Re-Post: from 4/12/2017

I wondered something last night when studying Psalm 22. I know that the psalm was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and that it is a prophecy of the crucifixion, yet I also realize that some truly horrific thing had happened in the life of its writer. So, I wonder…

…here is this thoroughly gut-wrenching psalm (22), and on the same page is one of the most inspiring psalms ever written (23). Same Bible. Same book. Same page. Same writer. Same God.

How is it that a good, all-knowing, all-powerful God can allow something so tragic to occur that His child begs Him not to be forsaken?

How can the same God that inspired the words, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil” also inspire the writer to pen the following plea? “The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet… But you, O Lord, do not be far from me.”

The answer is that we live in a fallen world. To put it another way, we live in a world where sin runs rampant. David eventually learned not to fear what man could do to him in this life, and learned to only fear God.

That begs the question, “Why doesn’t God simply get rid of all the sin in the world? To do that, He would have to get rid of all the sinners. He could simply wipe them off the face of the earth. In that case, you and I should say, “So long,” for you and I are sinners. We would be gone.

Well, then, why can’t He just get rid of the sin? He has made provision to forgive us of our sins, and to cleanse our hearts of all unrighteousness. However, to fully get rid of all the sin in this world, He would have to remove our free-will, which would make us something like a robot, and not human. He can, however, sanctify believers, and strengthen us with the power of His love, giving us the means by which to resist the temptation of sin. That, though, is up to each and every individual.

The world will not be made new until the end of days. And until God creates a new heaven and a new earth, there will be tragedy, disasters, and sin and death. This is part of the human experience, the course which mankind has chosen and to which we are bound until Christ returns.

In the meanwhile, know this: every evil deed will, in the end, be punished, and every evil-doer will be brought to justice. Jesus will return someday to judge the sins of quick and the dead; He will judge those who do not repent of their sins.

Judgment, though, is at Christ’s second coming. Right now, He offers mercy.  

• “And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” – John 12:47

Yes, we serve a just God, One Who is righteous, and Who will someday judge all who hear His Word and do not believe.

But, He is a loving God, Who offers mercy to those who believe.

• Yes, we find every human emotion in God’s Word, for it is a letter inspired by God written by humans for humans. The same writers who record their fear, also write about the God-given courage. They write about their joy and their disappointment. They write about tragedy and reward. They write so that we, who are made lower than the angels, can relate to the stories, and grasp the eternal truth.

Ultimately, we learn to

Fear Not, For the same Bible that tells us that Christ will judge the world, also assures us that God sent His Son to rescue those whom believe. 

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Holiness is, perhaps, the most misunderstood concept in Christianity. Anyone who has striven to follow the life of Christ can likely tell you that it is impossible to do. No one can match His love, His grace, or His compassion. For no one but Jesus is perfect. Once the believer is filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit, though, he or she is filled to the brim with the love of Christ, and desires nothing more than to please God and follow in Christ’s steps. The love of sin is gone. In its place is a love and passion for others. That is Christian Holiness. This is Christian Holiness Daily.

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Isaiah is comparing God’s grace, lovingkindness, goodness, and protection to a mother. He poses this question:

Can a woman forget her nursing child? And not have compassion on the son of her womb? (NKJV)

Here is the way the NIV reads: Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

My immediate answer to that question is NO. It would seem impossible. I mean, MOM remains faithful when all others have turned their backs on us. How many times have you seen the mother of a mass murderer or a serial killer on TV, speaking or standing in defense of her grown child? Dads may walk out… friends may fall aside… brothers may turn their back… but moms remain faithful forever. Right?

Yet, Isaiah’s words were not his own; they were inspired by God. We live in a fallen world, a world where – like it or not – a mother sometimes abandons her child. We live in a world that is not only fallen, but one in which it is nearly impossible to survive. Some mothers believe they have no choice but to forget their children. What is Isaiah’s inspired answer to his question?

Though she may forget, I [God] will not forget you!

We serve a great God. We serve a God whose goodness is impossible to comprehend. We serve a God who will never leave us nor forsake us.

Fear Not, for God is more faithful than even a good mother.

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God, however, was merely preparing him for His service. He would move Joseph into a position of influence, and use him to store up food in preparation of famine. Through Joseph, God saved the people of Egypt and preserved what would become the nation of Israel. 

When his brothers came groveling to Joseph, who had become one of the most powerful men in Egypt, it might have been easy for him to exact vengeance on them. Instead, he showed them mercy. 

“Fear not,” he told them, “for, although you meant evil again me, God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20).

Joseph was so assured by God’s loving presence that he was able to demonstrate God’s mercy. 

We have the same assurance. If we surrender ourselves to God’s control, we can be assured that all things will “work together for good” (Romans 8:28). 

Fear Not for God is in control. 

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I was introduced to Christ as a toddler. I possess a photo of my mother holding me inside a Sunday school room at that age. I accepted Christ as my Savior at about seven years old. Pastor Gary Phipps, a fiery Pentecostal preacher who seldom took a full breath between sentences (only by the power of God did he not hyperventilate while preaching), preached a sermon on heaven and hell. He finished by looking me in the eye and saying that, even if I was the only person who had ever been born, Christ would have died for me. I figured that I should give my heart to Him in return. 

I have since backslidden and repented thousands of time. There could be no one on earth who has stumbled and fallen more than I. Yet, His mercies never fail. He is always waiting for me with open arms when I return, so long I am truly repentant. 

A man I know did something terrible and it landed him in federal court. He couldn’t afford a lawyer, and the public defender’s office didn’t show up for the arraignment. My friend, not understanding that the system did not allow a guilty plea at that point, plead guilty. The judge looked at him and said, “No, son, at this point, you are not guilty.”

“But, I did it, your honor.”

“But, right now, in the eyes of the law, you are innocent … until proven guilty…”

With God, we are not “innocent until proven guilty,” we are, “guilty, but forgiven because Jesus has already served your sentence.”

That doesn’t give us a free pass to keep sinning, but because God loves us, He has forgiven all our sins, past and future. His mercies are greater than our sins. 

What Paul is telling us in this verse, Romans 12:1, that in light of God’s mercies, we should give Him our unending love and devotion. 

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

Thank you, God, for your never-ending mercies, because I am just an ever-fallible human. 

I stood in the court room the judge turned my way. 

It looks like you’re guilty now what do you say?

I spoke up, “Your honor, I have no defense.”

But that’s when mercy walked in. 

Mercy walked in and pleaded my case. 

Called to the stand God’s saving grace

The blood was presented that covered my sin. 

Forgiven, when mercy walked in. 

Praise the lord.

Mercy Walked In

By Gordon Mote and Sheri Easter

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