Mercy on the Broken Road
"Who is a God like You, who pardons wrongdoing And passes over a rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. He will again take pity on us; He will trample on our wrongdoings. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea." - Micah 7:18-19
There was a road, broken and difficult, and we were all on it; in fact we frequently find ourselves on this road. This road isn't the same for everyone, but for each of us, this road brings us to the undeniable realization that we don't deserve the goodness of God. Utterly in need of mercy, mankind is lost without our savior. It is quite easy to look upon the history of God's people, recounted through the scriptures, and have a strong critique of the those stubborn, stiff-necked people; how easy it is to forget our own moments of weakness and failure.
Welcome to our existence, it is mired with all sorts of chaotic circumstances and troubles; equally filled with some of the most beautiful moments and sights to behold. It so easy to identify all the wrong in another; so difficult to measure our own wrongdoing most of the time. When we realize how easy it is to wander off onto the path of gratifying the flesh and indulging in lust, it is there we see our own depravity and utter need for the mercy of God. Isaiah noticed this when he famously exclaimed before the Lord in Isaiah 6:
"Then I said, “Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of armies.”" - Isaiah 6:5
While we should certainly recognize the weight of our transgressions and how precious and costly the blood of Jesus that was shed to atone for our sins, we can also rejoice because our sins have been forgiven. When we find ourselves on the broken road, we need not despair, we have born unto a living hope, and that is Jesus Christ. Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians:
"But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Corinthians 15:54-57
Christ has won a victory for us that we could never achieve, every time we attempt to do it on our own we come up short. God is rich in mercy and that gives us hope and joy that in this life, though we are imperfect, we are perfected through Christ. Our aim should be to glorify Christ with our whole life; that we decrease and Christ increase in our lives as we put to death the sinful flesh by denying our flesh gratification. Through life's twists and turns, hold fast to Christ, watch your life and doctrine and be hidden in Christ to stand against all the plots of our adversary.
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)..." - Ephesians 2:4-5
There was a road, broken and difficult, and we were all on it; in fact we frequently find ourselves on this road. This road isn't the same for everyone, but for each of us, this road brings us to the undeniable realization that we don't deserve the goodness of God. Utterly in need of mercy, mankind is lost without our savior. It is quite easy to look upon the history of God's people, recounted through the scriptures, and have a strong critique of the those stubborn, stiff-necked people; how easy it is to forget our own moments of weakness and failure.
Welcome to our existence, it is mired with all sorts of chaotic circumstances and troubles; equally filled with some of the most beautiful moments and sights to behold. It so easy to identify all the wrong in another; so difficult to measure our own wrongdoing most of the time. When we realize how easy it is to wander off onto the path of gratifying the flesh and indulging in lust, it is there we see our own depravity and utter need for the mercy of God. Isaiah noticed this when he famously exclaimed before the Lord in Isaiah 6:
"Then I said, “Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of armies.”" - Isaiah 6:5
While we should certainly recognize the weight of our transgressions and how precious and costly the blood of Jesus that was shed to atone for our sins, we can also rejoice because our sins have been forgiven. When we find ourselves on the broken road, we need not despair, we have born unto a living hope, and that is Jesus Christ. Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians:
"But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." - 1 Corinthians 15:54-57
Christ has won a victory for us that we could never achieve, every time we attempt to do it on our own we come up short. God is rich in mercy and that gives us hope and joy that in this life, though we are imperfect, we are perfected through Christ. Our aim should be to glorify Christ with our whole life; that we decrease and Christ increase in our lives as we put to death the sinful flesh by denying our flesh gratification. Through life's twists and turns, hold fast to Christ, watch your life and doctrine and be hidden in Christ to stand against all the plots of our adversary.
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)..." - Ephesians 2:4-5
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