All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live
and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your forefathers. You
shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years,
that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His
commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not
know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread
alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not
wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. Thus you are to know in your heart that
the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. Therefore, you shall keep
the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.
For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and
springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and
pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in
which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig
copper. When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land
which He has given you.
-Deuteronomy 8:1-10
Tag: mercy
A Severe Mercy
It truly is remarkable how wonderful the love of God is.
Oft times it seems that difficult and trying times are ours for no good reason. We can easily shiver as the cold winds of tribulation blow. Yet, do we understand the love of God? Do we truly know in our heart of hearts that we have a Father in heaven? If we do, these chill winds should be as but a passing shadow and a quickly vanishing vapor. Naught more.
And still more, our Father knows what is good for us. We think we do. How wrong we usually are! Our Father God longs to make us shine e’er brighter with the glory that He has bestowed on us through His Spirit. Our Father God desires to draw us closer to Himself. And what is better than that? What is of greater value than being with our God? Is there any jewel that can compare? To know our God and to be known by Him – there is nothing better than this. And it is worth the cost. Our lives – our earthly desires and passions – are as nothing compared to the glory that awaits us when we shall see our Lord face to face. Remember that.
It truly is remarkable how beautiful the mercy of God.
Untitled
Well, I can’t think of a title for this post yet, but John has given me instructions to just go ahead and write something(instead of stare at the glowing blank screen!) and worry about the title later. That is sound advice, so write I shall!
It’s Sunday evening, and I could ponder the upcoming work week. Or I could think on the awesomeness that has taken past this weekend. Yes. That sounds much better. And so I think of yesterday, waking up around 8AM and feeling exhausted(pretty much entirely due to playing Street Fighter II with John until far too late the night before. Yes, it stole our sleep. But WE WERE VICTORIOUS. Take that, M. Bison). Right, so waking up yesterday morning…walking down George St and grabbing a choc doughnut from Thain’s on the way to Books and Beans. Spending a delightful morning there, first reading and enjoying my mocha and eventually enjoying a good lunch with Rebecca!
And then the rest of the day – came back here and spent most of the afternoon making chocolate chip cookies! I was in a rare baking mood and could not let that go to waste. So watched National Treasure and made heaps of chocolate chip cookies. If I say so myself, they were pretty delicious. Of course, me and John tested the dough sufficiently beforehand.
Now, after spending hours baking – me and John made our way to Chris and Jo’s for…my leaving party!! Thankfully, while it was my leaving party, I was also very conscious that I’d see (pretty much) everyone again, so it wasn’t too sad. I loved walking up to their door and seeing a sign posted there, reading in Elven script, “No Admittance Except on Party Business”. Classic. (And sorry if you don’t get that – Lord of the Rings reference).
So yeah, party time!! Oh what a lovely time it was! There were plenty of delectable treats and some quite delicious Tokaji(thanks Chris and Jo and Aiysha!!) and there were friends aplenty and conversation flowed on and on into the night. No tears. Not yet. And I simply enjoyed being with my friends. A night of joy – a night of love. What have I done to deserve such dear friends and close companions? I know not – but I do know this – my God has blessed me exceedingly more than I could ever have hoped or dreamed. My God has been good to me. And as I think on this, on how my God has given me good things – this causes my spirit to rise and soar and my hopes for the future flare bright as I think that the God that has carried me thus far will not now let me slip through the cracks of time. My God will continue to be with me, even in that far-off land of Houston! I need fear not.
And seriously now! How much am I going to write this night!? I must rein in my fingers now. But let me spend a few moments on today. After church this morning, came back and enjoyed a bit of time in the garden. Sadly, the sun spent most of the time being a tease and hiding behind the clouds, but I still got some quality reading time! Eventually, it got a little too cold, so I came in and chilled in the lounge with John.
And then this evening back at Gilc we heard an epic sermon on Jonah from Dominic. I don’t think epic is really the right word, but my mind is a bit too frazzled now to come up with a better. Anyway, he preached on God being the God of second chances(and third and fourth…and five hundred and sixty fifth…) and how despite all of Jonah’s flaws and issues(he was not exactly a model citizen, what with his prejudices and lack of compassion!), God still used him to do his work. Think on us – we with our rebellious natures and wayward souls…God loves us all the same. And our God and Father turns our eyes and hearts back to Him and gives us missions to perform. We may mess up at times. Ok, we will mess up all the time. But God – He with His everlasting lovingkindnesses – continually renews our hearts and points us in the way we should go. So if you are feeling a bit far from God right now – think on His goodness. Think on His love. Think of Christ. Think of these things and let your heart be open to the love of God – thank our Father for all the many blessings we receive. Each and every day. Even now, I sit on this couch in comfort(and in darkness – not really sure why we haven’t turned the lights on yet. Hm). I have a warm cup of coffee sitting next to me. I have my Bible on my lap. These are all good things. These are all from God. The God who is good. The God who gives us second chances. The God who loves us so.
And now – this is much more than I meant to be writing! But I shall let it stand. I am going to read a bit more tonight – maybe write a bit more too. We shall see.
Farewell my friends!!
(Oh wait, I need a title now. Hm. Oh whatever)
Peace!
