God's Gift of Mercy
Today, Pastor Henry talked about what God in His great mercy has given to us as we read in
1 Peter 1:1-12. Because Jesus has been risen from the dead, we have been given a new life through Him and now we have everything to live for - including a future with Him in heaven. Because of this faith in His sacrifice, we are able to put up with suffering and hardship until the day when we are home with Him at last.
What does a life that is defined by God's gift of mercy look like? I think knowing that God in His great mercy has given us this gift of faith, we can be thankful and always ready to live for Him. We are told in these verses that our faith is worth more than gold, so even as gold is refined by fire comes out pure, so faith refined by suffering is proved genuine. And this glorifies God. As it says in the Message, God will have this on display as evidence of His victory.
Labels: mercy
Hope
Today we celebrated Easter and read about the Jesus' resurrection summarized in
1 Corinthians 15. His resurrection has given us a great hope for eternal life with Him.
What do you hope for? I look to the day when everything is under God's rule and all are praising Him without pain, sorrow, death, or tears. In the meantime, I hope that we will be able to see God, His faithfulness, grace, and deliverance every day and that we can do what we're called to do to reveal His goodness and mercy.
Labels: Easter
Seeking God
"To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, 'Here am I, here am I.'
All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations-- ..."Isaiah 65:1-2
Today, Pastor Henry read from Isaiah 64-65 where God is talking about how He revealed Himself but many did not see Him. We read how all of us are so filthy and unrighteous that we can't approach God, and our only hope is through faith in Jesus who restores us to Him. If we look through the eyes of this faith, we see God's grace all around us.
Where do you see God at work around you, holding out His hands? I think His grace has been very evident to me in our church family. It has been so good to hear the stories of those who have had opportunities to share the gospel, of those who have seen miracles, and of those who have felt His support through the church. I too have felt this support as we continue to strive to walk in His way.
Labels: Lent
Greener Pastures
Today in church, Pastor Amy talked about shepherds. At the end, we read Psalm 23 and were given the opportunity to pray silently about the phrases in that chapter. I was thinking about how God lets us rest in the green pastures and how His goodness follows us always. When we got home, Maria showed me the painting below which she just finished - a good reminder of very green pastures. Durning Bible times, the pastures weren't nearly so lush which makes the verse even more meaningful. If we follow Him, He leads us to what we need even if we are going through more arid times. I especially love the last verse - how His goodness follows us or pursues us always.
Labels: Lent
Psalm 1
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. Ps. 1:1.Today at MCC, we had a guest speaker, Sam DeYoung, talk about Psalm 1. She highlighted verse one which says you are blessed if you do
not do these things. The people who are blessed are those who love God's law. We need to continually fill ourselves with God's ways and His word so that we aren't led astray. This is the map we need to live. People who are lost have been trying to use another map. We need to remember this and not listen to the voices that try to lead us the wrong way.
...
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous. vs. 6.
Labels: Lent
