Misericordia

¿Qué es lo que tiene el Señor en Su alacena? Una de sus mercaderías es: la misericordia… Una bendición que es un acto de favor divino y compasión, e incluye el tratamiento compasivo de aquellos en angustia y necesitan tolerancia.  Me gusta el significado de “tolerar”, el significado griego parafraseado es, “permitiéndonos vivir  un poco más para que podamos arrepentirnos”.  El Señor es pesado en misericordia, y misericordioso para darla.

Creo que la misericordia es muy escasa en estos días, se da y se recibe con avidez, pero, sin embargo, la verdad es que la misericordia es un bien muy importante y necesario. Es uno de los atributos más esenciales de Dios.

A lo largo de la Biblia, el Señor es considerado “Misericordioso y Agraciado” y es alabado por ello, como se ve en Salmos 103: 8.

La misericordia es tan importante, que el artista Caravaggio recibió el encargo en 1606 de pintar el famoso pieza de altar titulada Las Siete Obras De La Misericordia,  que alimenta a los  hambrientos, da de beber a los niños, protege a  las personas sin hogar, visita a los  enfermos, visita a los  prisioneros y entierra a  los muertos.

Jesús describe la misericordia paterna como “un don gratuito y generoso”. En Efesios 2:4 Pablo se refiere a la misericordia de Dios en términos de salvación: “Dios, siendo rico en misericordia, … incluso cuando estábamos muertos, Dios nos dio vida junto con Cristo”.

Creo que más que encontrar todos los lugares en la Biblia donde se habla de misericordia, estoy más interesado en la misericordia dentro de  nuestras propias vidas, de cerca y personalmente.

Como, ¿somos misericordiosos con nosotros mismos, lo que significa que guardamos rencor y recuerdo del pecado sobre nuestras propias cabezas mucho, mucho despuésde que Dios haya olvidado nuestros errores, muchas personas solo ven los ojos de Judas mirándolos desde el espejo?

¿Somos demasiado misericordiosos con nosotros mismos, con una tendencia a dejar que nuestro comportamiento se desenganche, pensando: “bueno, es así como soy”?  Y luego está la misericordia cuando Dios nos la extiende, en el sentido de que cuando el hombre perdió su capacidad de relacionarse con Dios, Dios tuvo extrema misericordia y  dio a Su Hijo, Jesús, para cerrar la brecha entre Él y los hombres.

¿Extendemos la misericordia de otras personas como Dios nos la extiende a nosotros?  ¿Dejarlos vivir como viven, morir como mueren, decidir lo que deciden sin que sintamos que tenemos que controlarlos?  La misericordia practicada en sabiduría y comprensión de que las personas son solo personas, y si todos obtuvieran lo que “merecían” y lo que era “justo”, no quedaría nadie vivo.

Un hombre me llamó por teléfono una vez, quejándose de la forma en que alguien lo trataba en una disputa de algún tipo. Dijo en voz alta con pasión: “¡Solo quiero lo que es justo! ¡Solo quiero lo que viene a mí, lo que es mío!” Tan amablemente como pude, escuché mi boca diciendo: “Si quieres lo que es justo y lo que viene a ti, entonces obtendrás un palo afilado en el ojo y esperar el infierno. Entonces, hablemos sobre lo que realmente quieres decir, ¿estás preparado para ello?”

¿Están tus bolsillos llenos de misericordia, o es la ley y la justicia tu preferencia, prefiriendo “línea por línea, y precepto por precepto?  Isaías 28:13 no estaba hablando de bendiciones que conoces.   Llamo a las personas que tienen la ley y la justicia como su preferencia, cantando “línea por línea, y precepto por precepto” como un peso, no alas,  los llamo “conductores de clavos”. Piensan que es su trabajo asegurarse de que todos estén debidamente golpeados en su lugar.

Un experto en ética, Jacob Appel, ha observado una disminución de la misericordia y un aumento de la retribución en una vida pública americana. Appel escribió:

“Una de las fallas evidentes, aunque con demasiada frecuencia pasadas por alto, de la América contemporánea es que nos hemos convertido en una nación obsesionada con nuestra propia idea de justicia y retribución.  Afirmamos ser La Tierra de los Libres, sin embargo, muchos han perdido de vista lo que significa ser encarcelado, negado de libertad  y sometido al aislamiento y la violencia.   Hemos llegado a creer, de la manera más altamente perjudicial o destructiva, que las personas deben obtener lo que merecen.  Qué cambio sería en nuestro intercambio público de ideas y conversaciones,  y en nuestra vida cívica si nos centráramos en cambio en la misericordia y el perdón. Una cultura misericordiosa y perdonadora típicamente se encuentra con menos ira, menos trastornos sociales y aún menos crimen.”

No sesguemos el tema de la misericordia aquí. No estamos hablando de irresponsabilidad y de ser pasivos sobre el comportamiento pobre o incorrecto … Dios es nuestra referencia en cuanto a lo que está bien y lo que está mal. Y no estamos diciendo que no haya un bien y un mal reales, porque seguramente los hay… Dios es el estándar, no los hombres o su comportamiento.  Estoy pidiendo que dentro de nuestra esfera de influencia….  ¿Tenemos misericordia de los demás, incluyéndonos a nosotros mismos, cuando hay luchas?

¿Tener un corazón de bondad al vernos a nosotros mismos y a los demás con compasión, y estar dispuestos a extendernos para acompañar a otros cuando las personas han perdido el camino a casa? ¿Somos compasivos cuando las personas se sienten agotadas y desgarradas, heridas y golpeadas, saqueadas y derrotadas por el constante quebrantamiento y sufrimiento de circunstancias viciosas?  ¿O somos buenos con lo que pasa siempre y cuando no nos pase a nosotros?

Veamos una parábola.  Lucas 10:25-35 es una historia interesante de cómo vemos a otras personas, nuestros propios valores de misericordia y las necesidades de los demás.  Jesús cuenta una historia con 8 personajes en ella, y cada persona tenía un nivel diferente de misericordia y una visión diferente de las necesidades de los demás.

Aquí está la lista de personajes: La víctima: un hombre que hizo un viaje de Jerusalén a Jericó, podría ser cualquiera de nosotros. Los ladrones: vieron a la víctima, a  quien golpearon y robaron, como alguien a quien explotar y obtener ganancias por la fuerza.  El levita y  el sacerdote: veían al hombre golpeado y robado como alguien que parecía un problema.  ¿Somos tú y yo en nuestra religiosidad?  El samaritano: vio al hombre golpeado y robado como alguien de quien tener misericordia y cuidar.  El encargado de la posada: vio al samaritano y a la víctima como alguien a quien ayudar siempre y cuando le pagaran.  También estaba Jesús, que estaba contando la historia, y el abogado que estaba escuchando.

Cada una de las personas en esta historia tenía una visión diferente de las necesidades de los demás.  Algunos de nosotros somos víctimas, con razón o sin ella, lo somos.  Hay algunos de nosotros que decimos ser creyentes, pero tenemos un prejuicio tan profundo, odiamos a algunas personas pero no podemos ver ni siquiera las cosas simples. Algunos de nosotros vemos a los demás como alguien a quien explotar y obtener ganancias, sin embargo, otros de nosotros vemos a las personas que tienen necesidades extremas como nada más que problemas, alguien que podría manchar nuestra reputación, preocupado de que algunos de sus “fantasmas malos” puedan atacarnos, con cuidado de no tocarlos pero diciéndoles: “¡Rezaré por ti! Abrígate y come mucho”. Muchos están dispuestos a servir a los demás en su necesidad, pero solo si hay algo para ellos, o tal vez vemos a las personas en su desesperación como alguien a quien cuidar y tener misericordia. Y luego, algunos de nosotros, como Jesús, vemos a las multitudes necesitadas y comprometidas como alguien por quien vale la pena morir.  O tal vez somos como el abogado, que parecía estar buscando una razón legal, basada en su conocimiento de la ley, para ejercer o no ejercer la compasión, siempre y cuando fuera legal, o para encontrar una falla en otros que pudiera explotar.

¿Ha tenido Dios misericordia de ti? Si Él ha tenido misericordia de ti, tú también puedes tener el don de misericordia. Si Él lo ha hecho EN ti, también te lo ha dado.    . ¿Cómo quién te ves a ti mismo? ¿Es real tu nivel de misericordia, Dios dio misericordia, o es solo indiferencia? La misericordia y la indiferencia a menudo se ven iguales. ¿Cómo quiénes nos vemos a nosotros mismos: una víctima, un ladrón, una persona religiosa, un samaritano, ¿un posadero?  ¿El abogado?  ¿Como Jesús?  ¿Cómo nos relacionamos con las necesidades de los demás? ¿Es a través de los ojos de la misericordia y la compasión? Un hombre preguntó recientemente: “¿Por qué los cristianos no harán gratis, lo que harán por dinero?” A menudo ayudaremos si alguien nos da dinero o un regalo. Seremos obedientes por dinero a un jefe que es abusivo, barreremos el piso por dinero, pero si alguien nos pide que barriéramos en la iglesia, de repente tenemos una actitud como: “¿Quién creen que son para decirme algo?” Guau!.

Seamos honestos con nosotros mismos y con el Señor, no contándonos un cuento de hadas para que nos veamos bien en el espejo, sino honestos ante el Señor. ¿Cuál eres? Si Dios te ha dado misericordia, entonces entrégala a otros. Pídele al Señor que te ayude a saber cómo hacerlo.

Deja que la misericordia, tu pasión por que están en la miseria fluya libre.  Recuerda que Jesús está abierto para el ejercicio de la misericordia hacia los hombres y las mujeres, en armonía con las exigencias de la verdad y la justicia.  En Cristo la misericordia y la verdad se unen y se casan, ambas están en nuestras manos para regalar como una gracia.  Bienaventurados los misericordiosos, porque ellos obtendrán misericordia.

Gracias por escuchar, soy Social Porter para el Ministerio Viviendo en su Nombre.

*Traducción por Alfredo Milford Magni Sozzi

Juegos de la Ultima Palabra

¿Viste algo de las cosas de la Convención Nacional Republicana o Demócrata hace un tiempo? No voy a opinar sobre qué partido político tiene razón o no, pero mi observación se centra en cómo funcionan estas convenciones políticas y qué hacen los medios de comunicación. Después de todo, he vivido el periodo de varios Presidentes de los Estados Unidos y he sido testigo de estos “Juegos de la Última Palabra” una y otra vez, hasta que el estómago nacional se dobla!

Vi a los delegados de la convención alentando a los oradores principales, seguidos de comentarios de la gente de noticias. Luego, a veces, podíamos ver un cambio hacia Juegos de la Última Palabra.  Las agendas volaron, dependiendo de la persona de los medios o el invitado que invitaron a comentar sobre los oradores. Es casi como ver a los Green Bay Packers jugar contra los Dallas Cowboys. Es un tipo de juego de última palabra a medida que el reloj avanza.

A veces veo este juego jugado cuando se aconseja matrimonios. “¡No, no dije eso!” “Sí, lo hiciste y…” después comienza cada uno a pisotearse el uno contra el otro. Ojalá pudiera decir que no he jugado el Juegos de la Última Palabra, pero no puedo.  ¿O qué tal un hombre y una esposa discutiendo sobre algo o algún otro, y justo en el crescendo, uno de ellos  se da la vuelta, escupe  una catarata puntiaguda y agresiva  de palabras arrojadas sobre su hombro, luego atraviesa una puerta y la cierra dando un portazo antes de que la otra persona pueda responder?

Los niños de primaria juegan cuando discuten con otros niños sobre quién es el número uno. Entonces los insultos vuelan y podríamos escuchar algo como “¡Tu madre usa botas de combate!”  Ojalá estuviera inventando esto, pero en realidad recuerdo haber escuchado eso cuando era niño. ¡Esas fueron palabras para armar una pelea!

La regla para los juegos de la última palabra es “Tendré el control. Dirigiré el espectáculo y si no me dejas, te lastimaré”.  Tener la última palabra significa “¡Yo gano y tú pierdes!”, como disparar un tiro de despedida sobre tu hombro al salir de la habitación, dejando a la otra persona sin más remedio que perder la discusión. Obtener la última palabra sirve como un argumento decisivo que compensará cualquier deficiencia en su lógica.  Obtener la  última palabra  en el momento, también trae la ventaja de que posiblemente pueda señalar su éxito en  el  debate como el  último argumento final para futuros debates. Sin embargo, si no ganaste el último debate,  los jugadores del juego de la última palabra a menudo afirmarán incesantemente y en voz alta que  tuvieron el tiro ganador de despedida.

Supongo que muchas personas piensan que, si puedes llegar a esa declaración fenomenal de la “verdad”, puedes enderezar a tu pareja. Desafortunadamente, es muy probable que una estrategia como esa durante una disputa solo erosione los sentimientos de confianza y buena fe. Puede que seas “técnicamente correcto”, pero en verdad, solo has hecho que tu pareja sienta que te importa menos la relación y más ganar.

Estos juegos siempre surgen de lo que yo llamo, juegos de un abrir y cerrar de ojos, o estrategias de eludir. Donde el pensamiento temeroso amenaza al jugador del juego de última palabra. Entonces “¡Boom!” el individuo comienza a actuar como un pez gordo, una persona dura o astuta: no es lo que están diciendo tanto como lo que no están diciendo lo que te controla. ¡Qué manipulador es ese pensamiento!

Creo que hay otra perspectiva que debería convencernos cuando estamos involucrados en un tire y afloje sobre quién tiene la última palabra. Dios tiene la primera palabra en nuestras vidas, y la verdad es que Él también tiene la última palabra. Ninguno de nosotros tenía la ventaja de decidir donde nacer, de qué color sería nuestro cabello o qué idioma hablaríamos. La primera palabra en nuestras vidas está en la providencia de Dios. Al final de las cosas, el Señor también tiene la última palabra. No podemos decidir cuándo morimos, cómo moriremos o dónde ocurrirá el final. Una vez más, eso está en la providencia del Señor. En 2 Crónicas18 en la Biblia el profeta le dijo a Acab que si iba a la guerra iba a morir. El arrogante Acab pensó que tendría la última palabra diciendo: “¡Me ocuparé de ti cuando regrese!”, Luego se fue a la guerra, demasiado confiado y de corazón duro. ¡Acab pensó que tendría la última palabra sobre la batalla, demostrando a todos que él era el Rey y que nadie podía decirle qué hacer! Como resultado, el hombre de Dios escuchó al Señor correctamente y Acab murió, asesinado por un soldado sin nombre. Podemos jugar juegos de última palabra, pero sinceramente, Dios es el que siempre tiene la última palabra.  En todo.

Aquí hay algo que hago para tener en cuenta esta brecha. En el acto, lo llamo de una manera objetiva. Luego, alentaré el arduo trabajo de dejar que otros piensen por sí mismos, que es lo que Jesús hizo con Pilato en Juan 18:34 al preguntar: “¿Es esta tu propia pregunta, o alguien te habló de mí? ”  Creo que el Señor respeta  a aquellos que son dueños de sus propias elecciones y conclusiones.  Dios siempre tiene la última palabra en nuestra vida.

Gracias por escuchar, soy Social Porter para el Ministerio Viviendo en su Nombre.

*Traducción por Alfredo Milford Magni Sozzi

Getting To Know Him

How is it we can do so many things God asks us to do and yet, for many, we have seemingly no clue about who He really is? i mean, we say we do, and of course we actually do to a degree, but really getting to know the person whom we say we love takes time and patience. Our abilities to observe and reason must change from the way we understand the world to understanding someone who is not of this world, bigger and better than anyone we can imagine. Like an infinitely faceted diamond, there is so much of the Lord Himself to know about, i can’t help but think that if we actually knew Him better, our difficulties and problems would be seen with such a shift in perspective they would become insignificant to the point where we would truly be willing to endure anything to be where our lover is.

What is that old song from back in the 50’s, “Getting To Know You”….you know the one:

(part of tune “Getting To Know You”, Julie Andrews)

How should that old love song NOT apply to our relationship with Jesus? The lyrics seem to fit so well. So just how does one get to know God, and why would anyone really want to know, who *I* think is, the most wonderful, worthy, loveable person, in the entirety of forever, Jesus?

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the late night, cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge, the fire fly’s are out by the billion, and every evening is pleasant, peace is our cornerstone.

Cool Jazz and contemplative conversation is our format, i hope you enjoy this Friday evenings content. We’re venturing out into the deep waters of “Getting to Know God”, why would you want to do that, and the benefits of knowing Him. Stand by, refresh your coffee, tap your toe, dream a little, and we’ll be right back.

Matthew 14:23 “When the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night.”

Spending time with God is THE key to developing the essential and vital relationship with Him we all so desperately need. Just simply being involved with God gives us the tools we need to meet the difficulties of life in general. i’ll be the first to say, hanging out with God is the greatest joy of my life, but it’s not an easy sort of thing to do, not because He is difficult, but because *i am* difficult. Regardless, we need to develop the discipline of spending time alone with God—He is the fertile soil, we are rooted in Him, and grow we must. The Lord is interested in us all becoming mature children, and if we are to mature then we must do the work of growing. i need Jesus to grow and so do you …. as no one is an island unto themselves, neither are we able to grow in Christ by ourselves.

Luke 2:40 says very plainly, speaking of Jesus, “And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of God was upon Him.”

Jesus grew and we must grow also.

i suppose it would be easy to ask the question: “What’s in it for me?” The “what about me” crowd seems to, foundationally, be interested in a relationship with God, but it’s overlaid with a heart posture that wonders what they get out of it, always measuring the profit margin. Friends, it is a “relationship”, not a pecking order …. a “love relationship” is not a merit/demerit system…… the word “relate” is the root of relationship and God has made a way for us to relate to Him through Jesus Christ. The Lord a two-way street for us through the cross of Christ, not just the one way street of an action, but the two way street of interaction. He’s interested in spending time with you and i, and He doesn’t want to chase us down all the time in order to do that. Have you ever had a friend who never called you, but you always called them? …. and it seemed you were always the initiator? Yea…one of those….And one day you sort of wake up and realize, if you never dialed their number, chances are VERY good you’d probably never hear from them….well, unless they needed something. Many a church goer is like that friend when it comes to a relationship with Jesus.

That relationship with God is the goal of Christianity and it’s where the true joy in being a Christian is found, so if we neglect it, we’re missing the whole point. Is your goal, your skopos in Greek, is it just something you’re shooting for, or is it a person who encompasses all you hope for, who drives your life, and motivates your passions? What’s your goal?

Getting to know God means we must spend time with Him. One way is simply reading His word. Ya’ gotta admit, we can’t know it if we don’t read it, and we can’t just sleep with a Bible under our pillows and hope that by osmosis, somehow the words and meanings will just seep into our mind and spirit. Reading your Bible is a choice. We’re not reading because we’re too busy, that’s an excuse. We’re not reading because we are choosing.

Most all of us have gone into our room to read our Bible, and there on the table is a Bible and one of our favorite magazines. Which one do you think the devil would prefer you pick up? It’s not the Bible. Reading your Bible is a purposeful choice, we have to choose to Get To Know God, we have to aim ourselves at Him, or position ourselves, and purpose to set our feet in the direction of Jesus. Maybe it seems as if the day you met Jesus was a bit “coincidental”, but i can assure you it was not. NOTHING just ….happens… God purposed to meet you, He orchestrated the entire encounter, and now you must purpose to meet Him. A one way street only runs just so far, and a relationship is a two way street.

Prayer is another way of getting to know God. Now isn’t it the truth that if we don’t talk to anyone, it is right nigh impossible to have a relationship, much less relating to anyone as an acquaintance. It is silly to think of saying we know someone if we don’t talk to them. Talk to Jesus, we’ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose by carrying on a conversation with the Lord. If we’ll talk to Him, i promise He will talk back, if we’ll listen.

Plainly spoken, knowing Jesus !IS! the benefit of knowing God. There are other benefits, but that is primary. Praying gets us involved with Him; reading our Bible gets us involved with Him, but is reading and studying His word really enough? i’ve known more than a few, sadly, who read, study, analyze, and get certified in the study of the Bible, yet are quite possibly some of the most spiritually blind people i’ve ever met. They interpret it based on experiences, flesh, and the findings of other “really smart people”. How is it someone can read the Word of God daily, and not understand even the elementary characteristics of God? We can’t know the Lord based on what someone else says. We’ve got to know Him for ourselves.

Getting to know Jesus is the key. Knowing who He is and How He is …is more important than just being able to quote scripture or pray eloquent prayers. Knowing Jesus is THE key. Ya know what i mean?

In getting to Know the Lord, we can more easily find out what God wants for us; learning to draw close to the Lord tends to refocus us and get our mind off the world and the worries which surround us. Also i believe in drawing close to Jesus we naturally become more like Him …. for the closer He gets to all things the more all things become like Him. Most importantly, the more time I spend with God, the more I will love Him! To know Him is to love Him, afterall, He *! IS !* the fairest of all, no joke.

 

Another way to get to know God is through worship and praise. Is worship just going to Sunday service? i see alot of signs that say, “Come worship with us”, but when you go, the idea your left with is a far cry from the idea of worship in the Bible. Worship isn’t the words and singing, but a lifestyle with a constant upward pointing to the sovereignty of God as our second nature. Worship is a decision and action, not a feeling. We need to discipline ourselves to worship even when we don’t feel like it. The Lord deserves our worship, so we should give it to Him. It is His and His alone and there is not another who is worthy of an honorable mention. To reiterate, worship and praise helps us focus on the Lord, not ourselves and not our circumstances; it helps get us out of ourselves. It would probably be good to stop thinking about ourselves so much, and focus on Him so we can put things in perspective. Worship and praise inspire humility and reminds us of the truth of who God is.

Position yourselves to draw close to the Lord and know that getting to know God is the greatest thing in the universe we could ever do. Breathing is at the top of my list of important things to do, and knowing Jesus is more important than breathing.

Shifting gears a little, let me list some of the benefits of knowing God. When we Get To Know Jesus, He shares with us His attributes, like Hope, Peace, Wisdom, Courage, Strength…. and there are some other more subtle benefits like rhyme and rhythm in the ebb and flow of our work-a-day world, or diligence, endurance, persistence, humor, perception, intimacy, and joy.  In our getting to know the Lord He shares with us His compassion and privilege, grace and reason, His creativity and righteousness, His sanctification and companionship. Those are just a few of the benefits of knowing God, and over time, i have compiled quite a list.

And why would anyone want to know the King of the Universe? To know Him is to love Him, and if anyone has ever met Him they are permanently imprinted by His goodness and grace…. they will never be the same, in Jesus Name.

Maybe some of us feel we are having a difficult time Getting to Know Him….here’s some very simple suggestions:

Don’t rush your time with God. There are things He’d like to say to you and, honestly, it’s difficult to talk to someone when they are busy talking or they don’t have time to listen. Slow down! Take the time to sit with Him. If we’re not willing to sit with Him a while, why should He share anymore than He does? i think we’ve all suffered a relationship of two where the other person only wanted something from us, and the moment we ceased giving what they wanted, they were off to the next thing.

Do you feel you’ve gotten in a rut and don’t feel you’re connecting? Try looking at different ways to spend your time with Him: read a different translation, move to a different spot, maybe ignore your reading plan! and let the Holy Spirit lead you. How about try a different time or place, maybe add a devotional – do whatever it takes …. how about just being honest and telling the Lord you feel like you’re in a rut in your relationship with Him and ask Him to help you out of it. Being honest and transparent with the Lord goes a really, really long way to knowing Him better.

Another way distance grows between ourselves and Jesus is by our not sharing what God is teaching us. When we don’t share with others what God is doing, it can discourage us and maybe we stumble into what i call, the doldrums of boredom – find some friends to share with from time to time. Let His testimony out of your mouth.

And of course, none of those suggestions really cut the mustard when we are in a crisis of faith and it is a season of literally just holding on, believing God will change things shortly. You know, we all love a prophetic word of encouragement, and sometimes, sometimes…. i think the Lord gives someone a word for us because the world as we know it is about to spin under our feet and, in His mercy, God is giving us something to grip to until our world is repositioned for a new season.

It is a new season. If you will ask Him, He will tell you. If we will draw close to Him, He will draw close you us, and that’s right out of James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

Jesus loves you and has been waiting your entire life to be close to the object of His affection, you and i. Getting to know the Lord is the best thing anyone could do. Really really. Think about it

What do we mean by saying, “Knowing Christ”? Faith, Bible reading, doing right, loving others are all a means to an end, but in the end …. knowing Jesus is the prize. When we say, “I know you”, is that figuratively, literally, euphemistically, or inferentially – the act of passing information around? When i say i know the Lord, it means i have a good idea of what makes Him tick, and what His preferences are. Knowing God means we are more than just aquainted, more than just passing conversationalists. It means we know His joys, His sorrows, what makes Him happy or angry….we know His tendencies, His hopes and dreams.

This has been Outposts, brought to you semi-live from the late evening, cascading banks of the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees lean gently over the rivers edge, and every evening is oh so pleasant. i’m Social Porter and this production has been brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, Area 22 Guitars, Gladys Ward at Select Foods, Bobby Whitmire, Kevin, Perry, and Tommy of the Mebane Freedom League, White Knuckle Studios, and Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.

i hope i’ve not posed too many questions….but i do want you’all to know the questions are posed to encourage us to think our facade of skin, 2-3” below the surface of our presentation face. Do you know what i’m saying?

Hosea 6:3 “So Let us know, let us press on to know the LORD; his going forth is as certain as the dawn; he will come to us like the rain, like the spring rains that water the earth.”

Be blessed this week, pray for your neighbor, get involved somewhere, and be a friend to someone. Till we meet again, amen.

Juegos de Excesiva Confianza

Si hay algo que configura juegos retorcidos, es el juego Overconfidence (excesiva confianza).  Me parece interesante que la confianza y la arrogancia a menudo se ven muy similares, excepto que el exceso de confianza es bastante evidente y cuenta otra historia…. Ahora hay un problema.

Había un joven que se había jactado ante sus compañeros de cómo podía saltar a un tren en movimiento, agarrar y encontrar su equilibrio, al igual que en las películas. Un día sus amigos le apostaron que no podía hacerlo como él les había dicho. Mientras observaban, con todo exceso de confianza y jactancia, saltó sobre la escalera del tren en movimiento entre dos vagones, tal como dijo que podía … Pero esta vez, mientras se balanceaba sobre el marco entre los dos autos, su pie se deslizó entre el acoplamiento, a la derecha, exactamente como un automóvil empujó hacia adelante, cerrando la brecha. Perdió la mitad de su pie ese día, todo debido a su exceso de confianza y fanfarronear.

Cuando era niño, recuerdo estar parado en un lote abierto y tomar un bate de béisbol para golpear piedras. Me imagino siendo un jugador de pelota muy conocido en el equipo de los Tigres de Detroit de 1960. En mi imaginación  siempre era un bateador de jonrones.  ¿No lo somos todos?  Quiero decir,  no creo que ningún niño pequeño golpee rocas con un bate y se imagine a sí mismo solo golpeando para ser atrapado por algún jardinero ágil, o siempre ponchando.  No, apostaría a que todos los niños pequeños siempre sueñan con ser ese bateador de jonrones.

No hay nada de malo en imaginar a quién puedes parecerte. Todos nosotros operamos con imágenes en nuestras mentes, proporcionan energía poderosa para lograr lo que queremos hacer o ser. El problema viene cuando distorsionamos quiénes creemos que somos, usando imágenes para reflejar algo que la confianza nunca pretendió ser, y eso es: exceso de confianza.

Es increíble lo que una persona hará para proteger sus imágenes demasiado confiadas. La  persona demasiado confiada renuncia a cualquier cosa que amenace su autorretrato mental. En verdad, el exceso de confianza oculta su miedo al fracaso no por el fracaso en si mismo, ¡sino porque el fracaso los expone como no diferentes a cualquier otra persona!  Para otros, entre muchas otras razones, el mismo miedo al fracaso y  la exposición aparece como  una confirmación negativa adicional de quiénes creen que son, o que alguien les dijo que eran en sus vidas. En un esfuerzo por compensar su autoimagen negativa, corrigen demasiado, volviéndose demasiado confiados.

Nuestra fe en el Señor debe ser lo suficientemente fuerte como para que podamos estar solos cuando lo necesitemos, sin ser hiperespirituales o demasiado confiados. No me malinterpretes aquí, es genial tener compañeros cristianos que puedan orar contigo y apoyarte. Pero hay muchas veces en que los compañeros cristianos y tal vez incluso tu familia no estarán contigo. Pueden distanciarse de ti debido a tus convicciones. Pueden criticarte por ser demasiado obsceno con tu fe, excepto que debe haber un equilibrio necesario entre ser confiado y arrogante.

Antes de que mi hija conociera a Jesucristo, sus héroes que admiraba eran Baby Face Nelson, Al Capone y Pretty Boy Floyd, criminales, y mira si alguien lo desafió.

Aquí hay una declaración pegajosa: el exceso de confianza es el ejemplo de los problemas de derechos. Todos los juegos retorcidos se basan en esta imagen fundamental de ser diferente y mejor que nadie.  Ahora bien, ¿qué peligroso y arrogante crees que es?

Un anuncio de Canon con Andre Agassi solía decir Image Is Everything, lo que significa que tu aspecto es más importante que cualquier otra cosa. ¿Es posible buscar la excelencia hasta nuestro último aliento y aún así no vivir de una imagen distorsionada que realmente espera más de los demás de lo que estamos comprometidos a entregarnos a nosotros mismos? ¡Sí!  ¿Entendiste eso? … espera más de los demás, de lo que estamos comprometidos  a permitirnos a  nosotros mismos.

Yo era un observador en una conversación entre dos hombres donde un hombre desafió a un creyente de larga data con respecto a su comportamiento, que honestamente, recientemente había estado bastante al borde del bien y el mal. Al ser desafiado, el segundo compañero respondió: “Mira, soy salvo, estoy bautizado, estoy instruido, soy maduro y no vengo atrás sin regalos. He visto muchas cosas en mi vida espiritual. Soy libre y estoy  completamente seguro de que puedo ir y hacer todas estas cosas que has mencionado, y  no van a tener ningún efecto en mí, estoy demasiado avanzado para quedar atrapado. No estoy preocupado”. Me sorprendió el exceso de confianza y  me alegré  de ser solo un observador.  Sonreí y lo dejé donde estaba. Curiosamente, el Señor usó sus palabras para confrontar mis propias actitudes similares. Seamos claros, Él me habló de mí, no de él.

Jesús nos enseñó acerca de lo común. Dejó la gloria del cielo y se hizo carne, como nosotros. Se hizo un siervo y no se dio por vencido cuando las cosas se pusieron difíciles, como en la cruz.

Cuidémonos de no caer en una zanja aquí, podemos perseguir la excelencia. Recuerda que todos estamos hechos de la misma materia. Podemos pedir ayuda cuando la necesitamos y mantenernos fuera de cualquier aislamiento autoimpuesto o mundo de fantasía que no tiene responsabilidad por las imágenes de lo que creemos que somos. Y como Jesús, podemos elegir servir a los demás por amor.  He reflexionado: ¿Cómo puede alguien vivir demasiado confiado cuando conocemos a  Jesús?  Eso es como codearse con Dios y alejarse sin sabiduría ni entendimiento, simplemente no veo cómo se puede hacer.

Gracias por escuchar, soy Social Porter para el Ministerio Viviendo en Su Nombre.

Traducción por Alfredo Magni Sozzi

Guardado

          ¿Salvado, pero salvado de quién o qué?

Después de orar, el hombre declaró: “¡He sido salvo!” Todos aplaudieron y vitorearon en medio de animadores al hombre sobre su nueva vida en Cristo.

¿Salvado de qué? ¿Es más que ser liberado de los malos en la tierra o de los malos en el infierno? Ser salvo de ellos no es poca cosa en sí misma, pero ¿quiere decir Dios algo más grande que eso? Creo que cuando decimos que somos “salvos” tenemos una comprensión parcial  de eso.

El Señor quiere que volvamos a entender Su corazón, reimaginemos el Cielo, volvamos a captar Sus palabras, Sus significados y las ramificaciones de las palabras que usamos en nuestro “diálogo sobre nuestras conversaciones con Dios” (teología). Goteamos las palabras de Dios como sal en nuestra comida, sin entender realmente lo que nuestras bocas están diciendo (o no diciendo). Cada vez es más evidente que hay una gran división entre lo que este mundo piensa y lo que son las preferencias y normas de Dios.

Estoy muy contento de decir que es más que solo ser liberado de los malos en la tierra o de los malos en el infierno.  Es más que simplemente ser liberado de cosas realmente terribles que nos cazan en la oscuridad.  Es un cambio literal de líneas de sangre. La tierra y mis padres biológicos no son mis parientes, aparte de que mi carne se relaciona con ellos, y mal en eso. Cambié las líneas de sangre y el Hijo de Dios es mi herencia y línea de sangre ahora. La maldad de carácter (iniquidad) y el pecado han causado que   todas las cosas se vuelvan in-animadas de Dios, nuestra fuente misma de vida, y eso incluye estar alienados unos  de otros también, desde el nacimiento, y es la causa raíz detrás de la decadencia del universo. Las rocas se convierten en guijarros y luego en tierra, el agua comienza como fresca y se estanca, la carne viva disminuye a carne no viva, etc, etc, todo disminuye.

Soy de la tierra. Tengo ojos de tierra, orejas de tierra, boca de tierra, tierra

sabores, toque de tierra y emociones de tierra. Estoy limitado a ver solo al horizonte. Mi boca de carne solo puede hablar un sonido que no tiene suficiente impulso para llegar muy lejos. Todo en mí está orientado a la tierra debido al pecado. Cuando Adán y Eva apretaron el gatillo en la liberación cósmica del pecado en el universo, la muerte y la mortandad se convirtieron en algo real para todos nosotros y para todo lo demás. Morimos, los árboles mueren, las cosas se pudren, hay descomposición, el sonido se extingue, la esperanza se desvanece, la satisfacción se desvanece dentro y fuera, hay sonidos y colores que  ya no vemos ni escuchamos, sabores que ya no están en un espectro de frecuencia que reconocemos…. Todo del pecado, todo lo que nos rodea, como perteneciente a la carne, está amortiguado…  en el estado actual sin Dios del universo, estamos inclinados a declinar.

Nuestra carne tiene un destino del que no puede escapar…  decadencia y muerte. Pero, gracias a Jesús, nuestros espíritus pueden cosechar una cosecha diferente a través de Jesucristo.       En el cielo no habrá árboles muertos, ni agua estancada, ni podredumbre nada, ni flores que se desvanezcan, ni tristeza, ni odio, ni esperanzas que se desvanezcan, ni enfermedades terminales. La muerte no tiene cabida allí. Si tomamos la muerte, como un todo, FUERA de la imagen, ¿qué nos queda? La muerte llega más allá de las cosas de la tierra que declinan a un estado de polvo subatómico. El pecado y la muerte influyen en todo el cosmos o el mundo. Incluso influye en la actitud del “mundo”, que dice que es una entidad autoexistente, su propia madre y padre, su propio principio y fin, y no tiene necesidad de nadie más. La visión limitada se debe al pecado y la muerte. Asumimos que porque respiramos estamos vivos, pero eso no es cierto según Dios.

Estamos animados (vivificados) solo por Cristo, y sin Cristo somos inanimados, seres terrestres, hechos de la suciedad y el cosmos, sin idea de por qué necesitamos ser diferentes, a menos que Dios intervenga, acercándose a nosotros para que podamos ser animados nuevamente. Cuanto más se acerca a todas las cosas, más se vuelven todas las cosas como Él. Sólo en Cristo hay sabiduría, conocimiento y entendimiento, y cualquier cosa o persona que no esté conectada a Él por la Sangre de Cristo, no participa de esas cosas, a menos que Dios se la dé … es por eso que Dios da sabiduría generosamente a aquellos que piden. Si Él no lo hiciera, nosotros también seríamos oscuridad, vacíos, y sin perspicacia o entendimiento, incapaces de siquiera pensar en respirar para salvar nuestras propias vidas.  ¡Pero! ¡Ahora!, nosotros que creemos en Cristo, somos “salvos”, y es MÁS que solo salvados de los malos.

“Salvado” y “Salvación” han sido groseramente subestimados, diluidos hasta casi perder el concepto. Como “arrepentirse”… se ha diluido para significar “cambia de opinión”, pero en hebreo “arrepentirse” es mucho más grande. Exactamente significa, “Ven a casa”, lo que tiene más sentido considerando que el hombre se fue de casa debido al pecado, y ha sido el esfuerzo de Dios para traernos a casa, no solo cambiar de opinión.  Recuerda el cambio sin transformación simplemente no es suficiente.

Romanos 10:9 »Si confiesas con tu boca al Señor Jesús y crees en tu corazón que Dios lo ha resucitado de entre los muertos, serás salvo. Porque con el corazón se cree para justicia, y con la boca se confiesa para salvación. Porque la Escritura dice: “El que cree en Él no será avergonzado”.  ¿Qué te parece?

Gracias por escuchar, soy Social Porter para el Ministerio Viviendo en Su Nombre.

Traducción por Alfredo Magni Sozzi

Mercy: Beyond The Vanishing Point

Ephesians 2:1-5 “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.”

God, YHWH, who is rich in mercy is the King of the Universe. What an amazing heart God has toward us, and i mean not just those who believe on His name, but all people. Because the Lord is merciful, Matthew 5:45, “… He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Friends, for those who know Jesus, rest assured there is a Divine Spark glowing within you, and you are part of the magnificence of God. Yet, let me encourage you, don’t become preoccupied with yourself. If all you have in the room of your mind is mirrors, you will only be aware of yourself and your own needs. Take this suggestion seriously, replace some of those mirrors with windows so you can discover the world outside yourself and the needs of others.

Speaking of the needs of others, this evening’s topic is about the “Power of Mercy”. Mercy, specifically, the mercy of God – invented by God, exercised by God, who is the soul owner of righteous mercy in the universe … mercy, it is one of my prized possessions.

 Genesis 19:19 “Indeed now, your servant has found grace in your sight, and you have increased your kindness which you have shown me by saving my life;.” Interestingly, in some translations, the Hebrew word for mercy was translated as kindness and i take exception to calling a specific thing by another name. Gosh, let’s just call it what it is. Kindness is a subset of mercy and it probably should have been mercy. Kindness and compassion are derivatives of mercy, and the quality of compassion is what we would call being merciful. Indeed, in the Old Testament, there is another word used for “mercy”, but in this case, today, “hesed” is the focus of God’s character which we want to appropriate for ourselves. When scripture says, typically, that the Lord is compassionate and gracious, those two are derivatives of the word “merciful”. To say “the Lords mercy endures forever” is to say He is kind and compassionate beyond the vanishing point. The mercy of the Lord spans our lives from the beginning to the end. Every mountain and valley, every river and sea, every man, woman and child breaths and live within the amazing mercy of God.

Abraham was the first in scripture to mention the amazing power of the mercy of God. We badly need to understand that the idea of God’s mercy is far more than just a Webster’s Dictionary blurb. True, mercy is the withholding of judgment, but it is so SO much more. It is God’s expression of pity towards us as one who has love for an unborn child. His idea of mercy includes redemption from trouble and enemies. To say “God’s mercy” includes preservation of life from death, and is the foundational action for the redemption of sin. Did you hear that? God’s mercy is the action of His compassion and kindness. Again, literally, the Hebrew word for “mercy” means “God’s kindness and compassion beyond the vanishing point.” How far away is your vanishing point? Believe me, in His mercy, the Lord stands on your horizon and occupies space at your vanishing point. Like the rising sun, the glow of His mercy lights up all the earth, from river to rim.

Jesus said in Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…” The yoke of this world without God is one of turmoil, grief and suffering, with grief as the default setting for the endpoint of life without Christ. In light of that then, what is His “yoke” that we should take it upon ourselves? i suppose it would be good to understand that a “yoke” is a connection between two things so that they move and work together, and if we take upon ourselves HIS yoke, we will be yoked with God, working and moving together, and in that picture we understand The Lord calls for us to come participate with Him in what He’s doing. His easy and gentle yoke is composed of, here it is: mercy, compassion, kindness, and grace, and has the sum value of love. That is so excellent i’m going to say it again so put your ears on: the yoke Jesus spoke of in Matthew 11:29 is composed of mercy, compassion, kindness, and grace, and has the sum value of love. In other words, when we sum up all righteous mercy, compassion, kindness, and grace, it all adds up to Love.

Grace is sister to Mercy, and where mercy is, grace is close by. Within the Hebrew word for mercy is the word grace … the Lord has given me some words to portray the idea of grace within mercy – it goes like this: Grace under the umbrella of mercy is “Compassion and kindness beyond the vanishing point, which crowns us with the Sword of the Spirit for life and new beginnings.”  Yea! Now that’s a good definition, at least i think so. i can literally “see” it in my mind.

i love the way the words “mercy” and “grace” sound and feel in my mouth, sort of like tasting something delicious and right. i want to say it again and again until my mind hears what my heart is saying, “mercy is God’s divine compassion and kindness beyond the vanishing point, like the light from Heaven, the blood of the Lamb, applied to the door posts of our heart for new beginnings.” Yea man, that’s what i’m talkin’ about!

Abraham was not content to simply receive God’s compassion and kindness, he took it up a notch becoming the human embodiment of God’s infinite kindness. Through God’s love and kindness Abraham inspired others to follow after the Lord. i find the mercy of God an inspiration. From studying the life of Abraham, and ultimately Jesus, we easily see that man’s humanity reaches it’s zenith in his imitation of the Ways of God, and … within the store house of mercy, is a key component – truth. The opposite of all that, when we imitate anyone or anything other than the Lord, is rock bottom at the lowest ebb possible, with the key component as lies, distrust, suspicion, and corruption.

If we want to live in a culture of honor then truth and honesty are keys we must own and prefer, even to our own hurt. Truth decides when to utilize kindness, when to utilize justice, and when to temper one with the other. When kindness and justice are blended together in proper measure, the result … is Truth. Psalm 25:10 “All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.”

The Lord in His wisdom has tied mercy to grace, mercy to truth, and mercy to justice. He is absolutely brilliant! But of course, He is God you know.  The word “systemic” refers to something that is spread throughout, it is not only something you know, but it is system-wide, affecting your entire person. i believe eventually, although mercy starts in our hearts as systemic, eventually it is even intrinsic, as in it is part of our being and becomes part of our nature. Without a systemic love of mercy, honesty, truth, and grace, when those four are lacking in us, we become the people of a multiplicity of vision, meaning we have moved from vision, the singleness of eye, to di-vision, people divided in our hearts. Amazingly though, God has mercy for us and continues to pursue us, regardless of ourselves. We see ourselves in a judicial sense as being right and wrong, but i’m firm the Lord sees us more as near and far from Him. On a side note, i found it interesting that the Lord comforts us, but there is nothing in all scripture implying we will be comfortable, as in relaxed and at ease. As though that’s not enough, i believe most of us hold that we can’t function unless we are comfortable, and that’s a long way from the truth.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” God’s mercy runs from the top to the bottom of His heart, there’s a continual giving nature revealed in that scripture. Mercy is extended to us as comfort in a manner such that we can then use it to comfort others. The focus of mercy is focused outward and isn’t only for ourselves.

The beautiful fabric of our God-clothing is woven with the threads of mercy, and when we extend mercy to others as it has been extend to us, it looks like the action of grace and benefits for other people, it looks like kindness to the needy, and makes us beautiful inside and out … which is why when Jesus lives in your heart, as He is beautiful, we are beautiful, and as He is holy, we are holy also. His mercy is radiant and enduring. His yoke of mercy, compassion, kindness, and grace is only difficult when i’ve got a heart full of don’t want to.

Mercy is linked to all His attributes, therefore it should be linked similarly in every part of our character also. Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” That is God’s expectation of us.

Luke 6:35-36, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Jesus commanded us to be merciful as He is merciful, with compassion and kindness running in our lives like a clear river because it’s just the way we are, not a rule to keep but someone to be. Do you get it? Loyalty is intrinsic to mercy, they are part of the whole. If someone says that loyalty, which is part of “hesed”, or what we call “mercy” in English, is more important than kindness, or compassion, or grace, then we’ve as good as said the first finger is more important than the ear. The five attributes, mercy, kindness, compassion, loyalty, and grace function as a hand, acting together as one unit, and repetitively throughout scripture, the Lord ties the five together. Mercy is more than loyalty.

Saul had died in defeat. The care of Saul’s body seems clearly to have been a free act of kindness. It is partly where the early church gathered the idea that burying the dead was a mercy and seen as one of the seven virtues.

Also. Laban’s willingness to send Rebekah to Isaac was not from any covenant obligation. It was a kindness as part of mercy to a long-lost relative. He could easily have said no. i hold that the beautiful story of Ruth is tarnished if we think Ruth’s action as motivated by some contractual obligations and loyalty alone. The Lord had no obligation to get the widows new husbands in Moab in Ruth1:8-9. Ruth went with Naomi from pure love. Boaz recognized her action as goodness in Ruth 2:11-12 and calls it “ḥesed”, what we call mercy, and in Ruth 3:10 the translators called it “kindness”.

When the Lord is specific, it is something He really, really wants us to get, like Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Jesus spoke specifically that we should possess and practice mercy.

In Ephesians 2:4, mercy is linked with grace which is linked to love – “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.”

Proverbs 14:21-22 refers to making mercy an integral part of your life with wisdom.

The Lord linked mercy to covenant in Nehemiah 1:5 where the writer wrote, “O great and awesome God, you who keep covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments.” The word “and” means “in addition to”.

Mercy is part of forgiveness, starting way back in Numbers 14:18, where God linked longsuffering, and forgiveness with mercy.

On a different note, the unmerciful, shall not receive mercy. When Jesus addressed the Pharisee’s, again, He was very pointed. In Matthew 23:23-24, Jesus said, very plainly, that the Pharisee’s tithed, not money, but things, and he rebuked them for making justice, mercy, and faithfulness something small, they made overly large the paying of tithes and made small justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Jesus was extremely specific! In verse 24 He called them “Gnat swallowers”. Do you know any “gnat swallowers”?

43 times in the O.T. it is specifically written that God’s mercy endures forever. Considering He mentions that His mercy endures forever, do you believe the Lord thinks it is important that we understand the power of mercy, compassion and kindness which is beyond the horizon, past the vanishing point? Isn’t it obvious to us that the Lord’s heart is to be good to us? Why do we have such a hard time letting God be good to us, after all, His mercy endures forever?

i believe one of the most important people to practice mercy on, is … ourselves. We are so mean and stringent with ourselves it is unreal. My religious teaching from years ago has convinced me that i’m not hardly worthy of love or mercy, and it’s so not true. That’s not what God said. Is the Bible true or not? If it is, we need to tuck deep in our pockets God’s perspective of how He sees us and leave our self-loathing behind.

Now about that part concerning being merciful to ourselves … i don’t mean not being mindful of cruelty, lack of love, lying, generally living a life which wounds our conscience, or simply not being responsible for our actions. Anyone who thinks they don’t have to be responsible for themselves and their actions because Jesus quote/unquote “Dealt with all that at Calvary” really doesn’t understand the Heart of God. As long as there’s a devil and we wear flesh, it’s going to be a fight. What i do mean, for example, is we need to quit calling ourselves names in the mirror. Stop cursing yourself, stop loathing your neighbor as you loath yourself. If you make a mistake, let it go and get over it. If you sin, repent, for we have an advocate with the Father. The devil has been trying to get you to hate God and yourself all your life, and i believe it’s high time to cut it out. God has mercy on us, so be merciful as God is merciful; let us be compassionate children of our compassionate father and make mercy a central family value. Don’t just ask for mercy, Show mercy! I would like to suggest today that mercy can’t be regulated. Mercy is wild. Mercy can’t be contained. Mercy cannot be measured. Mercy cannot be sliced in small pieces and offered according to our agenda. Whether or not we have committed one crime or 1 million crimes, God’s mercy pardons us if we seek it.

Mercy offers a way out when the LAW condemns us. When the law cannot protect you, your only hope is mercy. When lawyers can’t take up your case, when judges are ready to give the verdict, you desperately need mercy.

Oh, and before you go doing the law, wherewith i guarantee you’ll see yourself as a failure, remember Romans 7:6 which says we have been delivered from the law. In fact, when the Hebrews made the ark of the covenant, they put the law inside and then covered it with … that’s right, the Lord covered the law with the mercy seat.

In 1 Samuel 6:19 seventy men died because they looked into the ark, meaning that they had to remove the mercy seat to look inside. Why would they have died for looking inside the ark? The law was in the ark, and to look upon the law without the covering of mercy, it is sure death. For those out there who think they want to go back to do the law of the Old Testament, the law has no mercy or grace, and going back to do the law with no mercy is death. We can’t live with one foot in the law and the other foot in grace. Let us prefer the mercy of God through Christ. The power of mercy from God as it is extended towards mankind is life changing for us all. If the Lord did not extend mercy to the entire universe in general, as a whole, there would be no universe, and there would be no us. And that’s a good place to say, Think about it.

Grace is brother to Mercy, and where mercy is, grace is close by. God’s mercy is  “Loyalty, Compassion and kindness beyond the vanishing point, which crowns us with the Sword of the Spirit for life and new beginnings,” and grace is like “the light from Heaven, the blood of the Lamb, applied to the door posts of our heart for new beginnings.”

Your mercy is great unto the heavens” Psalm 57:10.

For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His compassion and kindness beyond the vanishing point for them that fear Him” (Psalm 103:11). None can measure God’s mercy, it is beyond the vanishing point.

We are designated “vessels of mercy” in Rom. 9:23.

In Ephesians 2:4,5 It is mercy that made us alive when we were dead in sins.

It is mercy that saves us in Titus 3:5.

It is His abundant mercy which brings us into an eternal inheritance in 1 Peter 1:3.

There simply isn’t enough time or space to tell of the Lord’s preserving, sustaining, pardoning, life supplying mercy. Truly, His mercy, compassion and kindness is beyond the vanishing point.

i’m Social Porter for Living In His Name Ministries and this has been Outposts.

Be kind and generous to a lost and dying world this week, practice mercy for yourself and others. Drive carefully and remember Jesus knows your name, and that’s a good thing. You are not forgotten! Amen!

Of Privilege and Pretense

Psalm 37:11 “But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.” Psalm 37:34 “Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land.” Inheritance from God is a privilege, not something we get because we demand it, nor can we manipulate favor out of God’s hand. Some seem to think more highly of themselves than they are in that they can declare blessing out of God’s hands, or prophecy prosperity out of His pockets making sure to get the words right like they’re speaking some magical incantation. i’ve heard people pray out loud and then insist everyone say “In Jesus Name” together while making a circular motion with their hands like their sealing a pact of some sort. i think that’s just crazy presumptuous, pretentiously assumptive, and arrogantly taking advantage of the privilege the Lord affords us to come to His throne. We can’t name it out of His hand, nor can we claim it from Him in order that we would “make” God give us what we want.

One of the laws of sound doctrine is we must take the entire Bible into account, cover to cover, not just select scriptures which make us look and sound good. Jesus said in John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.” John makes the same distinction in 1 John 3:10, saying “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are”. Sounds harsh maybe to some, but there is a difference that is important to point out the distinctions. i’m not creating the difference, God is. Those scriptures are being quoted because, within ourselves, we must draw a distinction of who belongs to God and who does not in order to see privilege as God extends it to us, and pretense as we have extended privilege to ourselves. Let me say that again, that is “privilege as God extends it to us, and pretense as we have extended privilege to ourselves.”

To those who have entered in to a relationship with God, there are amazing and wonderful privileges that come to us, and for those who have NOT entered into a relationship with God and have refused His gift, the only privilege hell will grant is the right to suffer…and that’s a privilege i, personally, do not want. Even at that, let it be known God gives wisdom and mercy, even to those who are not His. Matt5:45, “…for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

i’m Social Porter  and this is Outposts.

The topic is “Of Privilege And Pretense”. Inheritance is a privilege, not something we get because we demand from God, or practice to manipulate favor out of God’s hand. i’d like to briefly discuss privilege as God extends it to us, and pretense as we have extended privilege to ourselves.

Pretense. People seem to love, i say, love personal titles. We love qualifiers and titles which, hopefully, cause the world around us to highly esteem us and think we are worthy of being listened to – maybe even so we will believe we are worthy to be heard in our own ears. We need to hear God more than men. What if God asked you to lose your title and quit telling people your name? Would you still be willing to do what He called you to? Or would the need for the dirty water of men’s praise and being validated in the eyes of other people prevent you from continuing? Let us weigh that one well within our own hearts.

A minimum of 5 times, John simply refers to himself as the “one whom Jesus loved.” John never named his title, someone else did that. i figure he must have been really irritating for some religious people to talk to. i also think it would be safe to assume that he was the premiere apostle on earth and was the last man alive who knew and walked with Jesus, but yet you probably couldn’t get the guy to tell you his name much less his title. i can hear it now, “What’s your name?” “Doesn’t matter.” “Where are you from?” “Doesn’t matter.” “You’re the last apostle, how do you feel about that?” “It’s irrelevant.” “Well, what is relevant and what does matter?” (1John5:20) “That you know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And that you are in Him who is true– his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” 1 John 5:20 was what was important to him, not his entitlements or privilege among the brethren.

The titles we get for ourselves make us larger than we are. i figure only the world and religious people need a title.

i am amazed at the people who demand to be called “pastor”, “apostle”, or “bishop”, “teacher”, or “prophet”. They gladly name themselves. It’s almost as if the Lord did not say over them, “This is my beloved Son, hear Him”, so they say it over themselves. Is it not enough for those people that God has called them? Is it not enough for them to simply be who they are? Proverbs 27:2, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips.”

i recently heard of people giving themselves titles like, “panoramic prophet”, “all encompassing prophet”, “comprehensive teacher”, “master prophet”, “super-prophet”, “dread apostle”, or “super mystic”, and then there comes a guy trumping all those by naming himself, “Pastor to the prophets”. When will it end? This is absurd. Jesus, even Jesus the Son of God said of Himself in John 5:31, “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid.” Isn’t it enough that God has given us the privilege of exercising His gifts, which are supposed to be used to glorify Him and bring forth the Kingdom of God? His spiritual gifts are a privilege, not used in pretension to create a facade of greatness for ourselves.

When privilege becomes entitlement, when we assume we are more than we are because we “deserve” glory, then pretense is revealed and our God-given-privilege becomes an aberration. Do we think God owes us something and we deserve favor because we have “the right kind of history”?

 Pretentious people are folks who portray themselves as those with unwarranted, or exaggerated importance, worth, or stature. Pretense is when we extend privilege to ourselves, by ourselves and for ourselves, being in our own eyes more than we are. With pretention comes large egos, seeming narcissism, and a compulsion to be “right”, there is a need to be seen.

i believe we often operate in pretentious faith when we feel small, invalidated, and we need to be larger in our own eyes than we are. Romans 12:3, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

i’m not talking about entitlements like Social Security, which most of us have paid into and are entitled to the pensions of the plan; or Medicare and Medicaid which our taxes have supported and we are entitled to the benefit. Those type of entitlements were meant as a safety net for the needy, not as a prop.

To quote Ezra Bayda, “Perhaps the most basic belief underlying all of our feelings of entitlement, our ‘if onlies,’ and even our illusions, is the belief that life should please us, that life should be comfortable. All of our resistance to life is rooted in our wanting life to be pleasing, comfortable, and safe. When life doesn’t give us what we want — you know, the job that isn’t satisfying, the relationship that isn’t quite working, the body that ages and breaks down — we resist. Our resistance can manifest as anger, fear, or self-pity, and even depression … but whatever forms it takes, it blocks our ability to experience true contentment. We see our discomfort as the problem: yet it’s the belief that we can’t be happy if we’re uncomfortable that is much more of a problem than the discomfort itself.” Wow. Did you catch that? The belief that we can’t be happy if we’re uncomfortable, which is much more of a problem than the discomfort itself.

Often, in our nation, it seems only conquering heroes and title holders count, and it’s okay to do whatever it takes to advance our position. The church says, “Oh, that is the worldly way of living”, but i see the same pretentious behavior going on in my own people who are more than willing to get themselves a position and a title when God doesn’t move fast enough for them.

We tell ourselves that we deserve happiness and to always have things go our way. We often act like a bunch of spoiled little kids when we don’t get what we want. Many of us, when we were kids, expected our parents to chauffeur us around from one place to another. Were we thankful? No; we expected adults to meet our needs; were we were convinced they owed us special treatment? Absolutely, maybe not consciously, but the attitude was still there. And when they didn’t do what we wanted, we cried out demanding: “It’s not fair!”

My friends, God’s appointment will come around to us, but in His time, not ours. He will give us a position and a title if we’ll wait, but it will be on His time schedule and His terms, not ours. And finally, a quote from John Wimbur, founding member of the Vineyard Church, he once said, “Let me see first how the Holy Spirit is using you before we give you a badge defining your place in the Body of Christ.”

Many in Christianity act as if they deserve preferential treatment, like spoiled children demanding their rights of their parents. It isn’t that we have the privilege of preferential treatment by God as His people, but more that we demand our rights from God. For us, as the Body of Christ, to be so involved with ourselves and our agenda and entitlements that we let honesty, truth, and justice ebb away from us really does not speak well of us.

More than a few seem to operate under the pretense that they, themselves, have earned everything and success is entirely of their own making. Really? i believe we take God’s blessing of privilege and twist it into the pretense that we did it all by ourselves.

For me, i’m old enough to surely know one thing about entitlement and that is it doesn’t give up without a fight. On a side note, pretentious privilege and expectations seem to go hand in hand, and you know what is said about exaggerated expectations, that most of the time they are premeditated resentments. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with expectations. We live with it, and it’s part of having hope, but when we got twisted thinking which feeds our twisted expectations, we’re absolutely bound to be disappointed.

So fight we must. Where do we get the idea that we deserve benefits and favor because we have the “right kind of history”, as if God somehow owes us power, blessing, honor, wealth, or life with a lack of conflict? Don’t you know, we’ve all been at war, in some form or another, all our lives, so much, so long, we’ve never known anything but war, and for us to have a life without conflict would be a life in “perfect peace”, which even with the best of us, is an astounding rarity most of us have never known. As long as there’s a devil and we wear skin, it’s going to be a fight.

Shalom does mean peace but it does not mean a lack of conflict or violence. In John 16:33, Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Privilege. God gives us life through His Son Jesus. Life, real life, not life according to the world. It is an exclusive privilege afforded us by God.

Peace is a privilege from God, and we can’t get it because we have declared ourselves or set ourselves up on a podium. Galatians 1:3, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Wisdom is a privilege God gives to all who ask. James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

Faith is a privilege. It’s a something that is real and without it we can’t please God. Hebrews 11:6, “but without faith it is impossible to please God.” Is the faith in me something i drummed up? No. We can’t go to the store and buy faith. In order to drum it up i would have to have some ability to drum with, and i have no such thing in me. Faith is an exclusive privilege afforded us by the blood of Jesus.

Justification is a privilege. Romans 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Being holy because He is holy is a privilege not to be taken lightly.

Grace is a privilege – it isn’t something we demand from God or manipulate Him into giving. We can’t fast it out of His hand, demand it or declare it from His wealth, nor can we tithe enough or do good works do get some. The privilege of grace was not available under the law, but by Jesus Christ as it is written in John 1:17, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

Those are just a few things which are a privilege extended us exclusively by God.

One definition of privilege is “to be exempted”, and in our case and all who call on the Name of Jesus, we are exempted from the penalty and verdict of death, delivered from the law and corruption.

Salvation, Redemption and mercy are a privilege; We are afforded the privilege of reconciliation – which means God balanced our books; and probably the highest privilege is the Love of God which abides with us forever. Here’s one: being given a seat at the marriage supper of the Lamb, talking, eating, and laughing with God is an amazing privilege! God did not HAVE to give us those things, but because He loves us, He grants us the privilege of sharing in His Kingdom. i don’t ever want to take God’s extension of privilege for granted. Now this may seem odd to say but according to Heb12:5-8, part of the privilege of being part of God’s family is … being tested. i have read somewhere that, unlike the Egyptian’s perspective which said that the heart was weighed after death, the Lord continually evaluates and improves our hearts that in the end we may come forth as gold. It is a privilege to be tried in the refiner’s fire.

It is a privilege to live our lives in the loving kindness and favor of God. The Lord is the center and source of creativity in the universe, and it is a privilege and honor that He shares His resources with us, and shares His inheritance with us. It is an honor that i can’t hardly get my head around. i mean, can you imagine that, the King of the Universe, upon repentance He honors us who were dishonored by sin by making a way for us to come clean, be forgiven, and to come home with honor? He even shares His name with us! Friends, it is a privilege to be placed in leadership in the body of Christ, not so we can get wealthy, not so we can lord it over the sheep, but for the purpose of advancing the Kingdom of God. Not your denomination, not the number of titles you demand others recognize about you, but to advance the Kingdom of God.

Ultimately it is a privilege and eternal honor to know the unknowable. He was known to Martin Luther as “deus absconditus” (ˌdāy-oos-ˌäp-ˈskȯn’-di-ˌtoos\), deus revelatus” (ray-vay-lah’-toos) … Literally meaning, “the hidden God” and “the revealed God,” respectively. The phrases, originally used together by Martin Luther, speak of the paradoxical situation of a hidden God revealing himself and a revealed God hiding himself. For Luther, the unknowable God is revealed in Christ; yet in the cross of Christ, God’s true glory is hidden to human wisdom.

The Lord did not HAVE to reveal Himself to us, it was His good pleasure to grant us the privilege of meeting Him, and it should never, ever be taken that He owes us a ministry, a title, or a position with power and authority.

It isn’t that we have taken, but more that He has given. Psalm 116:12 “What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me?” Let us be glad and thankful we get the privilege of all His benefits and not stretch our privilege into presumption and pretense. Amen, and think about it.

 Privilege: When God gives us a place and a title, it is given with authority and with His endorsement. Know this – with God’s endorsement, we have the power and authority to do whatsoever He has given us to do. His calling and gifts are a privilege.

Pretense: When we make our own place and give ourselves titles … it is thin, self-exalting, self-important, self–authenticating, and self-validating … ultimately, it’s all about, me, me, me – where I go, what I see, how I feel, what I do, what I say, what I want … me, me, me, always controlling the narrative. Whether we are dictating what others are allowed to talk about, or depreciating ourselves in our conversations where we are the focus, it is still all about ourselves. That is pretentious. Is that really who we want to be as the people of God, or does it just sound like a continuation of pretentious worldly thinking?

i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts,

The idea is to go with God, not get what we want. It is a privilege to serve in the court of the Great King Jesus before all the host of Heaven. Be strong and courageous, take your dreams seriously, listen carefully for the Lord, it is life and peace for those who have ears to hear. Amen!