God's Wrath and Mercy

I receieved the following letter from a friend of mine who is an elder at the church that I attend. I thought that I would share it with you. May we always remember our postition before God. May we always remember that, as Isaiah wrote, compared to God, we are less than nothing. And as the illustration that I used this past Sunday evening, we are in a love embrace with Hitler when comparing our holiness and greatness to His. Certainly we are no holier than Isaiah who cried out "Woe to me!" when he came face to face with the God's holiness.


Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,


Even as I write the above greeting, I am reminded that to be "in the Lord" makes all the difference for us. Two of my readings this morning showed such a contrast between the Lord's people and those who are outside Him.In Jeremiah 6, God is revealing to the prophet the destruction that is about to come upon Judah because of her wickedness and turning away from God. He says they were given to covetousness, to dealing falsely, and not even being ashamed when they committed abomination. They had rejected His law and not shown mercy on others. Therefore, their burnt offerings and their sacrifices were not acceptable to Him and He describes them as rejected silver from a refiner and says, "the Lord has rejected them".Those characteristics above could be used to describe us at times, could they not?The difference is being "in the Lord".






Psalm 145 presented such a contrast to me as I read of the mercy of the Lord on those who are His. The psalmist says the Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down. He describes the Lord as righteous and gracious instead of the one who brings destruction and judgment. He says that the Lord is near to all who call upon Him in truth and that He will hear their call and save them. He preserves all who love Him. No wonder the psalmist spends so much time in the psalm praising the Lord and blessing Him!There will be no destruction, despite our sin, for those who know the Lord and call upon Him. He has made all the difference.




May we praise Him and bless Him today,Dale--Elder at Redeemer Church