Isaiah 55
I stole the title of this blog from the title of a chapter in my father’s book, Freedom Fighter: How God Wins the Universal War on Terror. That chapter is all about God’s amazing forgiveness. (I invite you to read the chapter online.) In many ways, God’s forgiveness does seem odd to us, because unlike most of us, God never holds a grudge. Ever.
Psalm 71
I can’t tell you how many times in my adult life I have heard someone say that God is merciful, but… Why do we always have to include a big but when we talk about God’s mercy? What usually follows the but is the idea that God is also just, and that somehow, His justice is in opposition to His mercy. Thus, in Christ, He devised a way to satisfy His justice so He could be merciful to us.
Psalm 67
As Christians, I think we have often been guilty of understating the extravagance of God’s love. We get so focused in on our own sinfulness and our need for a Savior that we overlook the fact that God doesn’t keep a record of sins like we do. We tend to view ourselves as criminals who have broken the law, but that’s not how God sees us.
Psalm 52
The title of today’s blog is a quote from the beginning of today’s psalm from The Message version of the Bible: “Why do you brag of evil, ‘Big Man’? God’s mercy carries the day.” (vs 1) Other versions render it differently—God’s love will continue forever; God can be trusted day after day; Don’t you realize God’s justice continues forever?—but I thought none of them captured it as well as Eugene Petersen. God’s mercy carries the day.
Nehemiah 9
Yes, before you get too worked up, observe the spelling of the word "but" in the title. It’s a part of speech, not a part of the body! And it illustrates something wonderful about God—that He is always eager to give us another chance and that He is always willing to forgive, forget, and move on.
In this chapter, as the Israelite exiles recounted the history of God and their nation, there were a lot of buts flying around:
Ghandi once said that
an eye for an eye
leaves the whole world blind.
Yes, but it also
leaves the whole world alive.
If the previous rule was
your hand for my eye
and then
my child's life for your hand
and then
your whole family for my child's life
and then
and then
and then
an eye for an eye
is not revenge,
but mercy;
pandemic blindness
a blessing,
compared to
the alternative.
2 Chronicles 3
All I saw in this chapter was gold, gold, gold. Gold on the floors, gold on the ceilings, gold on the walls. Gold, gold everywhere. It must have been something to walk into that dazzling temple, with every surface sparkling and shining. It must have been incredible to walk into the Most Holy Place (if you were the high priest) and see the wings of the sculptured cherubim spanning the room from wall to wall.
2 Chronicles 1
I think this is one of the neatest stories in the Bible. Solomon asks for what is most important—and ends up receiving everything that is most important as well as all the "perks." It always reminds me of what Jesus told His disciples: "But seek first [God's] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matt 6:33)
1 Chronicles 28
If I had ever believed in the theory of evolution, I'm pretty sure my first pregnancy would have blown that belief out of the water. As I went through that experience, week by week, I marveled at the little life unfolding in my own body. From the heart that is fully functional and begins to beat by five weeks to the whole development process, it was very hard for me to understand how people (especially doctors who know the intricacies of pregnancy) could believe that there is no design involved in human development.
1 Chronicles 21
Even after David repented of his sin involving Bathsheba and Uriah, he was still struggling with the issue of being in control as king. Thus, though he knew he shouldn’t do it, he asked Joab to take a census of the army. Joab was disgusted by the request, but did it anyway. For some reason, David apparently wasn’t ready to place his full trust back in the Lord, and he wanted to make sure he could "walk softly and carry a big army" ...just in case.
"Israel drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them,
and that rock was Christ." 1 Corinthians 10:4
God gives.
He doesn't know how to do anything else.
He gives rain to the righteous
and rain to the wicked.
He gives water to the grateful
and water to the complainers.
God is good.
He doesn't know how to be anything else.
If you are good to Him,
He will be good to you.
If you are evil to Him,
He will be good to you.
Moses struck the rock
with his rod at Meribah
and life-giving water flowed out.
We strike the Rock and
Life is still the thing
that gushes out after us,
a flood of grace
to meet our anger,
a deluge of mercy
to defy our shame,
a surge of good
to repay our evil.
2 Kings 6
During all the years of the American-led war on terror, there have often been debates about how best to bring change to the Middle East—particularly about how to change the hearts and minds of those who seem intent on destroying Western culture and peoples. Many think it is wrong for us to use military force to accomplish these goals, and they offer other solutions instead, ranging from outright ignoring the problem to pacifism or targeted kindness.
