It'll Do The Soul Some Good

“The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but [he that is] cruel troubleth his own flesh.” (Pr 11:17 AV)

I like how Adam Clarke defines merciful.  He defines it as a gracious disposition.  Somehow, we think that having a critical mind and a gracious spirit are not possible.  We think they are diametrically opposed.  They can be if we allow our critical mind to affect our spirit.  It is right and proper to ask questions and discover the truth.  It is ok to question much in search of truth.  However, if we are not careful, the mind that is critical can also produce a spirit that is soured.  When it comes to people, this is especially important.  The implication of the king is that if we are merciful to others, it does wonders for the soul and spirit.  It is one thing to discern the actions and character of others.  It is entirely something different to allow opinions of facts to change our love for them.  They are people, just like us.  They have hurts and concerns much like we do.  We have character flaws, sins, and downright objectionable personalities just like everyone else.  We are no different.  Having eyes and a heart of mercy not only helps those upon whom we show mercy, but it also helps us deep down inside.

In a few short weeks, many will be watching holiday movies.  One of the favorites of the current generation is The Grinch.  It follows a being who was once soured by the cruel actions of his middle school fellow students.  They mocked him tirelessly for being different.  This led to his escape into a mountain cave and the life of a recluse.  Many years later, a young girl invited him to a town-wide annual Christmas celebration.  It went as expected.  They mocked, as they did many years ago.  He went on a tirade and stole their Christmas.  Everything was gone.  What changed this creature's heart was the cry of the little girl who invited him in the first place.  The lines the Grinch speaks when he hears the cries for help of his little friend are classic.  One of them is “I feel all warm and toasty inside”.  All those years he held on to bitterness and envy.  All those years kept him closed up in a cave.  All those years brought misery and loneliness.  But he never knew how hardened he truly was.  Not unto the felt and exercised mercy did he begin to live again.  Mercy did much good to his soul.

Mercy is not an easy exercise.  At least at first.  What I have noticed is that those who are merciful are merciful as a pattern of life.  They were not born that way.  They chose to live that way.  It took time.  It took a discipline of the mind and heart.  Once it became a pattern, it became instinctual.  What I have also noticed it the more merciful, compassionate, and understanding a person is, the happier they tend to be.  This is to what Solomon is referring.  He is trying to tell us that living a life of mercy toward others will not only benefit others, it will also benefit our own souls.  The kinder we are to all around us, the greater the glow and warmth in our own hearts.  Mercy takes a commitment.  Mercy takes an investment.  Mercy means the welfare of others is more important than our own.  Mercy is a well of life to those who live by it.  Solomon knew of what he spoke.  Now, he is trying to teach his children that kindness and mercy do the soul some good.

But Prayer Was Made

“Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.” (Ac 12:5 AV)

But prayer was made!  It has become cliché, but it is no less true. Prayer changes things.  Even if Peter was not miraculously freed from an unjust prison, prayer was still the most important thing to do.  Prayer has become ineffective because it is treated as a religious exercise rather than that which it truly is.  Prayer is a conversation with God.  Although prayer is effective in a prayer closet, it is just as effective outside of one, too.  Prayer is having a conversation with our Creator regarding things that concern us or others.  It is one of the means by which we grow more intimate with our Creator.  Relationships require communication.  The more communication, the more intimate the relationship.  Those four words speak volumes!  Just because it seems as though a certain event is set in stone and nothing can be done, prayer is the sledgehammer that breaks open the prison bars.  The young church’s instinct was to go to prayer.  They didn’t stand around and wonder what would happen.  They didn’t console one another with tears flowing down the cheeks.  They went to prayer.  The single word ‘but’ tells us that if prayer is involved, a situation is not certain.  Prayer is more powerful than the circumstances of life.  That is the lesson here.

Those four words are not only words of hope.  They are words of action.  There is little to nothing they could have done to help their leader.  He was a pawn in the game of Herod the king.  Seeing that the death of James, brother of John, brought much joy to his subjects, he determined to continue the slaughter by taking Peter, next.  The way he figured it, if he could rule Israel with peace and happiness from his subjects, that would only help him politically.  There was nothing personal here.  Peter was the next one in line to help Herod ascend the ladder of leadership.  There was no trial planned.  There was no due process offered.  As far as Herod was concerned, the only thing that stood in the way of Peter’s death was the planning a public execution would take.  In a matter of hours to days, Peter would have been the next martyr for Jesus Christ.  The prison in which he was held was impenetrable.  The guards stood fast.  The disciples ran a great risk by trying to intervene.  If they did try, they would end up in prison along with Peter.  There was nothing they could physically do.  But prayer was offered, and God intervened.

By going to prayer, the church was not giving up.  They were going up.  They were not hopelessly addressing the throne of God because they felt they would see a funeral within the next few days.  Rather, they went to prayer because they were hopeful.  The word ‘but’ means that prayer was offered because God was greater than the prison house.  God was greater than Herod.  To God, Peter’s situation was nothing.  That is why they went to prayer.  They went to prayer not because they lacked faith.  They went to prayer because they had faith.  Even Rhoda and the rest of the prayer group believed it was Peter’s ghost and not Peter himself standing at the gate only meant that they prayed in faith.  Whether Peter was delivered by life or by death, of that they had no doubt.  They went to prayer because they believed God to be greater than all things.  Therefore, rather than sit and wait for the outcome, they went to prayer until God answered!

If We Only Understood

“Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven [is] my throne, and earth [is] my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what [is] the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?” (Ac 7:48-50 AV)

It is verse fifty that was important to the Spirit this morning.  This quote from Steven is from Solomon’s prayer for the temple.  God gave to Moses the pattern for the tabernacle on mount Sinai.  Many hundreds of years later, Israel's second king, Solomon, felt led to build a permanent structure to which Israel could come a worship the LORD.  The above statement is the LORD’s statement to mankind.  He is grateful for the temple, but mankind cannot get the idea that God is confined to it.  That is the point here.  God has created all things.  Including the materials Solomon used to build the temple.  How can mankind confine God to something He has created?  The Creator must be much larger than that which He has created.  When we consider that God possesses all of His attributes infinitely, that would include His presence and size.  There is no structure that could confine Him.  Other than the human body given to Jesus, there isn’t any other created object that even came close to containing Him.  Have we ever meditated on the greatness of God?  He is far above our understanding!  The creature must worship the Creator as such!  No other relationship will work.

The person of God is a wonder to contemplate.  He is far above our ability to understand Him.  Every once in a while the Spirit leads me to exercise the mind toward the existence and nature of God.  The picture begins above.  The earth as a footstool and the heavens as God’s throne are a great start.  This phrase is meant to convey God’s sovereignty over and interest in mankind.  But if you can get that picture in your mind of a person so large that his feet would rest on our planet, that is saying something as to his size.  Now, imagine the single human soul walking upon the earth.  That size of that person in comparison to the earth is less than minute.  It is almost imperceptible.  It is sort of like the opening of The Grinch.  Whoville is a small little colony of creatures in the center of a snowflake.  The camera angle pans in close and closer until the stage comes into view.  Remember, God is infinite in nature and size.  If that little Whoville existed, imagine how small it would be to Him!  What of the atom, proton, or neutron?  We need special equipment to see these.  Yet God sees them with the naked eye.  If the atom is smaller than we can comprehend, how much more we are to God?

Then the Spirit leads us to ask a simple yet humbling question.  WHY?  If the universe contains more galaxies than we can count, and each galaxy contains stars that cannot be counted, then why create man?  It is said that if one totaled all the grains of sand in the sea and compared them to the stars in the universe, it would be the equivalence of comparing a salt shaker to all the grains of seas. This thought should be mind-blowing.  God does things for a reason.  He creates for a purpose.  Each single object, right down to the molecular level, is here because God has a purpose for it.  That includes the human soul.  For a God who could and does create infinitely, He decided to create you and me.  Not just create us; but desires us to know Him!  What a thought!  How foolish to attempt to confine God to the things He creates.  They cannot contain Him.  How foolish it also is to waste time wondering why a God so great would bother to create a mess like me and simply enjoy the walk with God He has given by His Son!  How marvelous are the works of our living God!

It's All Done

“But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.” (Ac 3:18 AV)

Four words are wonderful here. “He hath so fulfilled”!  The disciples missed it.  Israel didn’t want to see it.  The suffering Messiah is clearly revealed in the Old Testament.  Isaiah chapter 53 comes to mind.  Psalm eighteen is another.  Abraham offering up Isaac is a wonderful picture.  The five offerings of the Tabernacle foreshadow the ministry of eternal atonement which Christ would fulfill.  But two thoughts here this morning.  First, when Christ suffered, He suffered for me.  Jesus was abused and crucified so that the wrath of the Father for the sins of mankind could be satisfied on His Son.  There is no wrath for the child of God who has trusted in His grace and perfect suffering at Calvary.  Second, all has been fulfilled.  There is no more suffering coming.  Nothing remains that Jesus has to satisfy to secure the eternal life of those who love Him.  This also means if all is fulfilled, then the purchased possession is complete.  It cannot be lost.  The debt has been paid in full.  There is no more eternal punishment that awaits the soul who accepts God’s gift of grace.  It has all been fulfilled.  There is nothing left.

There is a principle in our law called double jeopardy.  “Double jeopardy is a legal principle, rooted in the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, that prevents the government from prosecuting a person more than once for the same offense after an acquittal or conviction.  This protection ensures that an individual is not subjected to the harassment, expense, and anxiety of repeated trials for the same alleged crime.” (AI generated).  There is an important distinction to be made here.  Double jeopardy protects the offender from being retried for crimes already committed, whether found guilty or not.  Double jeopardy does not apply to future crimes a person might commit.  I can only imagine the feeling double jeopardy for the accused.  Walking out of a courtroom having been found innocent or a prison after serving a sentence must be very similar.  I can also imagine what it is like to remind people that you were found not guilty or that your sentence has been served.  The infraction has been satisfied.  There are no more court proceedings.  There is no more future prison time.  It is all satisfied as a matter of law!

This is similar to what Jesus did for us.  With one major difference.  Our sins have been satisfied in full!  Even the ones we have as yet to commit.  Double jeopardy applies for our entire lifetime.  Jesus suffered and died so that we might be forgiven.  He rose from the grave so that the sentence of death was complete.  When Jesus Christ cried from the Cross, “It is finished”, that is exactly what He meant.  It is all done.  There is no fine left.  No unfulfilled prison time.  There is not one more lash to be given.  There are no more restrictions.  No more penalty.  It is all complete and fulfilled.  GLORY!  Jesus did not leave even one minute detail undone.  There is zero chance that our sins will come back on us for all eternity.  The wrath and justice of God were satisfied by the suffering of the Messiah.  Our Old Testament told us He would do it.  It tells us how He would do it.  According to Daniel, the Old Testament even told us exactly when He would do it.  All is fulfilled.  To every single detail and requirement.  Praise be to God!

All Burdens are Necessary

“He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves [with him].” (Ps 126:6 AV)

This verse is often spoken of in the context of witnessing for Christ.  The background to this psalm is the captivity.  As they were carried away to Assyria and Babylon, this psalm was one that was sung.  It was meant to be a reality check with a thought of hope.  As Israel went away into captivity, they took seed with them.  They wept because of their failure to follow Jehovah God.  They knew an entire generation would pass away as residents of a pagan kingdom with no hope of returning to their God-given estates.  They went forth with tears in their eyes because what was once precious to them had been lost.  This verse also speaks of the hope of returning.  Not just returning, but returning with the yield from which the precious seed came.  The verse is an encouragement to never lose hope and to always invest, regardless of the circumstances.  Like plant life, our investment in the things of God will result in a yield.  But there is one word here that has my heart.  That word is ‘bearing’.

When you think about it, what need would they have to bring their own seed?  After all, the Assyrians and Babylonians must have had seed upon their arrive, right?  The extra bulk and weight of seed could have been left behind in Israel.  It wasn’t like they were going to settle in a barren land.  Any wealth they could have brought with them could have gone to purchase what they needed once they arrived.  So, why carry sacks of seed with them?  They could not settle somewhere along the way and begin farming again.  They were to be carried away to a kingdom many hundreds of miles away and serve as the government’s servants.  On the face of it, making room for seed that could have easily been attained once they arrived seemed inefficient and maybe even unnecessary.  Yet they were told to bear their own precious seed.  Perhaps the seed in Assyria or Babylon was of lesser quality.  Perhaps it wasn’t the staple they were used to.  Maybe by bringing their own, they would be less reliant on their captor’s grace to survive.  Whatever the reason, they were told to bear their seed.

When I think bearing seed, I have in my mind someone carrying a sack over their shoulder.  I am sure they carried it on animals or in carts, but that is the picture I get.  There are many burdens in life.  Some good.  Some a bit harder.  This is perhaps how we need to think of this.  The sack of seed was born because a promise of hope was given.  Bearing that seed was a task.  It might have seemed like unnecessary effort given the supply waiting for them at the end of their journey.  Bearing the seed was the point.  The point was not the seed.  The point was bearing the seed.  By bearing the seed, each time their shoulder hurt from carrying it, or the ass brayed when loaded and unloaded, or it was moved from one spot to another as it rode on the cart, the captive was reminded of the hope that lay in front of him.  The discomfort and inconvenience of bearing the seed was a physical reminder of the return he would eventually enjoy.  The LORD may ask us to carry burdens we think are unnecessary.  He may ask us to carry a load that is better left for tomorrow.  Yet His purpose for the burden is to keep us in constant reminder of a promise.  The burden we carry today is evidence of hope for tomorrow.

Joyful, Joyful, Is Possible

“Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” (Joh 16:24 AV)

Our dear Savior implies that if we ask for the right things, our joy will be full.  This is not a hopeful wish.  This is a promise.  If our joy is not full, we are either not asking, or we are asking for the wrong things.  There really are two thoughts this morning.  First, Jesus tells us plainly that our joy can be full.  This is hard to believe.  When you are facing the trial of your life, it doesn’t seem as though joy can be full.  If we are to believe our LORD, our joy indeed can be full.  The other profound thought upon which the Spirit laid was that our prayer life is not what is needs to be.  If our joy is not full, then there is something lacking in our prayer life.  Let us assume there is no unconfessed sin between the soul and the Father, those things for which we ask must produce joy.  Over the years, I have learned that we often pray ignorantly.  Or, more specifically, temporally.  Not that we are forbidden to do so.  We are told to pray for our daily bread.  Rather, the spiritual implications of that for which we ask are rarely the motive or understanding behind our requests.  Let me explain.

When faced with dire physical or financial challenges, we usually ask for healing or provision.  But what if that is not the LORD’s will?  Perhaps illness or hardship are part of God’s will and the means by which joy might be fulfill?  I am reminded of how often we pray for the healing of someone who is in serious need of it.  That is certainly a valid prayer.  Jesus brought forth Lazarus from the grave, didn’t he?  He healed the leper, gave sight to the blind, opened the ears of the deaf, and made the lame walk again.  Yet all those who were healed eventually passed away from something.  There are many who have lost everything.  A financial crisis was upon them.  Sometimes, one of their own makings.  At other times, from unforeseen circumstances.  My father was fired from his job with nine kids to feed.  My mom worked as a low-paid secretary.  We were on public assistance for a while.  My father took any job he could find.  Financially, those were not happy days.  Yet we didn’t know any different.  My mom grew up in the projects before the projects were the projects.  She grew up with a dad who fed his family at the end of a hunting rifle and fishing rod.  So, for what do you pray?  Those were good times.  Hard times, but good times.  So, for what do you pray?

If we are to believe Jesus, then our joy can reach a maximum capacity.  And we most definitely should believe Jesus.  What I have found by the ministry of the Holy Spirit is that meditation and prayer go hand in hand.  What I mean by that is instead of filling the time with spoken words, the prayerful saint will make prayer more of a two-way conversation than a one-way diatribe.  He or she will speak and then listen.  I have learned to stop and think long before I say words.  This is the active part of the Holy Spirit in our prayer life.  Romans tells us that He will help us when we don’t know for what to pray.  Which, by the way, is most of the time.  When we have a conversation with God instead of treating prayer like a religious event, it is amazing how much work in our souls is accomplished.  Many times, the Spirit has given me understanding as to what or how to pray.  What is the result?  Joy!  Joy that is full!  I may not be there yet, but I trust the words of my Savior.  An active and effective prayer life is the key.

It's All Good

“For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.” (Pr 4:2 AV)

Although doctrine and law are closely related, they are not exactly the same.  The simple statement of what is right and what is wrong.  Doctrine is principle upon which the law is based.  Law is the list where doctrine is the explanation.  This shows us a very important principle.  The laws of God are arbitrary.  They are not a random list of do’s and don’ts based solely on His preferences.  Rather, the laws of God are an extension of His person.  Right is right because God is right.  Wrong is wrong because God is not wrong.  Doctrine is the structure whereupon the law suspends.  There are reasons the law is what it is.  These reasons are found in the infinite character of God.

There are two views as to law.  The first is a pragmatic one.  It is utilitarian.  If the law does not work, then it is not a law.  This is too arbitrary.  The definition of ‘working’ is subjective.  It all depends on what works for us.  This is the current attitude toward the laws of our nation.  The other view is that law is absolute.  What works for us is conformed to a law that does not change.  This is why in the preamble of one of our most important documents, we are guaranteed the right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness by the Creator.  These are inalienable rights.  They are unchangeable and absolute.  How we view law is the key to how we order our walk with God.  We will either find exceptions to a rule or we will search for the principle behind the rule so that we might conform to the law of God.  The law of God will either bend to our values or we will bend to the demands of the law.

Having said all that, let us see the adjective that Solomon uses to describe doctrine and law.  He uses the word ‘good’.  Good is to be appreciated.  Good is to be desired.  Good is to be the quality of our life.  Good is not to be refused.  Good is not to be considered bad.  There are laws that govern music.  We all inherently know the difference between good music and bad music.  We know when the musicians and singers are in sync and performing with pitch-perfect precision.  We also know that something is off.  The law is the same way.  Why do we shun it so much?  Why is it that when God tells us not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that is exactly what we want?  Why is it that we cannot see the blessing of liberty that comes from law?  They could have eaten from every other tree.  Just not that one!  Yet that is exactly what they did.  This is our nature.  It is time to trust that law is good.  It is time to see it as good.  And it is time to see there are reasons why it is good and that if we simply strive to obey, we will have a life that is blessed.