Mercy

A Little Talk

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When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs. 
John 21:15 ESV

One old gospel song has a line that says, “Let us have a little talk with Jesus” And when people mention prayer usually we usually start thinking of what we will say in that little talk. But usually, what we really need to do is to let Jesus talk first! In today’s verse, Jesus is telling Peter something He had been trying to say for years. Bur Peter had been so busy talking that Jesus just couldn’t get Him to listen. One time Peter even boasted that He was more faithful than any of the other disciples.

At this Peter exclaimed, “Even if everyone should lose his faith in you, I never will!”
Matthew 26:33 Phillips New Testament

But that same night Peter denied even knowing Jesus three times. If you were Jesus, what would you do? What Jesus did was to come and have a little talk with Peter. Though we might criticize Peter, deep down inside we know that we have all failed just as badly or even worse. But the good news is that Jesus still comes and asks for us start walking with Him again, and He asks the question, “Do you love Me?” Then, when He has our full attention, He gently but firmly commands, “Then go feed My lambs!”

Photo by Vlad Vasnetsov on Pexels.com

Presidential Pardons

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He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. MIcah 6:8 NKJV

On January 20, 1977, President Jimmy Carter was sworn into office. One of the moments that I most fondly remember from that day was when our new president opened his Bible and read this verse from the book of Micah. Today I was reminded of those words by the reactions of political commentators from both the left and right. Strangely enough just about everyone seems to be angry about mercy. Some are incensed by President Trump pardoning 1,500 folks from the January 6th event, and others are angry about President Biden’s pardoning of a variety of people including his family. Almost everyone is demanding justice, few are remembering mercy. Today’s verse reminds us that God requires justice, but he loves mercy. On the day that the Pharisees brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus, they were pretty intent on justice. Yet while they were busy making their demands known, Jesus simply stooped down and began writing in the dust. I bet that made them even madder! When no one seemed to take the hint, Jesus finally stood up and said, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” (John 8:7)

That really got their attention and then things got really quiet. Finally, one by one, beginning with the oldest (Yup that’s me!) they began to drop their rocks and head home. Then Jesus turned to the woman and gave her a pathway to justice by telling her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11b) God loves mercy, Jesus loves mercy, and we Christians ought to love mercy more than anyone else. We are all just like that woman, because we have received the most. So, why not put our stones, and begin loving mercy, practicing forgiveness and praying for our nation and its leaders to do the same!

Rejoicing in God’s Mercy

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I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, For You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities, Psalm 31:7 NKJV

Every month as the moon orbits around the earth it has an apogee and a perigee. At its perigee it is the closest to the earth and at its apogee the farthest. Every true Christian has come to orbit around Jesus and like the moon we have those times when, as one of my favorite songs goes – I’m…

"So close I believe You're holding me now," Reuben Morgan

But then there are those times when we reach the other side of that orbit. Even though we are still in our orbit around Jesus we feel distant – sometimes because of our own sins, but sometimes because of the sins of others against us.

That is when we can discover as David did, a time of rejoicing, when by the gravitational pull of God’s mercy, He pulls us close again. Jesus was a “Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” Isaiah 53:3. In His orbit, He was once so far from God that He cried out, “My God – My God – Why have You forsaken me?” Matthew 27:47 That is why He, of all people, can know our soul in adversities. He understands what it means to feel far from the Father, but on the third day everything changed. The stone rolled away to disclose that He was no longer forsaken on a cross. He had risen from the dead and He brings for us a mercy, that can know our souls in the very depth of our adversities and our hearts when we feel the very furthest from God. That is when we can break out into the joyful words of this Psalm, “I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy!”

How is your walk with Jesus Christ today? Whether you at your apogee, in sorrow, shadows and problems, or at your apogee, feeling the wonderful presence of Jesus, God still is holding you by the pull of His mercy and love. Trust Him, because You are His. He has bought you with a price. He has promised to never let you go!