God's Mercy

Isaiah 33:22 (NIV)

22 For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.

Many people have a harsh view of God. They hear that he judges, but then they assume a has penalty must come along with that judgment. Yet this verses tell us the same God that judges us will also be the same God to save us from our sins.

It's a given that some judges in the American legal system are more severe than others. But Circuit Judge Daniel Rozak—from Will County, Illinois—may be the only federal judge who has sentenced a man to prison because of a yawn.

That's right. In August of 2009, Clifton Williams was attending the hearing of his cousin in a Joliet courtroom. His cousin pled guilty to a felony drug charge, and when Judge Rozak delivered a sentence of two years probation, Mr. Williams let loose the incriminating yawn.

Judge Rozak noticed, later describing the incident by saying that Williams "raised his hands while at the same time making a loud yawning sound." The judge decided that this was a disrespectful interruption of the court, and sentenced Williams to six months in jail—the maximum penalty for contempt of court without a jury trial.

This isn't the first time that Judge Rozak has flexed his judicial muscles. A Chicago Tribune investigation revealed that Rozak has charged several court spectators with contempt when their cell phones rang in the middle of a session. In fact, with 30 judges operating in his Judicial Circuit, Judge Rozak has brought more than a third of all the contempt charges filed in the past 10 years.

People like Daniel Rozak are the reason why some people cringe when they hear God described as a Judge. They wonder, Will God judge me with fairness?

[Sam O'Neal, Geneva, Illinois; source: Matt Bartosik, "Shut Yer Mouth: Man Gets Six Months for Yawning," nbcnewyork.com (8-11-2009)]

Isn’t it great that we have a God who is loving, merciful, gracious and does not impose a harsh sentence when He has probably had every right to. Instead God loved us enough to provide salvation through his son Jesus Christ.

Hope

Psalm 119:114 (NIV)

114 You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.

Here the psalmist reminds us God is our protection in the storm. God is our shelter. We can have hope in His word when we cannot find hope in others or ourselves.

In an interview about his book The Folly of Prayer (IVP, 2009), author and pastor Matt Woodley shared a story about his friend Theresa. Theresa was experiencing what St. John of the Cross calls a dark night of the soul—a period of spiritual loneliness and despair. Over the course of describing her story, listen to how Woodley discovered that what seemed most helpless in his ministry was actually the most helpful:

After marrying the man of her dreams, [Theresa] dropped into the abyss of a deep depression. Everything went dark in her mind and body. She even started writing her obituary. Three years ago I would have had plenty of answers and solutions for her. I would have been so clever and powerful. But now I could only sit with her in her pain. We prayed. I didn't know what to do, didn't have any answers, so I said, "Theresa, I have no idea what to say, so could we just read the Psalms?" Then I read Psalm 77, an agonizing psalm of lament, and I went home. I left feeling utterly powerless, and I sure didn't think that I made her feel better.

The next week another leader of our church visited Theresa. She was still suffering intensely, but when the leader asked if he could pray for her, Theresa said, "Yes, but before you pray, please read Psalm 77. I've been clinging to it all week. It's my lifeline to God." Apparently when we read Psalm 77 in utter powerlessness, God showed up in her life with power.

Woodley adds: "At times the best, most powerful and most useful way to love someone is to get to the end of myself. I admit that I can't fix or change you. My words and my advice won't heal your brokenness. But I can be with you, and we can go together to the Father."

Adopted into God's Family

John 1:12-13 (NIV)

12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Those who are a part of the family of Christ were not natural descendants, but were adopted into the family of God by God’s grace, mercy and love.

The movie A Knight's Tale, set in medieval England, tells the story of a young would-be knight named Ulrich. In those days, men had to be descended from noble stock in order to become a knight. But Ulrich does not have a drop of royal blood in him. Even so, he attempts to secure his place in history by winning a famous tournament.

It is traditional for the knight's squire to introduce him at such tournaments, usually delivering a grandiose recitation of the knight's royal lineage. In this scene, Ulrich's squire is a young Geoffrey Chaucer. People in the audience smile as Chaucer cranks up the hype like a modern-day puffmeister:

I cannot look upon my Lord Ulrich, for I weep to see his shining face. My Lord is a gift to your eyes, for we shall never, ever see his like upon this Earth again. I would list his lineage if it served to honor him. Most men here—it's sad, but it's true—they look to their past to prove their worth; they look to the deeds of their fathers.

Now, Sir Ulrich has great ancestors, make no mistake about that. Sir Chirard von Richbach, Duke Guelph of Saxony, Van Misch IV out of Brunswick—but these great, great men pale into insignificance next to him. I do not list them to honor him; I list him to honor them!

That was all hype, of course, but that last line captures the essence of Jesus' genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. Jesus Christ "has great ancestors—make no mistake about that! But these great men (and women) pale into insignificance next to him. I do not list them to honor him; I list him to honor them!"

[A Knight's Tale (Columbia Pictures, 2001), directed by Brian Helgeland; submitted by Lee Eclov, Vernon Hills, Illinois]

David's Humbleness

Psalm 119:7 (NIV)

7 I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws

David was a man after God’s own heart. He desired to be like God and to follow in his ways. Yet David stumbled often in his walk with God as so many have; but David was always willing to humble himself before God and take responsibility for his failures.

Acts 13

17 The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it.

18 And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.

19 And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot.

20 And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.

21 And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.

22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

23 Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:

We see through these verses the people of Israel were always seeking the wrong thing or person. The David came along and declare him a man after His own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. It was through David’s linage that Christ was born and gave His life for all people to free the from sin. So through David, through Christ God’s will was fulfilled.

Losing our life to find it

Matthew 16:25 (NIV)

25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

This verse reminds us that we must let go of our self-centered beliefs by giving up our preconceived throughs and instead turning our life over to God. It is then that we will truly find our life.

We often hear someone say: "Well, I'm not very religious, but I'm a good person and that is what is most important." But is that true? Imagine a woman, a poor widow with an only son. She teaches him how she wants him to live, to always tell the truth, to work hard and to help the poor.

She makes very little money, but with her meager savings she is able to put him through college. Imagine that when he graduates, he hardly even speaks to her again. He occasionally sends a Christmas card, but he doesn't visit her, he won't even answer her phone calls or letters; he doesn't speak to her. But he lives just like she taught him—honestly, industriously, and charitably.

Would you say this was acceptable? Of course not. Wouldn't we say by living a "good life" but neglecting a relationship with the one to whom he owed everything he was doing something commendable?

In the same way, God created us and we owe him everything and we do not live for him but we "live a good life" it is not enough. We all owe a debt that must be paid.

[Timothy Keller, Shaped by the Gospel: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Zondervan, 2016), page 3; Submitted by Van Morris, Mt. Washington, Kentucky]

Salvation is about a relationship with God that brings us into contact with His Son Jesus Christ. 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. It’s a binding relationship between us and God brought about by Christ who offered Himself as a sacrifice for all sin. Not just my sin or your sin, but everyone’s sin. Christ paid the debt of sin in full by dying on 

Love your neighbor

Leviticus 19:18 (NIV)

18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

God asks us not to bear grudges, but instead to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are to do this no matter how tough it might be to love the other person.

A Florida priest murdered in 2016 has appealed from beyond the grave for his alleged killer to be shown mercy, reports the BBC. In a letter written 22 years before his murder, Reverend Rene Robert requested that whoever took his life be spared execution "no matter how heinous their crime or how much I may have suffered."

The body of 71-year-old Fr. Robert, of St Augustine, Florida, was found riddled with bullets in Georgia in April 2016. Authorities say he was killed days earlier by a man, Steven Murray, whom he had been trying to help for months. Mr. Murray, a repeat offender, had asked the priest for a lift in Jacksonville, Florida, before abducting and murdering him, authorities said. At the time of the trial, the prosecutor was pushing for the death penalty.

But in 1995, the priest had signed a "Declaration of Life" document, which was witnessed and notarized by a lawyer. Fr. Robert wrote, "I request that the person found guilty of homicide for my killing not be subject to or put in jeopardy of the death penalty under any circumstances."

Fr. Robert devoted his life to helping society's most troubled people, including convicts and the mentally afflicted, say friends. "He was well aware for the potential violence that might involve his ministry, but he cared for those people nonetheless," said Archbishop Wilton Gregory. During a court appearance, Mr. Murray appealed for forgiveness by noting Fr. Robert's own words: "If anybody loves Father Rene, they'll forgive me because he was a man of God, and forgiveness is forgiveness."

Reverend Robert understood the need to love others and show mercy so much that he prepared a statement to others long before his death. It was a request to forgive anyone who might have a hand in his death. How many of us are willing to forgive others for the minor things they might do to us, much less the murder caused by another’s hands.

The depth and height of God's love

Ephesians 3:17-19 (NIV)

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

If we understand the depth and width of God’s love for us we would wake up each day praising Him for being in our lives. And as we are filled with God’s love it overflows where we can use it for others.

Two-time Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington is best known for his roles in Glory, The Preacher's Wife, Remember the Titans, and Training Day. But the Hollywood A-lister has sounded more like a pastor when has spoken at recent events. Washington has publicly stated that he reads his Bible every day and that he strives to consistently "get up and speak of what God has done for him."

At a November 2015 church banquet he urged his listeners to live in a constant attitude of gratitude for God's goodness:

Give thanks for blessings every day. Every day. Embrace gratitude. Encourage others. It is impossible to be grateful and hateful at the same time. I pray that you put your slippers way under your bed at night, so that when you wake in the morning you have to start on your knees to find them. And while you're down there, say "thank you." A bad attitude is like a flat tire. Until you change it, you're not going anywhere.

[Jeannie Law, "Denzel Washington: God Has 'Faith in Me,'" Christian Post (11-12-15)]

Let’s take away our bad attitudes and instead have and attitude of gratitude. Let us love like the love of Christ. Let us be filled with His presence so that we may be rooted and established in love for all people.