A Pastor in The Northwest

I've been thinking a lot lately about the idea of mercy.   Songs have been written about it.   Movies have been made about it. People often ask for it.  Often, we are quite stingy with it. Mercy.   By definition, according to the smart people behind Merriam-Webster:  compassion, leniency, or restraint (as in imposing punishment) shown especially to an offender or to one subject to the power of another I've thought of mercy as not receiving punishment or a judgment that is well deserved. Unfortunately, our natural tendency is to want mercy for ourselves but justice for others. I want to be a person of mercy.   As Paul David Tripp wrote in his New Morning Mercies collection of devotionals,  "And as you begin to remember that God's mercy is your only hope and you meditate on the grandeur of the mercy that has been showered on you, you begin to want to help others experience that same mercy." Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord ha...

Sometimes Christ-followers get caught up in discussions and speculations on issues like the end times.  We can read passages that speak of the great day of the Lord or judgment or even new heavens and earth, but I fear that we might miss the point. Jesus didn't give us a clear and detailed roadmap and timeline for His second coming, but He did tell us how to handle life until that day.  He called His followers to be active participants in His kingdom work! We have roles to play, gifts and abilities to leverage, and people who need hope all around us.  As Matthew 24:44-46 states, " You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.  A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them.  If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward." May we live out our 'active participant' roles until He comes ...

I read this today from commonprayer.net : On January 12, 1948, Mohandas Gandhi began his last successful fast in New Delhi to convince Hindus and Muslims in the city to work toward peace. Six days later, convinced that harmony was achieved, he ended the fast. For most of his adult life, Gandhi read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount every morning, convinced that it contained a truth more powerful than the empire that occupied his native India or the enmity that divided Hindus and Muslims. Through “experiments in truth” like the public fast, he sought to put Jesus’ teachings into practice for the sake of peace. Gandhi said, “Prayer is not an old woman’s idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.” Although I may not agree with everything Gandhi did and believed, I can still admire his courage, bravery, and his practices of fasting and prayer.   I do believe those disciplines, directed at our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ, can move mo...

I've said it before, and it bears repeating...waiting on the Lord is not an easy ride or simple virtue. No, i t is work!   It is frustrating at times.   It is yielding and surrender, which, for most of us, is challenging to say the least.   Yet, that is the call for all who choose to follow Messiah Jesus.  In fact, His call is STILL for people, by faith, to follow Him.  Where He goes, we're to follow Him.  He's the shot-caller.  He's the Lord and the authority. Ugh - easier said than done.   Yet, we can look at the example of people like Noah who had to wait many, many years for God to work and, when God's plan began to be revealed, Noah had to wait even longer for fulfillment - even spending a lot of time on the ocean in a smelly, creaky boat full of filthy animals! God, empower us to wait on You to renew our strength and bring Your will to fulfillment both now and not yet. Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash