The Quality of Mercy

Sometimes blessings come in unusual ways and at unusual times. I received one of those today while grading my daughter's poem she'd learned. I was touched by the beauty of the poem "Silver" by Walter de la Mare which I was grading (she got a 100 on it), but even more so when I read the poem she's currently working on. It's another Shakespeare writing--you may remember I had one posted before. I've always struggled to understand the words of this great poet, but often it's worth the exercise of the mind that we have to put into it. I was somewhat excited today, though, because I understood what was being said in this excerpt from The Merchant of Venice. What beauty are in these words! I'm sure you'll see it too:

The Quality of Mercy

from The Merchant of Venice

William Shakespeare

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath: it is twice bless'd;

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes;

'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes

The throned monarch better than his crown;

His scepter shows the force of temporal power,

The attribute to awe and majesty,

Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;

But mercy is above this sceptered sway,

It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,

It is an attribute of God himself,

And earthly power doth then show likest God's

When mercy seasons justice.

Wow. Do you get what's being said here about kings? And about God?

Easter Thoughts

Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: and they shall scourge him, and put him to death, and the third day he shall rise again. Luke 18:31-33

Even though it's early this year (it really sneaked up on me), Easter has been filling the thoughts of most folks this week. Some are thinking about jelly beans, bunnies, coconut eggs, colored eggs, baby chicks, baskets, new clothes, colored "grass", and many other pretty things. Today is the first day of spring, and this is the holiday that brings us to the thoughts and pleasures of the season. (You may like this YouTube video that was made by a member of one of my Yahoo groups. I must say they did a fantastic job of bringing this all home. Try this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZVlheNkQFo)

But I choose to bring my thoughts captive to the Passion of my Lord. We as Christians like to read about His life. The gospel accounts are lively and interesting as we read about His journey here on earth. We enjoy learning about His miracles and the accounts about the many encounters with His enemies. We see Him as our Prophet and King. But one of the reasons I like Easter so much is that it's the time when we particularly focus on His office as our Priest, making the ultimate sacrifice for us: Himself. Some months back, I wrote a post reflecting on His determined journey to Jerusalem. We all have our favorite posts that we wrote, and that was one of my mine. Please read it if you ever get a chance; it's here.

At any rate, when the above verses were included in my daily readings one day a couple of weeks ago, my mind was directed to Jerusalem as it was before. Once again, I have a quote by Ryle on this passage:

The love of our Lord Jesus Christ towards sinners is strikingly shown in His steady purpose of heart to die for them. All through His life He knew that He was about to be crucified. There was nothing in His cross and passion which He did not foresee distinctly, even to the minutest particular, long before it came upon Him. He tasted all the well-known bitterness of anticipated suffering. Yet He never swerved from His path for a moment. He was straitened in spirit till He had finished the work He came to do. Such love passeth knowledge. It is unspeakable, unsearchable. We may rest on that love without fear. If Christ so loved us before we thought of Him, He will surely not cease to love us after we have believed. ~ J.C. Ryle

What a Savior. And He is alive. May these wonderful truths about Him fill your thoughts during this Easter season and always. Have blessed holiday weekend, friends.

Our Refuge in This Election

God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea . . .

Psalm 46:1-2

I don't know about you, but I've been a bit distressful over this election. "What in the world are we going to do?" I've been saying. "What's going to happen to our country?" This beloved psalm is just what I needed for these times. Even though I still know that it's possible that our country may be on the verge of judgment for its increasing ungodliness, it comforts me to remember that it is our God Himself who is our hope, not a president.

"He is my refuge and strength." Do not forget the fact that God is our refuge just now, in the immediate present, as truly as when David penned the word. God alone is our all in all. All other refuges are refuges of lies. All other strength is weakness, for power belongeth unto God: but as God is all sufficient, our defence and might are equal to all emergencies. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

A little nugget from The Treasury of David by Spurgeon:

A sure stronghold our God is He,

A timely shield and weapon;

Our help He'll be, and set us free

From every ill can happen.

And were the world with devils filled,

All eager to devour us,

Our souls to fear shall little yield,

They cannot overpower us.

Chew on that, dear friends, between now and November and beyond.

Sunday Snippet - Not Far Enough

Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." Mark 12:34

This morning's sermon was about the scribe who came to Jesus to ask Him which commandment was the greatest. This is the scribe who agreed with Jesus when the Lord replied that we must love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves. This same scribe even agreed with the Scriptures that teach that God wants our hearts more than outward sacrifices. Think about how far this man had gone in religion, which we can think of as a good thing, but the sad part is that he had not gone far enough. As Pastor John said, not far from is not good enough. God didn't come back and give us indication that this scribe, who had come so far, had eventually repented and believed the whole gospel of Christ. It's sad to think that someone who had come so near had not entered in. Pastor reminded us that greatly mistaken and slightly mistaken are both tragic.

I hope no one reading this post has stopped short of the kingdom. I hope no one is just almost persuaded, like King Agrippa. If you've not gone far enough, see Jesus whose atoning blood was spilled at Calvary for sinners. Embrace this Jesus, repenting and believing in His glorious gospel, being fully persuaded and you will have entered into the kingdom. Nothing can be better than that.

Christian Heroes

This past Christmas, our pastor gave this book to many of us who have served in our church in some capacity. Actually, I think just about every household ended up with one. The title is The One Year Christian History, a daily glimpse into God's powerful work, by Mike and Sharon Rusten. It's a devotional book, with a two page spread for each day of the year. Each day, some event or person is spotlighted, according to the date of some some occurrence in history. The earliest date is in 763 B.C. and the latest is in the year 2000. The 366 devotions can be started any time in the year.

This book is a blessing. You may want to get one for your family. I'm sure you, too, will be blessed. The publisher is Tyndale House, but Amazon and others have it. I've been captivated by some of the stories about people whom I can only refer to as Christian Heroes. It's mind-boggling how many martyrs there have been, some at the hands of other so-called Christians. It did strike me that all persecutors have not been Communists, Muslims or Hindus, but many have been burned at the stake and endured horrible atrocities at the hands of the particular orthodoxy of a time and place. Wow. You'll read about courage that you may not have known existed in the hearts of men and women. My heart has been touched reading these stories. I think yours would be too.

By the way, I've had a series going at the business blog called "Christian Heroes." Maybe you'd like to check those out from time to time and talk to your children about some of the heroes of our faith. I often link to "Glimpses for Kids", a very good site for children, which has all kinds of facts from Christian history. I think it's impotant for our children and grandchildren to know about these things, as it might encourage their young hearts towards greatness.

Remember the Apostle Paul

This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. 1 Timothy 1:15

From time to time, as many of you know, I feel constrained to write a post about those of Christ's church who are persecuted for their faith. But a post that Stacy Harp made yesterday at the persecution blog made me think. I don't pray enough for the persecutors. If you can, read Stacy's post--it's real food for thought.

I know it may be difficult to hear about some of the horrible atrocities that are committed against Christians and then turn around and pray for God's mercy and grace towards the perpetrators, but I do agree that the Apostle Paul, former persecutor and blasphemer, is a reminder that there is no category of man which is outside of the grace of our God.

Do you pray for the persecutor as well as the persecuted? My confession: I don't. At least not often enough. So as Stacy is reminding us, Paul teaches us a lesson about this.

Great Gain in Great Loss

Jesus, my all in all thou art;

My rest in toil, my ease in pain,

The medicine of my broken heart,

In war my peace, in loss my gain...

~~Charles Wesley

I looked back and couldn't believe my last Aunt Jane's Hero post was on November 8th. Imagine that. To think that last July I had grand intentions that this would be a weekly series on this blog, one I even thought could be finished by now. I hate to say this, but sometimes I have expectations which come far short of reality. Well, enough of that--I've beaten up on myself sufficiently. I go forward with new resolve to be more diligent, even if I don't meet my initial goals. Now for Chapter 5 . . .

". . .The Young Men's Christian Association opened its arms to him; he became interested in the once-despised Mission School, and once or twice his voice was heard at the weekly prayer-meeting which he never used to attend. He felt, at times, that he had gained through loss; that he was a happier, better man; and yet a voice often whispered in his ear; that next to the love of God he needed the love of a Christian woman."

Horace? Is this speaking of Horace? Yes, a different Horace as you can clearly see. These final lines of the chapter are evidence that the most wonderful thing that could possibly happen to any wandering young man had occurred--he had been brought back to his God. In Horace's case, it had happened as a result of the heavy hand of divine providence. The episode is a stirring account of how our young hero, in the midst of great loss, came into possession of great gain, even Christ. We stand in awe, as if this fictional character were someone we knew.

Last night, during prayer time at our church, someone asked prayer for their wayward son. At that point I took a mental excursion around the room and counted four families who have either a son or a daughter who has strayed. As I thought about them, I thought of Horace and what happened to him in this chapter. I don't wish on any of these young people that they'd experience a loss such as the one Horace endured; but, oh, I pray they'll lay hold of his gain. Then, my thoughts went even further to ponder whether any of these parents would just as soon see God have hard dealings with their wandering ones if it's the only way. It's a tough call--to an area of prayer where any parent would tread with trepidation.

Note: I've intentionally not mentioned what Horace's great loss was. Remember, these posts are little prods to get you to read the book!

Sunday Snippet - The Greatest Wonder

I am rejoicing in the mercies of my God today. His kindnesses to this poor weary saint have been manifold. A good study with my Sunday school children this morning, two good sermons today, wonderful hymns at each service,the Lord's Supper, and a precious time of prayer tonight have left me ready to face another week. We heard about the "Seven Wonders of God" tonight as Pastor R. finished off with the greatest wonder of all: That God loves us. For those of us who have come to Him through His Son, we can be assured that He loves us. That indeed is a wonder and wonderful. The final words of the sermon:

I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.

Wishing God's blessings to all my fellow pilgrims throughout this week.

Treasured Moments

"Up, Nanna," says my little toddler granddaughter as she lifts up her arms for me to pick her up. These are moments that I treasure here on this side of glory. There is no amount of money that anyone could give me in return for them. I had small children once, as many of you have now, so I know how special it is to have any of our sons or daughters (of any age, really) hold out their arms to be held in ours. But I tell you, there is something indescribable about being reached for by a grandchild. You grandparents can identify.

I need to think more about the preciousness of such moments when my heart is feeling a bit low. I need to reach up to my God at those times. He loves me even more than I love that sweet little girl, so I would imagine it would give Him pleasure. I need to regress from self-pity and gloominess and have Him lift me up. This, I'm sorry to say, is not what I do often enough. I'll try to let Selena remind me of that the next time I hear her say those wonderful words, "Up, Nanna."

Are You Rich?

Every day you hear and read of more Christians who are persecuted. Anytime you want to feel sorry for yourself and get anxious about the cares and worries of this life, just pop over to the Voice of the Martyrs site and read about what's going on around the world. Many dear saints live in huts and have to work hard in fields from morning until night for a meal of rice and beans. Some struggle with disease, tumults, and calamities. If anytime you stress over some lack or wish for something that you can't afford of this world's many goods, or struggle with a broken appliance or a physical affirmity or some petty grievance, try looking around the World Vision site for awhile. Some of us are, indeed, going through extremely difficult circumstances or life threatening illnesses ourselves. For all Christians here and abroad, under whatever condition of life, and without regard to their financial situation, I would say that if they are true saints, they are rich. This is a quote that I wish I could give to every suffering saint in the world to remind them of their true state of wealth:

When can it be said of a man, that he is rich towards God? Never till he is rich in grace, and rich in faith, and rich in good works! Never till he has applied to Jesus Christ, and bought of him gold tried in the fire. (Rev. 3:18) Never till he has a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens! Never till he has a name inscribed in the book of life, and is an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ! Such a man is truly rich. His teasure is incorruptible. His bank never breaks. His inheritance fadeth not away. Man cannot deprive him of it. Death cannot snatch it out of his hands. All things are his already,--life, death, things present, and things to come. (I Cor. 3:23) And best of all, what he has now is nothing to what he will have hereafter. ~ J.C. Ryle

Any sinner who repents and believes the gospel, trusting the Lord Jesus as Savior, can have these riches. So, are you rich?