This year as I get back into writing my blog I am not going to set a schedule but try to write at least once or twice a week. This part of my reading process is so valuable to me as I actually spend time thinking about what I am reading.  It is good to contemplate what God has to say to me through His word and not just check the box that I got my reading done.

Today I am mulling over a passage that of course is quite familiar, but it hit me in a new way this morning as I read it.  Matthew 5:43-48.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same? Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (NASB)

The NLT translates verse 45 this way: "In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven." Acting as a true child of my Father in heaven.  Isn't that exactly what I want to do with my life? As I read these verses about loving your enemy I was struck by the thought that we have the perfect example of that in Jesus to follow.  He is the demonstration of what it means to love your enemies.  Romans 5:10 and Colossians 1:21 both speak about our previous relationship to God.  He came to earth while we were His enemies.  "This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions." (Col. 1:21, NLT) That my friends is love!  That is who God is!  And if I am indeed a child of God, bought with His blood, saved by His grace, how can I do any less than love "my enemies?"  Oh, but it is something I know I cannot do just by deciding to do it.  I pray to have God's heart for people.  To see them as He sees them.  Do I look at my "enemies" and consider that I could be that light in the world they need to see so that they too are no longer enemies but friends.

Grace, Peace, and Mercy,
Debra

As I read through the Bible last year I was struck over and over by God's love for His people.  This year I want to stick with looking at what the Bible tells me about who God is.  How many times have I heard that the God of the Old Testament is not the same as the loving God of the New Testament?  That God somehow changed from an awful tyrant to a merciful, kind God?  So my quest for this year as I read through the Bible is to see if that is true.

Today in the story of Noah, at the point at which God decides to wipe out all living beings from the earth I came across Genesis 6:6.  Tucked away in that verse is this little line," It broke His (God's) heart."  I am reading the New Living Translation this year, and that is how it translates that line.  The NASB says, "and He was grieved in His heart."  God's heart is capable of breaking.  I know what that feels like.  But what was breaking His heart?  Verse 5 of chapter 6 tells us.  "The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and He saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil."  And then we come to the description of Noah in verse 9, "Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God."  Other translations only mention he was blameless in his generation and walked with God, but I think it is okay to assume that since Noah seems to be the only one who found favor with God according to verse 8 he alone stood out among all the wickedness of the world at the time.  This is the world that is" grieving God to the heart." (ESV translation).  Just two days ago I read about how God made everything good. in fact very good.  He provided everything that was needed for Adam and Eve to thrive but they chose another path.  And that choice has led this wonderful creation down a devastating path and it breaks God's heart to see people in this condition.  This is one of those times where God may seem harsh and without mercy. I don't know. He knows the end of those who are consumed with wickedness so I have to wonder if it is indeed a mercy that He saves them from further harm-the harm that they would do to one another if they were allowed to continue on with their lives. But does this look like love?  Is a heart breaking over evil and the devastating end to man an indication of the deep love God has for mankind? Just a thought to ponder today.

At any rate, then I come to the book of Matthew where Jesus has come to be baptized by John. Before Jesus' arrival John makes this statement, "Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am--so much greater that I'm not worthy even to be His slave and carry His sandals."  At our church we celebrated communion yesterday and as I thought about what Jesus did for me, this thought did not occur, that I am not worthy to even be His slave, and yet, here I am.  Jesus made me worthy because of God's great love for me.  Yet John goes on..."He (Jesus) is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with His winnowing fork.  Then He will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into His barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire."  That is not a picture of Jesus that many are comfortable with.  But this is the Son of God with whom God is very pleased (Matthew 3:17) so this aspect of Jesus is all a part of God's great plan for the world.  This is who God has revealed Himself to be.  It's easy to like the aspects of His nature that feel good to me.

Grace, Peace, and Mercy my friends,

Debra

I began a study of the Psalms this week and God’s word spoke some conviction my way that I have been feeling for a few weeks now.  Psalm 1 starts out:

Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
 But his delight is in the Law of the Lord,
And on His Law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.  -Psalm 1:1-3, NASB

I had to really think about what it means to delight in God’s word.  I got to thinking about my motives for spending time in God’s word.  What drives me to my daily reading.? A sense of duty?  Is it because I have a group of accountability partners that I want to cheer on?  Or do I come because of the great pleasure and satisfaction I get from spending time in God’s word?  I so want to answer it is because of the great delight I find there.  And yes, I do find delight there.  But do I delight in it?  Do I long for God’s word like I long for a walk in my favorite woods?  Do I look forward to it as much as I look forward to some chocolatey treat?  Do I desire it as much as I do snow right now?  Is it consuming my thoughts?  Oh, I had to do some confessing to the Lord this morning.  And I have asked that He give me great delight in His word.  It is so easy to just go through the motions, but then I may find myself walking along and casting a glance in the direction of sin.  Then I may pause and stand there for a moment and finally I may even get to the point where I am willing to sit down in the midst of that sin.  Do you see that progression in verse 1 of this Psalm?  Walk, stand, sit.  Instead, I want to be among the blessed who are like trees planted by streams of water…living water.  I want to be fed by Jesus, the Bread of Life, the Living Water.  I want to bear fruit and not wither-unlike that fig tree Jesus encountered in Matt. 21:18–22.  I want to prosper, but not in the way of the world, rather to prosper in the way that God deems best for me.  My prosperity cannot be about riches on earth that will fade, but on those which are eternal.

And with all of that in mind I come back to today’s reading.  And it is the very last verse I came to that has given me pause.

“The wages of the righteous is life,
The income of the wicked, punishment.” -Proverbs 10:16

It fits doesn’t it?  Delighting in the law of the Lord brings life.  It produces fruit, its leaves do not whither, it leads to eternal life.  The polar opposite of the result of choosing to delight in sin.  So there is just one more thing I want to focus on and pray for; that I learn to not only delight in God’s word, but that I will meditate on it continually.  I don’t want to just read it and forget, as I am so prone to do.  I want it to stay with me throughout the day.  May God’s word truly be our delight and may we meditate on it day and night.

May grace, peace, and mercy abound,