Faithful…always

Chapter 11 of Genesis  sums up how far man has travelled from the good creation of chapter 1 – “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”

Powers of ten

Do you remember what God’s intention was?  His instruction to mankind was to fill the earth and govern it, but man thinks he knows better. (Don’t we always?) He wants fame, control and prestige. It’s a sad wandering from the intended path.

You can read more about this in my previous post – Mind your language.

God doesn’t give up on his rebelious people.  God doesn’t give up on me.  The words of the featured song on Wordlive this week sum it up –

Merciful God, O abounding in love,
Faithful to all who draw near You;
Hearing the cries of the humble in heart,
Showing the cross they may cling to.
Broken I come, helpless in sin,
Found at the feet of Your mercy.
Father, forgive; may my sin be remembered no more.

Merciful God, O abounding in love,
Faithful through times we have failed You;
Selfish in thought and uncaring in deed,
Foolish in word and ungrateful.
Spirit of God, conquer our hearts
With love that flows from forgiveness;
Cause us to yield and return to the mercy of God.

Merciful God, O abounding in love,
Faithful to keep us from falling;
Guiding our ways with Your fatherly heart,
Growing our faith with each testing.
God speed the day struggles will end;
Faultless we’ll gaze on Your glory.
Then we will stand overwhelmed by the mercy of God.

Merciful God”Merciful God”
Words and Music by Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, and Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2006 Thankyou Music

Listen here (Scroll down to the audio section)

http://seg.sharethis.com/getSegment.php?purl=http%3A%2F%2Ftime2morph.wordpress.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D1773%26action%3Dedit%26message%3D10&jsref=&rnd=1326575274055

 

The depths and the heights

We’ve been to the depths with Jonah; now it’s time for the heights.  Two link words lead us there –

This time…

“This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command.”  And – “The people of Nineveh believed God’s message…and God had mercy on them.”

(It’s worth an aside here.  Nineveh was not in Israel, so the people were not Israelites but Gentiles. So the question raised is, “Should God’s mercy extend to all?”)

I’m cheering for Jonah – he has turned around, he has obeyed God, the people have responded, God has had mercy.  Result!

But then we loop the loop. 

Instead of celebrating God’s loving intervention, Jonah crashes down.  He moans and complains, he’s angry and upset.  Why?  Because God has shown he is God and that Jonah does not call the ultimate shots.

~

“I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.” (Romans 9:14-15)

And then some

Sometimes it’s helpful to have a friend who has been there before you, whether “there” is a holiday destination, a teenager, or a challenging life circumstance.  Of course, you don’t want them to be a smarty pants, but to know you’re not the only one can be comforting.

I was following a footnote in one of the Bibles that I use sometimes. (I love footnotes – they take me to all sorts of irrelvant places that should equip me for QI*) 

Here’s my QI finding –

Jesus faced all of the same testings we do, he heard the whispers, but he didn’t give in.  Because he has been there, done that, and then some, he can represent us to God.  His death is not a sacrifice that has to be repeated over and over but a once-and-for-all that allows us to receive God’s mercy and grace to help us when we need it most.

That’s what I call a friend.

~

* BBC programme Quite Interesting isn’t really about pointless information, or shoring up vast banks of trivia. It’s about finding undiscovered connections and seeing hidden patterns…