Tag Archives: self-examination

Great Mercy

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Daniel 9:18 “We do not present our supplications before you because of our righteous deeds, but because of your greatest mercies.”

No matter what I do or say.  No matter who I help or don’t. No matter what righteous deeds I might accomplish, or how much I give, or what wonderful words I write, or what glorious songs I sing.  No matter how much I devote my life to the Lord, and turn my desire to Him.  No matter how much I put iniquity behind me and walk according to His word and His plan. No matter how much I pray for my church, my elected officials, the missionaries abroad, or my family.  None of these things are a reason for me to expect an answer from the Lord.  The only reason there is that will ever bring an answer from God is His mercy.  His great mercy.  mercy that is far above my thought process.

Now, don’t get me wrong. All of the things listed above are good, and I should strive to fulfill each and every one.  I should do righteous deeds and think righteous thoughts.  I should think of things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy.  I should speak words that will minister grace to the hearer. I should pray without ceasing.  I should bear my brothers or sisters burden with them,  I should do good when I see that good needs to be done.  I should bring all my tithes into the storehouse. I should pray for and honor all those that are in authority over me, from my boss at work to the President of the United States.  I should put all my evil ways behind me.  I should walk in the liberty wherein Christ has set me free.  I should do these things.

But it is not these things that determine what His answer will be when I stand before Him.  he will always answer because of His mercy.  My deeds, thoughts, and actions will never be the reason He answers me.  His answer is based on what He did for me on that cross.  He was beaten and bruised, wounded and nailed to that tree.  He suffered more than I can possibly imagine.  I remember once, as a young boy of around 8, jumping out of my tree and having a nail go right  through my foot   All the way through.  I pulled my foot up and it came out,, and started bleeding.  My mom bandaged me up without a trip to the doctor, and it healed after a while   But it hurt – bad.   

But to be whipped with cat-o-nine tails laced with small stones would be much more than I could bear.  The small stones would rip the flesh open, over and over.  Then to have a crown of thorns pushed onto my scalp, digging into my head until blood started oozing out, would be the icing on the cake.  I would be ready to give up at that moment, never mind all that was still to come.  Carrying that cross uphill, in that weakened condition would be grueling. Then to have four nails, one in each foot and one in each hand, driven through my feet and hands, I cannot imagine.  And then to be lifted up on that cross, with those being the only  things that are holding me there, would be excruciating.   What Jesus went through is beyond my comprehension.  But even in that weakened, beaten condition, He cried out “Father forgive the, for they know not what they do.”  Great mercy, even on that cross.

I have done nothing compared to what He has done for me;.  I have given nothing compared to what he has given for me.  I have said, or written nothing compared to the words He has left in the Bible for me.  It is not, nor will it ever be, the things that come out of me that will bring me His answer.  It is His great mercy.  It is His great love. As the great song says:

“Mercy there was great and grace was free.

Pardon there was multiplied to me

There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary

Let us do those things we should do, and give what we should, and say what we should.  Let us do all we can to live righteous lives before a holy God.  But may we never think it is these things that will bring an answer to our prayers.  God answers prayers for all types of people, even unbelievers.  He answers prayers for sinners and saints, rich and poor, just and unjust.  It is never because of what we do, but because of mercy that He answers.  That is why we must wait as long as he deems necessary for the answer to our prayers.  He owes us nothing. He has already paid it all. Anything more He gives us is completely and strictly because of His mercy.  That fact will never change.

Do I Please God?

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In an average bull, there are 31.2 liters of blood.  A ram has 3.6 and a goat 3.15, a pigeon fr\om 16-30 ml.  I share this because we need to be well aware of what was going on with these offerings.  The blood was poured out at the altar, sprinkled seven times before the Lord, put on the horns of the altar for the sin offering.  I don’t want to even try and guess how many sin offerings were made each day, but with around 2 million people, it had to be quite a few.  Everyone makes mistakes.  One thing I never noticed before was the difference in which animal was offered.  A young bull for either the priest or the whole congregation as a sin offering, a male goat for a king who sinned, and a female goat for a common person. The trespass offering was a bit different in that this was. This was always a ram without blemish.  Restitution was part of the trespass offering as well.

I want you to consider what a bloody scene this was.  We don’t think about the amount of blood that was spilled, day in and day out, because of sin.  The priests were basically butchers, and blood flowed all the time around the altar.  Their garments were always being washed because of the blood that would spurt out.  Blood was applied to the horns of the altar.  The altar stayed burning continually, day and night, so a person could bring their offering to the Lord at any time they realized they had sinned.  How much wood did this require?  I often have thought of the wilderness as a desert place, but there must have been quite a supply of wood for the fire to continuously burn.  The scene must have been horrible, the fragrance like that of a cookout on the fourth of July.  No wonder God said it was a sweet smelling savor!

For the Israelites, this was the only way they could atone for the sins or trespasses they committed.  Every single time, they had to bring an offering.  As you consider this scene, the altar, the blood poured out, the blood soaked garments, the burning wood, and all the work that went into these many sacrifices each day, doesn’t it make you cry with joy!  If we have no other reason to be joyful, we should rejoice in the fact that Jesus spilled His blood once for all mankind, for all our sins, for all our guilt and shame.  A Christian really should never be downhearted or lose their joy.  The joy of the Lord is based on His sacrifice, not our feelings.  It wells up deep down inside of us because we know that we don’t have to spill any blood to relieve our sin.  We just have to come to Jesus.  One sacrifice for all of time.  One spilling of blood for all my sins.

At the same time, we must remember that it is not the blood of bulls and of goats that pleases God, even in these old days.  It only appeased their sin.  God does not delight in burnt offerings because it means that they had sinned in the first place, and it had to be brought. What pleased God in the whole process was a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:16-17).  Sin is a matter of the heart, and if our heart is not broken because of our sin, our offering means nothing to God.  We can cry out to Jesus for forgiveness, and He will forgive us (as long as we forgive our brother), but if our heart is not broken  over our sin, God is not pleased.  We have a church today whose people rarely experience a broken heart over their sin.  They enjoy the benefit and blessing of Christ’s blood, but have not brought themselves to the place of brokenness before God that pleases Him. They are proud and arrogant before God,. demanding Him to answer their prayers.  There is nothing broken about their attitude toward God. This leaves them in a state of continually offering His blood by asking His forgiveness, but never coming to a place where they please God!

In conclusion, I must ask myself this question: “Do I please God?”  Is my heart broken over my sin, or do I just ask forgiveness and go my way? My desire is to be pleasing to God!  Not that I am pleased with Him,. but that He is pleased with me.  This is not something I can just confess is true.  It takes a broken and contrite heart to please God, not an arrogant profession of faith.  May we always yield our hearts to Him.  May we be as broken vessels, ready for Him to put the pieces back together and fill us up.  This is what He delights in!