The Mercy of God

A wonderful Wednesday, sunny and bright.
I thank the Lord that He’s my light.
Blessings are flowing to you and me,
From His Word, take time to see.

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This was in my devotional yesterday:

Title: Finding Mercy

Author: Woodrow Kroll

Esther 5:2

"So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top ofthe scepter."

Finding Mercy

In the famous Rosenberg trial of the 1950s, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty of treason and executed. In the closing arguments of that trial, the lawyer for the defendants pleaded, "Your Honor, what my clients ask for is justice."

Judge Kaufman, the presiding judge for the case, replied, "The court has given what you ask for--justice! What you really want is mercy. But that is something this court has no right to give.

"As Esther came before King Ahasuerus, she also hoped for more than justice.

According to Persian law, to come into the presence of the king unbidden was a crime punishable by death. That was justice. What Esther sought, however, was mercy and fortunately the king had the right to grant it. Bestowing upon her the protection of his golden scepter, Ahasuerus granted her the privilege of standing in his presence without fear of execution.

The Christian has received this same kind of mercy from God. On our own, we deserve eternal death for our sins. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death." That would be nothing more than justice. Through Jesus Christ, however, God has extended mercy to us. We can now stand before His very throne without fear of condemnation (Rom. 8:1).

As mercy has been given to us, let us give to others. Is there someone in your life who needs your mercy? Are you willing to give up your right to justice in order to show them mercy?

Don't forget what the Scripture says:"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Matt. 5:7). Justice is for those who deserve it, mercy is for those who don't.

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This devotional started me thinking of a time in my life when I did not know how to show mercy and the only one who suffered from that lack was me.

I was wronged as a child. I held onto that unforgiveness for many, many years. When I was married I was still afraid of the rejection that I felt when I was a child. As a result my marriage suffered, my children suffered and I suffered. The only ones who didn’t suffer are the ones who wronged me (of course they may have been suffering, I don’t know.)

Finally I went to a wise counselor who got to the root of the problem and through God’s Word showed me that I had no cause to carry that root of bitterness around with me all the time. I needed to leave it with the Lord and show mercy to those who wronged me.

It’s amazing that after I let go of that bitterness and learned to forgive, the Lord filled my life with joy. I was able to show more love to my husband and my children. I was no longer sick (bitterness can make you physically sick.)

It was not the end of all trouble, but because the Lord and I were close He gave me strength going through the trials and coming out the other side I was all the closer to Him.

Mercy, what a wonderful gift. God has shown mercy to us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. I pray that I will always show mercy as God enables me.

On track still:
Menu for this week:
Wednesday: chicken soup and biscuits
Thursday: roasted chicken, garden peas, fresh cucumbers
Friday: Pizza with fresh garden veggies
Saturday: Roasted Corn and grilled steak
Sunday: (company?) not sure about this day… we may have leftovers, or I may be putting a roast on for company
Monday: Stewed Beans and biscuits
Tuesday: Fresh summer squash, and leftovers

We have lots of veggies coming out of the garden now. I think by next week we’ll be picking beans and may even have a ripe tomato.

We’ve harvested the peas, some beets, lots of zucchini and cucumbers. I just am waiting to sink my teeth into a vine ripe tomato. If the nice weather holds we’ll be golden for tomatoes. There are lots on the vines and they are pinking up.

My personal devotions are going well. I have still had trouble getting time set aside for my through-the-Bible reading. It may take me a looooong time to get this done, but I am determined!

I spent Saturday afternoon with Joanna. We hit a couple of thrift stores and a yard sale. I was able to get some work pants for Doug which he desperately needed. I also found a shirt and pair of pants for me for work. We ate out at the Chinese Buffet where I ate way too much. I go out to eat so seldom that I didn’t mind. Joanna treated me so it didn’t hurt my pocketbook either. The food was very good. They had a great slab of steamed salmon (my fav!), and these seafood “donuts” which must have been 1000 calories each they were sooo rich and sooo good. I don’t think I ate any vegetables L … can you blame me? I am spoiled by my own fresh vegetables and all others are inferior.

After all that we took her dogs for a swim in the brook. The water felt oh sooo good! I could see the steam rising. The dogs didn’t get into the water. Neither did Joanna’s friend Alex who did the dog sitting and found a few treasures along the bank of the brook. That is a fun thing to do, I look for treasures too when I go to the river. I came home the other day with a Carhart winter knit hat. I think it will be a warm hat for Doug. It washed up great too.

Sunday we had company for dinner. Four good friends from church came and sat in our dirt yard for dinner and fellowship. The Lord was gracious and provided us with shade (one couple brought a pop-up shade awning), and a gentle breeze (God provided that). So even though the temperature soared to near 90 we were cool and we had a wonderful time together.

Life is good because God is good!
Hope you have a wonderful day… I’m looking forward to church tonight and a good time of prayer, Bible study and fellowship.