Verse of the Day - Isaiah 55:7-8

Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
~ Isaiah 55:7-8 (NIV)

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Do you know that if any of us were in charge of this world, it would be a pretty lonely place? No one would survive our judgment! Our vengeance would condemn all who do wrong to the death chamber. Why? Because we are prone to spew out condemnation, rather than mercy. In our carnal nature, we long for an exacting of the law, a sealing of the prison doors, a shoveling of six feet of dirt on top of the coffins of all offenders.

Mercy is not in us, apart from God. Just look at Jonah and the offenders of Nineveh. Jonah high-tailed it in the opposite direction when God called him to preach to the Ninevites. Why? Because he knew God would be merciful to anyone who calls on His name. He knew that God is a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in love (Jonah 4:2). And it galled him! In Jonah's mind, these people deserved all that they had coming to them, for all of their reveling in sin -- death to those great sinners! Never mind if they repented -- just wipe 'em out....that was Jonah's motto.

Is that our motto? We might not want to admit it, but we judge and condemn people in our hearts and minds all the time. Hmm...Drug dealers? Give 'em the ax! Prostitutes? Throw 'em in the trash heap! Pornographers? Take 'em out and shoot 'em!

Heaven forbid that any of these violators of the law would turn in repentance and call on the name of the Lord...

God says His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. All I can say is it's a good thing...or you and I would be trampled under our own judgment and condemnation. Because, you see, we are all vile and disgusting in our own sin. We stink to high heaven as much as any murderer on death row. Our sin is a stench; yet, we somehow think we smell like a rose because we've been saved by Jesus. In truth, we do smell like a rose in the nose of God because of Jesus, but in the war with our flesh, that transformation often leads us to believe we can condemn others who are stuck in the muck and the mire of sinful living.

...the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair...
~from Be My Escape, by Relient K

Thank God that He shows mercy to the whole world, to all who will call on Him. And may we seek to be like Him more and more every day.

Love,
Joelene