Justice and Mercy.

Who is God?

Someone who always judges with justice and mercy combined.

Source:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14770640284/

I listen to Daily Audio Bible each day. I enjoy hearing Brian read the Bible and pray. We are now in Exodus and Matthew. In Exodus, God told Moses to make a breastplate for Aaron to wear when he came into the temple. It had two special stones on it called the Urim and Thummin.

These were used to discover the will of God and for judgment. What I loved learning yesterday was that God put these stones over the heart of Aaron.

"Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron's heart whenever he enters the presence of the LORD. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions (some translations say judgment) for the Israelites over his heart before the LORD."  Exodus 28:30

I think this was symbolic of God who always administers justice with love and mercy.

"Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you."  Psalm 89:14

"This is what the LORD Almighty said: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.  Zechariah 7:9

"So now, come back to your God. Act with love and justice, and always depend on him."  Hosea 12:6

"Nevertheless, the LORD will wait so he can be gracious to you; and thus he will rise up to show you mercy. For the LORD is a God of justice. How blessed are all those who wait for him."  Isaiah 30:18

Who am I?
Someone who loves to see mercy.

In this world, justice is rarely given with mercy. There is no mercy in giving 20 years to someone who was caught with pot in his pocket. There is no mercy in solitary confinement. There is no mercy in the death penalty. There is no mercy when children do crimes; they are now charged the same as adults. There is no mercy in torturing terrorists.

I'm glad God is merciful in his judgments. I am thankful for such a God.

Saturday or Sunday Worship. Does it Matter?

I was reading a book yesterday and the author said the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday), was given to the Jews. He said we no longer have to follow that day; we now celebrate Sunday as the day of rest to commemorate Jesus' resurrection.

He is wrong on two counts. The Seventh-Day-Sabbath was given to Adam and Eve. There were no Jews at that time, just two people. The Sabbath was given for a day of rest and recreation for the human race.

"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.   Genesis 2:2,3

There is no place in the Bible where any of Jesus' followers changed the Sabbath to Sunday. They met on Sunday a few times, but they met constantly to talk together about Jesus and preach the word. Jesus went to the temple on the Sabbath and so did his followers until they set up their own churches, which were in people's houses.

The Sabbath was later included in the 10 Commandments and given to Moses for the children of Israel. This commandment is as important as all the others. It isn't something we can change. Churches now say it doesn't matter, but that doesn't make sense. We wouldn't want to change stealing, murder or adultery. Why the Sabbath?

It was changed to appease the pagans, who worshipped the sun on Sunday. It was changed by the emperor Constantine, who also had worshipped the sun. The Catholic Church was also involved and agree even now that they changed the holiness of Saturday to Sunday.

So, I hope, if you are interested, you will study these things. As we near the end of the world and Jesus' return, the Sabbath will be a test. There will be laws passed in the U.S. and other Christian nations to not work on Sunday. There will be laws against keeping Saturday holy. This is the image to the beast written about in Revelation.

God Speaks to Everyone in the World.

Who Is God?

The True Light for the World.

 "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."  John 6:63

A. W. Tozer

John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.…

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"That was the true Light, which lightens every man that cometh into the world." John 1:9

Shift the punctuation around as we will and the truth is still there: the Word of God affects the hearts of all men as light in the soul. In the hearts of all men the light shines, the Word sounds, and there is no escaping them. Something like this would of necessity be so if God is alive and in His world. And John says that it is so. Even those persons who have never heard of the Bible have still been preached to with sufficient clarity to remove every excuse from their hearts forever. 

"Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while either accusing or else excusing one another." "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse."

This universal Voice of God was by the ancient Hebrews often called Wisdom, and was said to be everywhere sounding and searching throughout the earth, seeking some response from the sons of men. 

The eighth chapter of the Book of Proverbs begins, "Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?" The writer then pictures wisdom as a beautiful woman standing "in the top of the high places, by the way in the places of the paths." She sounds her voice from every quarter so that no one may miss hearing it. "Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of men." Then she pleads for the simple and the foolish to give ear to her words. It is spiritual response for which this Wisdom of God is pleading, a response which she has always sought and is but rarely able to secure. The tragedy is that our eternal welfare depends upon our hearing, and we have trained our ears not to hear.

The Voice of God is a friendly Voice. No one need fear to listen to it unless he has already made up his mind to resist it. The blood of Jesus has covered not only the human race but all creation as well. "And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." We may safely preach a friendly Heaven. The heavens as well as the earth are filled with the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush. The perfect blood of atonement secures this forever.

http://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/tozer/speaking_voice.htm

Who am I?

Someone who is grateful that God's voice goes to every person in the world. Some Christians believe only those who accept Christ will be saved. But I believe God speaks to every heart; and if they follow the words of God in their heart, they will be saved. It doesn't matter if a person has never heard of Jesus or the good news of salvation; if they follow the light God shines into their heart, they will be saved.

God is Love.

Who Am I?

I was reading a book in which the author told his readers to think about the fact we are a part of God's life. If we are Christians, we know God is a part of our life, but do we realize we are a part of His?

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine how God saw me as a part of his life. I saw in my mind a beach with thousands of pebbles. The pebbles were people. God bent down and his hand was sifting through the pebbles. He came to mine - a pebble that was me - he picked it up for a moment and then threw it aside.

I opened my eyes and realized that though I have thought I do believe God loves me - I don't. This brought tears to my eyes. I prayed God would help me believe in his love for me. I know that to love him in the best way possible, I need to believe he loves me too.

I suppose I can't believe in real love for myself because my father abused me when I was very young. That just screwed me up for love and trust. But, even if deep down I don't think He loves me, my intellect knows he is with me and will save me. I'm sure that is enough for him.

Who Is God?

God is love. That's what the Bible says about him. He doesn't just love - he IS love. He is where love originates. He is the one who fills our hearts with love. He is love personified.

 "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness." 
Jeremiah 31:3

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."  1John 4:7-12

Born into A New Family.

Who am I?

Someone who was born into a second family with a new father and brother.

Jesus said:

"Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Mark 10:15

Children are teachable and curious; they begin asking questions as soon as they can speak. They usually trust and love their parents. They have a need for love and attention. They are innocent of the evil in the world. They are teachable, open to new experiences and simply lovely to be around.

A ruler of the Jews came to visit Jesus and asked some questions.

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. ”

A new born child has to rely completely on her parents. She cannot do anything for herself. She would die if left alone. We need God, like a baby needs her parents.

“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit...”

"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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son." 

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God."  John 3:3-21

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. 1John 5:1

Who Is God?

Someone who wants us to be his child.

Is Everyone a Christian Who Says They are A Christian?

No.

Jesus told a story to illustrate that problem.

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

“ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.  (I believe the blazing furnace and fires of hell are symbolic of the suffering of evil people when they see other people in the Heavenly City and they themselves are cast out. "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out."  Luke 13:28)

Matthew 13:24-29 and 36-43

http://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/13.htm

What are we supposed to do about people in the church who are not Christians. Nothing. Leave them to God.

The thing is, we can't read a person's heart. Is the guy at church who loses his temper not a Christian, or is he a Christian who is struggling with a bad temper. We don't know. Only God knows.

Running Away from Home.

Who am I?

I'm a runner.

I'm 65 years old and I'm learning things about aging that aren't pleasant. Along with the physical problems comes the emotional ones. I think I have done a good job in facing this last leg of my journey with God; well, I haven't, but God has. He has shown me a lot about myself. He can do that when you have lots of time on your hands.

One thing I've learned lately is that living in the same city for over 35 years can be hard when you are older. Everywhere I go there are memories, memories of doing things with my children and grandchildren. Happy memories and sad memories. Whether happy or sad, the memories brought tears to my eyes today. I was out and about today, which is kind of rare for me, and everywhere I turned I saw the grandchildren I love so much.

When I got home, I said to my husband, "I wish we could move away for our retirement. I'd like to be somewhere new." I explained to him why I felt this way, but he reminded me we need to be near his doctors and hospital. We do need to be near a hospital, but Vancouver has a good one. The problem with Vancouver is that is where I babysat my grandsons. Happy and sad memories there too.

I realized tonight it is just me being me again. Always wanting to run away from pain; thinking I can find relief in a change of scenery. Running away instead of running to God.

Years ago, when I had a mental breakdown, I ran off to stay at my sister's place near Las Vegas. I ended up staying there for 3 months. It was a nice rest, but the same problems were there when I went home. After that, we would all joke about me "going Vegas" when I was depressed. Yes, there was that possibility! At least I had somewhere fun to go!

Who is God?

Someone who is used to having people run away.

Adam and Eve ran away and hid from God. I think God has an advantage in the game of hide & seek, so of course God sought them out and found them.

Jonah ran away, but God wouldn't let him go. For some unknown reason, God wanted Jonah to preach to and save some sinners. Sinners whom Jonah hated! And I guess that's why God chose him. God has a good sense of humor, and he will do some strange stuff to help us learn to love.

Elijah ran away because he was afraid of dying. God ran after him; he gave him food, water and rest until Elijah was ready to talk things out.

All of Jesus' friends ran away when Jesus was arrested because they were afraid they would be arrested too. But Jesus told them beforehand it would happen so they wouldn't be too ashamed or discouraged. Then, when they didn't believe the women who told them Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus sought them out and entered the room where they met each day.

God is pretty humble. He runs after us every time. He's pretty patient and loving too. I'm so glad we have a God like that. One who will chase after us and maybe say something like he said to Elijah, "Why are you here?"