The Way of Mercy

I'm sorry for the way you've taken it. I'm not sorry for saying it. What you're doing is wrong and that's unchangeable. How do I know? The Bible says it. Read it for yourself.

You say that the law of the Old Testament is strict. It holds us to standards which are impossible for anyone to achieve and it's ridiculous for anyone to ever think that they could.

You're right. And that's how it's supposed to be. The law is the instrument of justice. Harsh, immoveable, absolute, perfect justice. Punish the evildoer and reward those who do well. The purpose of the law is to strip every inch, every single little speck of unrighteousness from us and make us to be wholly without blemish. And if we fail, well, too bad. Wickedness is not to be tolerated in any form, in any amount.

That's justice. That's the law. The Israelites failed time and time again and the results were drastic.

But then we get into the New Testament. Suddenly, there's a shift towards love and mercy, compassion and kindness. The story of salvation, of the way made for us to heaven through Jesus' supreme sacrifice. It's beautiful.

So one might then suppose that the Old Testament is unnecessary. We have the new covenant between us and God. Why do we need this old one hanging around? What was the point of it in the first place anyway?

The answer is this. To be a reminder. A reminder that no one can fulfill justice. Only one Man did that and His name is Jesus. He's the one you have to look to. Imagine if Jesus had come directly after the Fall of Adam and Eve. No Old Testament law, no failure of the Hebrews, nothing. Straight to the path of mercy. What would the result have been?

Without the law to show them how impossible it is to reach perfection, think of all the people who would say that they don't need Jesus. Much like how today people argue, "I'm a good person. Of course I'll go to heaven." Everyone would say that. They wouldn't know how sinful they are without the law. That's why the law was given. The law was not given to show us how we can be perfect; the law was given to show us how we can't possibly be perfect. 

That's what Paul is referring to in Romans chapter seven. He says "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, 'You shall not covet.'" (NKJV)

Let me translate this in my own words: "Is the law sinful? Of course not! I wouldn't have known what sin was except by the law. For I would not have known covetousness as being what it really is - wrong - unless the law had said it was wrong." 

 Paul is saying what I am trying to say. The law provides the standard for perfection and when we compare ourselves to it we see how far we have fallen short. When we see this, when we see our filthy, disgusting selves - that's when mercy has the opening to come and do its work. After all, how can someone receive mercy unless they know they need mercy? That's where the Gospel comes in. We recognize that there is no way we could ever attain perfection on our own, and as such we are condemned as we deserve, as all unrighteousness ought to be. We realize that we need a Savior. That Savior frees us from the chains of guilt that the impossibly high standard of the law has given us. We are free from the law because it has served its ultimate purpose.

You see, the Gospel isn't just the New Testament. It's the Old Testament too. The Gospel first shows us the reality of justice to make a way for mercy. Christians are supposed to be the same way. We have a responsibility to live the Gospel  - to be the Gospel. That's why we can't just ignore the sin that we see. We point out how the sin in the world contradicts the Bible so that the world can see how much they need mercy. We're not judging - we're only pointing out the judgement which has already been made by the only One who is worthy to judge. Yes, you are an evil sinner. So am I. So is everyone else. We deserve to be eradicated. That's what justice says. Mercy says "I can help you. I can save you." But you won't grab the rope until you know you're falling.

Love isn't blind. Love sees clearly and loves anyway. We don't know how much we are loved until we know the truth about ourselves and how much we don't deserve to be loved. Justice doesn't contradict mercy. In the same way, mercy doesn't oppose justice. Mercy can only be beheld through the eyes of justice and justice can only be fulfilled through mercy's way.

So please forgive us if we seem harsh. Forgive us if we are blunt or rude or careless with our words. Our wish is not to be better than you.  We've extended the hand of love and mercy to you time after time, but you refuse. You say you don't need it. Sometimes it makes us want to groan and weep. Sometimes that makes us want to scream in your faces about what a horrible person you are and how you need to repent. Sometimes we don't know what to do because we offend you if we say something and we betray you if we don't. We just want to show you that you're falling and you need to grab the rope. We want to show you the infinite depths of God's great love and mercy. But you won't, you can't, until you see the infinite heights of his justice and purity. And that's all we're trying to do.

Incredible Quotes #12

"In his stillness there was a deep awareness. He knew of the wild things cradled in the woods and fields, and of the sheep going home over the hill. He knew about the orchards, and the farmsteads where little children were dreaming under the eaves. He knew where the dead lay sleeping and where the living wept. He knew all there was to know of this little country of his birth, and he held it in the hollow of his hand. And beyond these green hills was the pulsing thunder of the workshops and the roar of cities and the strife of kings, and he knew that, too, and watched it all. And he saw good and evil, light and darkness, heaven and hell, locked in combat; he saw the smoke of the battle and smelled the reek of the blood and sweat and tears, and yet he was not afraid. For he was a Man, standing guard over his inheritance of all that lives. To him it had been given to pass through life and death to life again, and know them one; to rise to the very peak and height of agony and find himself looking into the eyes of God beneath the crown of thorns, to fall through the bottomless abyss and find himself kneeling at the feet of God pierced through with nails, to probe each way through doubting and despair and find the arms of God outstretched in love upon the cross; because he was a Man and into man has been breathed the breath of life, and life is God."

~Elizabeth Goudge, The Castle on the Hill 

The Story

I've absolutely fallen in love with this album, called Music Inspired by The Story. It's a compilation of various, well-known Christian artists like the lead singers of Casting Crowns, Jars of Clay and Newsboys, Jeremy Camp, Chris Tomlin, and Mandisa. The songs themselves are written from the perspectives of Biblical characters.

Beginning with an overtude "Creation," the songs are Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Ruth and Naomi, David, Daniel, Esther, Job, Mary, Jesus, the thief on the cross, Mary Magdalene, the disciples, Paul, and the church at the Second Coming. I really like most of them and they make you see so much of what these people must have felt.

You can find all of these songs on YouTube. I would highly advise that you listen to them ALL even if it takes some time. I'll leave you with the first one "Good" (Adam and Eve) by Matthew West and Leigh Nash. Enjoy!

If I could, I’d rewrite history
I’d choose differently; if I could, I would
I’d leave out the part where I broke Your heart
In the garden’s shade, fix the mess I made
If I could, I would

If I could, close my eyes and then
Dance around again; if I could, I would
Be who You adored, why did I need more?
When beauty was not trained to hide behind my shame
If I could, I would.

Can You hear us cry?
Wishing we could turn back time
To feel Your breath when branches move
Take one more sunset walk with You
Must each tomorrow hold
Such brokenness untold?
Can’t imagine how You could
See all of me and say it’s good

If I could hold one memory
It would surely be how You walked with us
I’d go back in time, un-tell my first lie
And let Love’s injury heal in spite of me

Can You hear us cry?
Wishing we could turn back time
To feel Your breath when branches move
Take one more sunset walk with You
Must each tomorrow hold
Such brokenness untold?
Can’t imagine how You could
See all of me and say it’s good

It is good. It is good.
You still love us more than we believed You could
Could there be something more?
Will it ever be the way it was before?

Can You hear us cry?
Wishing we could turn back time
To feel Your breath when branches move
Take one more sunset walk with You
Must each tomorrow hold
Such brokenness untold?
Can’t imagine how You could
See all of me and say it’s good

Incredible Quotes #11

"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on my side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right."

~Abraham Lincoln

Gleanings Part Two

So this post took a lot longer than I wanted it to - number one reason being that I broke out with chicken pox the same day as I wrote that last post. I was vaccinated when I was about 6 years old, but apparently you are supposed to be re-vaccinated every five years and we had not done so...thus a sudden epidemic of itchy spots all over my arms. I have a LOT on my arms, but I only have a few on my face, chest, and legs - and none on my neck or back, although I might have a few on my scalp. It's hard to tell, though, because I have such thick hair.

So that has slowed down production quite a bit. But here I am. Be thankful I'm getting it done this fast. The only major effect of chicken pox (besides the itchy blotches) is a sudden case of extreme grouchiness. Even I've noticed how grouchy I've been lately. I think that when we discovered I was sick my family was relieved to find out it wasn't a permanent condition. Anyway, when I'm grouchy I don't feel like doing much, especially writing my blog posts. But I do want to keep up this blog.

Well, like I said in my last post, we had a smaller team this year. But that gave us the opportunity to get to know each better than we would have with, say, another 20 people. One of my very, very best friends came and I really loved being able to spend more time with her than I have in years. 

On Friday we were blessed to see a performance by Rick Alonzo. See his website here. Check it out. He did three paintings for us and they were just wonderful. The first one was of Christ's face and he did it upside-down, so that none of us knew what it was until right as the loud music ended and he flipped it over. The shock of seeing what looked like random splotches of paint suddenly transform into the face of my Savior really did something.It was really good. He gave his testimony of the grace and love of Christ and two people were saved that night. It was an amazing experience.

The whole trip was a sweet time of building relationships - I think that's what the "theme" of this week really was. One of the dads preached a great series of short sermons on relationships - not guy/girl, just in general. There was a little strife going on between people that seemed to be resolved. People made new friends. Relationships with Jesus were renewed.

I also had the privilege of being "dorm mom" for the girls' dorm. Basically I just took a head count of the girls at lights out to make sure they were all there, then reported to the team leader to let him know they were all in. I also made sure the dorm got cleaned out the way it was supposed to be at the end of the week. Thankfully all the girls were very cooperative. :)

I really hope to go next year. This time I want to take my little sister too. She's 14, will be 15 by the next time. I think it would really be a maturing experience for her to pay her expenses and (sort of) be on her own for a week. I mean, I would still be there to keep an eye on her, but it's amazing how much you mature just not having your parents around, having to be in charge of yourself. I know I matured a lot the first time I went - and really I have every year, just in different ways.  Having to keep a budget, be responsible, work hard without being nagged to do so, obey the rules, etc. I'm not saying she's immature (she's not), it's just that she's, well, 14. ;)

It would be fun.

I think that's all I have to say.

Have a wonderful day! :) (I know I'm planning to)

Gleanings 2012 Part One

On Sunday I returned from my trip to Gleanings For the Hungry. I've posted about this before (right here). This year the trip was from August 25th to September 2nd. Typically we have about 80-90 people (counting adults) on the trip. These people are from the various congregations of my church, Household of Faith. The congregations are centered around Portland, with a couple up by Seattle and one down in Medford, OR area.

This year, unfortunately, we only had about 65 people come. This made things a little difficult, since we had to run the plant with less people than we are used to. However, we persevered! And things went great. Some of us kids got up an hour early (5:30 a.m.) to get the field work done before breakfast so that a: we wouldn't have to do it in the heat; and b: we could get to work in the actual peach plant earlier.

Although, I actually cleaned bathrooms during the mornings. Thankfully this year we had guys on the cleaning crew so that we girls didn't have to clean theirs.

During this week they played this song in worship a lot.

 I think almost every single person had it stuck in their head the whole week. It's a good song to meditate on. As kids who have grown up in Christian homes, it's easy for us to forget just how beautiful Christianity is. (Post on this coming up soon). This song is a good reminder. God isn't just good, holy, majestic, strong, pure, and all those things we always hear. He really is beautiful. And I think that's something it's important to remember.

Well, there are some general details about the trip. During the next couple of days I'll work on Part Two giving more specific details. I would include pictures, but I didn't take a camera....however, http://gleanings.org/ should have some, if you want to see.

Ramblings Two

I love that word! Most words give me a picture, or at least a sense, and even if they technically are synonyms different words give me different senses. Like joy vs. happiness. Happiness is...well, happiness. Like being happy to be with friends or being happy to go to a special place. When I think of it I think of someone sighing with contentment - happiness.

Joy, on the other hand, is deeper. More spiritual. It's the kind of feeling you have when you first become a follower of Christ. It's what you feel when you know deep down in your very soul that, whatever happens, eternity is waiting. It's holding the promise of eternity in your heart. It's beautiful.

When I think of rambling I think of vines crawling over a brick wall. (Blackberries vines especially tend to take over. We have a ton of them up here)

 

Look at how they're...wait for it...RAMBLING over the wall!

Gorgeous, isn't it? So that's what I'm calling my posts where I'm not really talking about anything. At all. 

I know I haven't posted for a while, I know. Like three whole months. Oops. But I have excuses. Finals for one. 

My life in June

 

 

Then I was figuring out my classes for next year. I think I'm going to finish my AA, then I'm heading over to a local college to get my nursing RN. Then after that I'm going to decided what to do next. Probably getting my nursing BSN at a university in Portland while I work as a nurse at the same time. Or maybe God might have something else by then, like another school, or possibly getting married, or taking a break from school, or something like that. I guess I'll find out in three years! 

 

But for now I'm taking it one step at a time. On Saturday my brother and his wife and daughter are coming up from Texas. I'm so excited! My niece is 21 months and as cute as a button. Then right after they leave (literally five days) I'm going to go to Gleanings!

 

 Read about Gleanings here. It's an amazing time of fun, fellowship (with both my peers and my Savior), and good hard work.

 

 

 

 

So that's what I've been doing. OH! But I forgot one of the biggest things! Job-hunting. ::horror music:: Been looking for almost a year and it is not fun. I'm pretty sure all the businesses are in cahoots to keep me jobless. Part of it is that my parents specifically said no fast-food (except coffee places like Starbucks or ice cream places like Baskin-Robbins or Coldstone are okay - do they even count as fast food?), no mall, and no Walmart. And preferably no pushing carts. 

 

So I've applied to about three bazillion jobs at coffee places, ice cream places, Safeway, Fred Meyer, Target, Michael's, and some other ones that I've forgotten. Right now I'm working on an application to Chuck's. It's an organic place like Whole Foods, only less expensive. And it's rumored to be run by the Seventh Day Adventists. Which is why it's closed on Saturday. It's actually a really cool store. They have fruits and vegetables I've never even heard of. Like this fellow. 

 

 

His name is Frankie. My mom says it's short for Frankenstein, but it's not. 

 

                                        

So, yeah, I don't mind working there. I'd just appreciate having a JOB! But I guess I'll just have to wait on the Lord. As hard as that can seem sometimes. Have an amazing day!