A Beautiful Balance

Last night's message was an encouraging reminder of God's mercy. It was good to revisit the story of Blind Bartimaeous and others in the Bible who cried out in desperation for the one touch that would change their situation. Natural and spiritual light entered the eyes of men born blind. A woman is miraculously healed after 12 long years of looking everywhere else for answers. The message in their stories reaches out to believers in the 21st century. God's mercy brings hope to the hopeless-to those who by virtue of the length of their struggle have become weary and discouraged, or even want to give up.


Don't!


He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. [Psalm 57:3]


I can think of no better road to walk than one that is walled in by mercy and truth. Knowing that God is bound by the truth of His Word to punish sin. And for those who refuse His goodness; who turn their back on His compassion-judgement is certain.


But...


For those who love Him; who find themselves in the clutches of some besetting sin; who are miserable and desperate for deliverance-mercy is available.


 "All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies." [ Psalm 25:10]

"Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good." 

[Proverbs 14:22]

Truth tells you-you cannot live this way and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Truth tells you that your sin either has or will bring reproach to the name of the Lord. Truth reminds you that no one sins in isolation; that what you are doing will affect others. Truth tells you that the end of all sin is death-that it will destroy you. Truth-the very essence of a very good and gracious God leads you to repentance. It brings an awareness of how desperate your situation is, and launches a cry from your heart that always gets God's attention. It makes Him stop and ask, "Who touched Me" because He senses that mercy has flowed out from Him in response to your cry.


"By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil." [Proverbs 16:6]


"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." [Lamentations 3:21-23]


I believe we are living in the last of the last days. Don't you? We can see that perilous times are upon us. God is testing the thing we will need most to help us endure-our faith.  The shaking we feel in our lives has a divine purpose. So that everything that is not of Him will fall off. Every hidden sin and secret struggle will somehow be brought to the light so that any door left open to Satan through the weakness of our flesh can be closed. That is mercy!


"But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth."  [Psalm 86:15]


I feel certain that each of us-within our own circle of friends and acquaintances-know people who are struggling. People who have allowed themselves to become enslaved by some lust of the flesh, or lust of the eye or by the pride of life. Within these three categories lies every possible sin known to mankind. And Jesus, our High Priest, our Intercessor, our compassionate, merciful Saviour was in all these points tempted-yet without sin.


Think about that for a moment...or two...or three....


HE UNDERSTANDS!!!!!   Mercy and truth are met together. [Psalm 85:10] It is His express will that NONE should perish! Not one! But that ALL should come to repentance!!


Read this...this is what He brought to my mind this morning. I'm quoting it from the Amplified version just for the beautiful emphasis it brings to this wonderful truth.


"For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently." [1 Corinthians 10:13]

Mercy and truth is the beautiful balance that slides us back from the brink of disaster, and shows us the way of escape. The way of escape is repentance . And the soft landing place....is His beautiful, humbling mercy.


I want to remind someone today that " sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God's favor and mercy]." [Romans 6:14]