO LOVE YOUR BETRAYER

“You mentioned Ravensbrück in your talk,” he was saying. “I was a guard in there. But since that time,” he went on, “I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there,  Will you forgive me?”

How does one forgive a betrayer? In 1947, just two years after her liberation from a concentration camp, Corrie Ten Boom recounts that she came from Holland to defeated Germany with the message that God forgives. “When we confess our sins,” I said, “God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone forever.” And that’s when I saw him, working his way forward through the crowd. One moment I saw the overcoat and the brown hat; the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones. It came back with a rush this man had been a guard at Ravensbrück Concentration Camp where my sister and I were sent.

WILL YOU FORGIVE ME?

Now he was in front of me, hand thrust out: “How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!” And I, who had spoken so glibly of forgiveness, fumbled in my pocketbook rather than take that hand. He would not remember me, of course–how could he remember one prisoner among those thousands of women? “You mentioned Ravensbrück in your talk,” he was saying. “I was a guard in there. But since that time,” he went on, “I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Will you forgive me?”

FORGIVENESS IS NOT AN EMOTION

I stood there with coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion–I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. “Jesus, help me!” I prayed silently. “I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.” And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. As I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. “I forgive you, brother!” I cried. “With all my heart!” For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did then.”

THEY WERE ALL BETRAYERS

How does one love betrayer(s)? In John 13 we have more than the infamous and unrepentant betrayer (Judas). It is easy to forget the disciples who skedaddled off the Mount of Olives when the soldiers arrest Jesus. Then there is out-spoken Peter, who uses his oratorical skills this time to announce to everyone in earshot that he was not one of Jesus’ followers. All betrayers.

THE MOST DIFFICULT LAW

Jesus knew what was to come in the next few hours before the betrayals. After Judas leaves the room, Jesus gives His remaining disciples one of the most difficult laws in all Christianity: A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

FAMILY TALK

This is family talk, a command from the Heavenly Father to His beloved children on how they are to relate to other believers.  How does one forgive their betrayer? Corrie recounted, “I forgive you, brother! With all my heart!” This type of love is the mark of the true believer that shouts louder to the world than any bumper stickers, t-shirts or emojis.

SINCE I HAVE LOVED YOU…

How do we love one another? Ray Stedman writes: “In this passage, the Greek, literally, says, ‘As I have loved you in order that you might love one another.’ One is the cause and the other is the effect. As in many places in Scripture, the word ‘as’ here can better be translated ‘since’: ‘Since I have loved you in order that you might love one another.’ Here our Lord is saying that his love for us will stimulate and awaken within us the ability to love other people.”

ONLY THROUGH CHRIST

This love was the cause and the identifying mark of Corrie Ten Boom’s love for Christ. Only through Christ could she stretch out her hand to her former enemy. Has Christ’s love stimulated and awakened within you the ability to love other believers, even your betrayer(s)?

WHAT’S NEEDED IN DESPERATE TIMES

Children of those murdered, were able to tell the shooter, “I forgive you; I condemn what you’ve done, but I forgive you.”

On July 17, 2015, a young man entered Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston South Carolina and joined a Bible Study group. The ten people in the room welcomed the young man, even though his presence was unusual. They offered him a Bible and proceeded with their study. At the end they sang a hymn and then had a closing prayer. At that point the man pulled out a gun and shot nine of the ten parishioners in the room, leaving one alive to tell the world what he had done.

SHOWING COMPASSION TO A MURDERER

Out of that horrific act, there was a glimpse of the presence of Jesus in the courtroom. At the arraignment, several of the children of those murdered, were able to tell the shooter, “I forgive you; I condemn what you’ve done, but I forgive you.” Some other family members, neighbors, and certainly the media, were bewildered by what was happening. How could anybody show that much compassion for an individual that murdered your mother, your grandmother, or your friend? The answer comes from the One who gives mercy to an undeserving people. His name is Jesus!

MERCY TO THOSE WHO DIDN’T LOVE HIM

In Matthew 15:29-39 we see Jesus healing many of the people who followed him. He extended His mercy and made them well. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking, and the blind seeing.  Once again, Jesus extended His mercy to individuals who probably had no love for him, beyond being glad He healed their broken bodies.  

MERCY AS GOD’S CHARACTER

As illustrated by Jesus, showing mercy is part of God’s character. We cannot show mercy to people begrudgingly or with ulterior motives if we are Christ followers. God displayed mercy to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. In the same manner, Jesus says in Luke 6:36, Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO FORGIVE?

Having enough compassion in your heart to reach out to the sick is one thing, but to forgive a killer, someone who has taken away a part of your family, is that possible? Paul says in I Timothy 1:15-16, 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.

THE MERCY THAT DISPLAYS JESUS

God’s mercy is something which we must live out in our own lives to show what God is like. Are you merciful to just the nice people? The people who deserve it? Or do you show mercy to others, just as God has shown mercy to you? God’s mercy is a cup of cold water in our dry and desperate times. The character of Christ was demonstrated by those individuals in the courtroom towards the man who had pulled out a gun and shot nine of the ten parishioners in that Bible Study Group. That type of mercy displayed to the world Who Jesus Christ is. How is God asking you to display this kind of mercy in your own life to others? Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.