Thursday, September 22, 2011

God's Mercies

Scripture Verses that caught my attention today: Daniel 9:18-19 Incline your ear, O my God, and hear. Open your eyes and look at our desolation and the city that bears your name. We do not present our supplication before you on the ground of our righteousness, but on the ground of your great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, listen and act and do not delay! For your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people bear your name!”

Observation: I love the line “we do not present our supplication before you on the ground of our righteousness, but on the ground of your great mercies.”

Application: I suppose the question that comes to mind is this: “is there any other way to approach God?” I mean, is there ever a time that we can approach God on the ground of our rightness? Answer? No. Not even close. I think that’s one reason why human relationships are so easily strained. When we endeavor to try to ‘correct’ one another, it is often done from the assumption that one is right and one is wrong. But the one who is accused of the wrong can so easily see that not all is right with the accuser either. And if the accuser is blind to that fact, well, the relationship can break down because there is so little trust of authenticity.

With God, however, there is no false pretense. God is in the right and we are in the wrong. Yet following the example of Daniel, part of what is so very right about God is God’s mercy. It could be said, ‘in God’s mercy we trust.’ And that’s a good thing because, well, it’s the only hope we really have.

Prayer: Lord, thanks for the mercy that you so graciously grant. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today include: Daniel 9-10, Psalm 123, and Luke 5)

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