Mercy Not Sacrifice

Matthew 9:13, 12:7 - But go and learn what this means: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. But if you had known what this means, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice," you would not have condemned the guiltless. 
Hosea 6:6 - For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

But go and learn what this means...if you had known what this means...

It is clear that God does not desire our sacrifices, our works, for His approval for our salvation. He wants to give us mercy when we first come to Him. It's not about what we can do for Him but what He has done for us. Our works are sort of like our boasting in what we've done. We can do nothing on our own to receive the life Jesus gives to us when we come to Him.

Webster's definition of mercy: kind or forgiving treatment of someone who could be treated harshly; kindness or help given to people who are in a very bad or desperate situation. Boy, that describes all of us before receiving Christ. Then there's Webster's definition of sacrifice: the act of giving up something that you want to keep especially in order to get or do something else or to help someone; an act of killing a person or animal in a religious ceremony as an offering to please a god. Animals for sacrifice in the Old Testament had to be spotless. The one bringing the animal had to kill it, so it became personal.  Look at Jesus. He was spotless. God allowed Him to be killed. And Jesus was quite personal to His Father, God...

Scripture shows us we cannot come to God as righteous, guiltless individuals. That's not why Jesus came. He came to save the lost, not those who thought they had it altogether. It would be arrogant to think one might be able to clean oneself up by doing good to be received by God. Oh....we are not to be received by God but we are to receive Christ.  We come as sinners through repentance of our sins and receive His mercy and grace. The sacrifices that were done in Old Testament times are over. Jesus became our sacrifice.

But go and learn what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice! Hebrews 9:9 tells us the sacrifices were only symbolic of what was to come. He requires us. Like Jesus sacrificed Himself, His body, so should we. He wants our heart and soul. He desires we be open to receive Him and His Word, take it into our hearts and obey it. Without this understanding all some do is sacrifice by works which will not be acceptable. It may be one reason He says the road is narrow that leads to life. By faith we we receive His mercy; by that faith in God's power to grant mercy, not faith in our works.

Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

America, Blessed by God

Psalm 33:12 - Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance. 

I love this portion of Psalm 33. I had chosen this verse for a time to add to the end my emails. We are entering into a time of celebration for the freedom this country has fought for...the freedom we still need to fight for. And yesterday our church celebrated America. We had an early celebration of our nation, honoring the servicemen and women from our church with a presentation of the flags of their respective branches of military. And we thanked God for His hand in giving us this country. This nation has been gloriously blessed by God. 

Our Pastor, Rory Grooters, spoke on our development. He said something that I had a miniscule thought on earlier in the week about patriotism without God. Only I couldn't quite put my thoughts into words until he spoke them: there is a secular patriotism and a sacred one...political ideas and ideology should not lead us away from God. 

He talked about George Washington. This nation truly was founded on biblical principles. It's why we have survived 235 years of success because God's blessing has been upon us. Other empires have not put their sole foundation on the God of all creation and they have crumbled. Look at Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the USSR. Where was God? It can be a worry sometimes to think that if God is successfully removed from this country what will happen to us. And yet...if there remains a remnant of true believers, we could see continued blessing.

There was a great group of people who left the confines of Great Britain that they might have freedom from oppression. They left that the freedom to worship God unhindered would be attained. They were under God's protective care as they set off for America and later fought to continue this freedom...because they humbled themselves to our Lord and Maker.

George Washington was a man of prayer. Hear the heart of a humble man who knew that only God could sustain:

       O eternal and everlasting God, I presume to present myself this morning before thy Divine majesty, beseeching thee to accept of my humble and hearty thanks, that it hath pleased thy great goodness to keep and preserve me the night past from all the dangers poor mortals are subject to, and has given me sweet and pleasant sleep, whereby I find my body refreshed and comforted for performing the duties of this day, in which I beseech thee to defend me from all perils of body and soul....

       Increase my faith in the sweet promises of the gospel; give me repentance from dead works; pardon my wanderings, and direct my thoughts unto thyself, the God of my salvation; teach me how to live in thy fear, labor in thy service, and ever to run in the ways of thy commandments; make me always watchful over my heart, that neither the terrors of conscience, the loathing of holy duties, the love of sin, nor an unwillingness to depart this life, may cast me into a spiritual slumber, but daily frame me more and more into the likeness of thy son Jesus Christ, that living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may in thy appointed time attain the resurrection of the just unto eternal life bless my family, friends, and kindred.

This man knew the importance of Divine guidance. Some, but not all, presidents have or have had this same humbleness of nature and dependence upon a awe inspiring, faithful, powerful God. 

Washington wrote years after the war: “The man must be bad indeed who can look upon the events of the American Revolution without feeling the warmest gratitude toward the great Author of the Universe whose divine interposition was so frequently manifested in our behalf.” Benjamin Franklin, who was somewhat skeptical of a Divine Creator, spoke these words: “I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men.” Hallelujah!

Zechariah 4:6 is a perfect example of the beliefs spoken by these two men: "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the LORD of hosts. Our God is a powerful God. This nation has truly been blessed because of the freedom we have today to worship Him as we wish, and because of His love for us...because we have devoted ourselves to the worship of an Almighty God. Psalm 33:4-5 - ...all His work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice.

We also honored our servicemen and women, as we always do around this time of year. It's always a heartwarming thing to see the flags of the branches of service presented in church by those who are serving and have served. These men and women serve, like Jesus served, for our freedom. They fight the enemies of our nation for our freedom. Jesus fights for the enemy of our soul that we might have spiritual freedom in Christ. 

However, the freedom we can have in Christ is not temporary. The Words of the Lord are true: He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. His mercies are extended to those who receive Him. We can be part of His chosen people. We can be forgiven and set free of the things  of this world that do not last forever. The only true freedom is in the Lord Jesus Christ. With Him by our side we need nothing else. He is our all in all. 

Let the cry of our hearts be that our Lord would rise up in our hearts and especially in the hearts of those who aren't familiar with His lovingkindness. Just as this nation was founded on the principles of God, let our lives have the same foundational principles. Without God, without Jesus, without His Holy Spirit, we are helpless, lost individuals. We are without a true Hope. Psalm 112: 1 -  Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments. We all need a Savior and He is there for the asking. He will meet you just where you are. Take Him up on the invitation to meet with Him.

Oh, Lord, that You would provide additional proof today of our sovereignty on this earth. How You do preserve those who are in relationship with You, how You do give us pleasant sleep, refreshment and strength to carry on each day. How a person could survive without this assurance is a difficult thing to imagine. We praise You, Lord, for your Divine mercies, mercies which are new every morning. Release Your power into the hearts of the people of this nation.

Psalm 33:22 - Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, just as we hope in You.

In Daddy's Arms

Isaiah 40:11 - He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.

I had the wonderful opportunity the past couple of days to spend a little time with yet another grand niece. She's the newest of our grand nieces and nephew. What a darling, just like the other two toddlers preceding her in the family.

Not having had children, this is such fun for me. It's like being a Grammy but I can call myself Auntie! I marvel at the perfection of each of them as newborns and joy in their growth patterns. The older two are now able to talk and understand. Their personalities are taking shape.

Of all the children so far, baby Olivia seems to be nestled delicately (and yet seems to get lost), quite often, in her daddy's arm. Our nephew is a big guy! He's tall and lifts weights so he has massive arms. Little does she know yet the strength of those arms and the safety there is in them... How everyday life can show us about God's nature.

This is how we should feel in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. No matter what befalls us in life, we can know that He will never let go, will never leave us or forsake us, continues to hold us in the palm of His hands and hold us close in His arms. Though our nephew's arms are strong, our God's arms are stronger still. They are the tower of refuge we can run to when we are in need of shelter. He is our dwelling place. 

In the world we live in today, we need that place of refuge. We need the arms of a great Father. I've said it over and over, He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega. He knows our needs, our strengths, our weaknesses. He knows just what we need. If He knows these things, shouldn't we place ourselves in the strong, loving arms of our Heavenly Father? Yes, He admonishes...and often that's not fun...but it's all for our own good.

Although there are not many scriptures about God's arms cradling us, I know we can all picture Jesus holding the lamb in His arms. We are all like that little lamb, the Bible tells us. We all wander and stray in life. When we get too far away or we are in danger, Jesus is there to pick us up and take us back where we are safe. 

I also offer the picture of the prodigal son who chose to take his inheritance early and leave home to squander it, only to realize in time it was the unwise thing to do. He ashamedly and humbly returned home, not knowing how he would be met by his father or whether he would be welcomed back. But like God, like Jesus, his father's arms were open to receive him and no doubt ended up wrapped around his son. No matter how old this son was, his father was willing to take him back. Our Father does the same.

One time holding our first grand niece shortly after she was born, I briefly, but amazingly, experienced the love and tenderness of Jesus. As I had her held in my arms I suddenly felt like Jesus' arms were wrapped around me. I felt like I was sinking into them. There was a very good reason for that, one which I'm not ready to publicly express. Just know it was the most wonderful experience for me. So I know spiritually how it feels to have those strong, yet gentle, arms of love surround me.

Yes, baby Olivia doesn't know yet how fortunate she is to be held in those strong arms of her daddy. She doesn't yet recognize the love in her father's eyes and the tenderness of his heart toward her. But I guarantee she feels safe. I pray that she will also experience the love of her true Father, the One who knit her in her mother's womb. There are many in this world who don't recognize this kind of love our Father has for us. I'm sure I can't even grasp the magnitude of it, even after my experience above.

We are in some troubling times, although many wish to shove it aside. I truly have struggled lately with an inner turmoil that I don't believe has anything to do with me or my circumstances but waiting for "the other shoe to drop" in this world. I can only say I am thankful that I have a strong, powerful and loving Father who I can turn to, whose arms will be my refuge.

Oh, the love of our Father. His arms open wide to receive us. His arms available to gather us and to protect us whenever we need them. Yes, He will let us stray like the sheep; He will let us wallow like the prodigal son, if necessary. Yet He will take us back...or receive us for the first time because He is merciful. His arms are outstretched. What a wonderful Father we have, if we allow ourselves to find Him. 

Psalm 136:12 - With a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, His mercy endures forever.