God Has a History of Love...

6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments... (Deuteronomy 7)
In these words of reminder and promise to Israel, we get a glimpse into the heart of God.  He chooses to set His love, and what He chooses to do, he continues to do.  He is faithful and His love is steadfast. He chooses to love not because of how wonderful we are, but how wonderful He is.  He keeps His promises; we are not so consistent.  This history of love continues on through the pages of scripture and of history.  We are caused to look back and say: "Behold, what manner of love!"  But we also can look at today and know that God is the same.  He still loves; He still does what is best for us at His expense. And, as Paul reminds us, as we look ahead, no one can separate us from His love. That's quite a history, including the pages yet to be written and lived out. 

Mercy: One of those things to Shout about!

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (I Peter 2)
As Peter reminds us of who we are in Christ - chosen by God, royal representatives, dearly loved - facts that should help us raise our head and put the wind back in our weary lungs, he also reminds us that at one time we had not received mercy.  We had not accepted God's help; we were in a hopeless and helpless condition.  We were not what we now are. We have a position, a reason, a purpose, a reminder that God cares about us.  We have reason to shout in proclamation of Who He is, what He is like, and what He has done for us.  May we shout it out today. 

Mercy: Wait for It; Have It; Show It.

 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. (Titus)
There is this sense in which God's mercy toward us is "not yet." Like the other salvation blessings that we have in the risen Christ, we have not yet fully seen what it all entails. Whereas Christ has come in mercy, reaching down to a world lost in sin, God's mercy is something that will not fully be experienced until the day of judgment.  Secondly, mercy is a matter of the mind - choices we make and attitudes we demonstrate. God, out of His character, chooses to look upon us with compassion and care about us. Rather than turning away from the mess, He looks on us and cries.  Finally, true mercy acts, comes up with a plan, does something practical to meet the miserable in their need.  Mercy is willing to get your hands dirty, but not joining in the deeds that get others that way. It is taking the chance of being misunderstood, taken advantage of, and even harmed by those we are willing to help.  Mercy is very rare in the world today. Will we be His vessels of mercy?  

It's Twins! Mercy and Grace

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4)

These two blessings are so interrelated, we often see them together. Yet they are distinct.  Grace is God giving us what we need that we cannot do ourselves: We do not have the righteousness to save ourselves; we do not have the gifts we need to carry out His will in our lives; we need His amazing Grace in Christ. But He also offers, out of his love and compassion, mercy - his reaching down and providing what we need in our misery.  When we are hurting, struggling, tempted, we can cry out as so many have "Lord, Have mercy!" and He will hear us. He will give us forgiveness, strength, hope, and healing.  Mercy is something God shows to believers and unbelievers alike, but especially to His own.  The first thing we need to do is admit how much we need His mercy and His grace. 

Other People Deserve Mercy Too!

28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. 

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
    that he might be repaid?”

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11)

Paul has just been through a deep discussion on the relationship of Jews and Gentiles as it has to do with the Gospel.  But the bottom line is really quite simple: we are all sinful and need salvation.  How God works is His business (but as the final verses say, His plan is quite glorious!). What we need to realize is that everyone needs compassion and mercy, and if we have been recipients of the mercy of God, we should know what it is like, and be willing to show mercy to others as God has to us.  How dare we be so selective in whether to show mercy toward others!  God has a glorious plan; let's not be obstacles in the way of it. Let us be vessels of His mercy. 

The Mercy Man

14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. (Matthew 17)
The Gospel of Matthew presents this picture of Jesus as the Glorious King that Israel had been waiting for. But it does not stop there. On several occasions He is traveling along, preaching and healing, when He is interrupted by this cry: "Lord, have mercy!"  People plead with Him to look on them with compassion and do something to relieve their misery or that of a loved one. Sometimes Jesus seems hesitant to respond, until he points out what God is looking for: faith - for us to believe that He is the Mercy Man - He is the one with both the heart and the ability to do something - to answer our request and cure and calm our ills.  The first thing we must do is be willing to say we need His mercy.  

Mercy Experienced

28 

To you, O Lord, I call;

    my rock, be not deaf to me,

lest, if you be silent to me,

    I become like those who go down to the pit.

2 

Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,

    when I cry to you for help,

when I lift up my hands

    toward your most holy sanctuary.

3 

Do not drag me off with the wicked,

    with the workers of evil,

who speak peace with their neighbors

    while evil is in their hearts.

4 

Give to them according to their work

    and according to the evil of their deeds;

give to them according to the work of their hands;

    render them their due reward.

5 

Because they do not regard the works of the Lord

    or the work of his hands,

he will tear them down and build them up no more.

6 

Blessed be the Lord!

    For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.

7 

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

    in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

my heart exults,

    and with my song I give thanks to him.

8 

The Lord is the strength of his people;

    he is the saving refuge of his anointed.

9 

Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!

    Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

(Psalm 28)

David knew what God's Mercy was all about. He had called out for it, received it, praised God for it, and then shared it with others. His testimony to is us that God is a God of Mercy Whom we can trust. He is the Good Shepherd Who cares about His helpless, wayward sheep. David also shared God's mercy by demonstrating it to others - collecting his band of misfits, allowing former enemies to be forgiven, and showing compassion on Saul's crippled son in his time of need.  Mercy. Have you cried out for it? Are you willing to receive it?  Are you willing to give it?

The LORD... merciful and gracious

4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. 5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
(Exodus 34)
It was a monumental moment. Moses had done up on the Mountain to receive God's covenant with His people Israel.  It was a dramatic introduction: God came in the cloud and formally introduced Himself, and what is the first adjective He uses to describe Himself? Merciful. He looks down on us in our weak and sinful condition and reaches His hand out to help us. He looks down on his people and has mercy on them. Linked with His mercy is His grace, both of which are characterized by a slowness to anger. That is how He responds to those who are willing to receive His covenant of forgiveness and justice.  We will see those things again in the New Covenant, but they all come back to this: God is a God of mercy, and without that we are doomed.  

Real Resurrection Rejoicing

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
(I Peter 1)
Has it died out yet? That rejoicing you were doing a few weeks ago when we celebrated Resurrection Day?  Here Peter was addressing people who had put their faith in Christ years before.  They had never seen him, yet their faith in Him was so real they were still overflowing with joy, even though they were enduring suffering for their faith. They had not forgotten. Hope was alive, and they knew they had been born again and they would someday see Him. May time or trials or temptations never be enough to steal or joy.  If it has, may we pray like David: "Restore to me the joy of my salvation." 

Holding on to Joy

 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God... 12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.  (Hebrews 12)
Don't let anyone steal your joy.  Jesus did not; neither should we. He is the One Who binds us together, and He is our mutual Savior and Example.  When we are tempted to give up, we are to look to Him. What He did He did on His own. what we are called to do, we are called on to do together in Him.  We are to strive for peace with each other; we are not to allow bitterness, which saps our joy, to seep into our relationships and our hearts; we are to maintain our purity and challenge each other to do so.  It is possible to keep our joy, but like a race, it is not always easy. We just need Him and one another with the goal set before us. 

Confident, Compassionate Joy

32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. (Hebrews 10)
Joy is not as readily evident in times of ease and plenty.  It is most apparent when the opposite is true - when suffering, affliction, problems and struggles line our path.  Joy is shown when despite all these things we can still be caught showing compassion to others, no matter what others are doing to us. Joy again joins with hope - that confident expectation that God has something good ahead for us, and with faith - this is the prelude passage to the great Hall of Faith in chapter 11. Don't "throw your confidence away", as the writer says here, or as we may say: "don't let anyone steal your joy." We have control over our joy - not because we are so strong on our own, but when we are willing to trust in Christ, and come confidently in faith to Him.  Whatever you are going through today, may you experience confident, and compassionate, joy.