My apologies that I haven’t posted for a while. It’s been a busy month.
This post should have been done over the Easter Week, when we celebrate Jesus Christ’s death, and especially, His resurrection.

In John Chapter 11, Jesus’ good friend Lazarus had died and was rotting in the grave for the past 4 days. Strangely, Jesus hadn’t immediately responded to the call for help when his friend was sick.
Jesus was actually making an extremely important point.

When his sister, Martha came to Jesus, grieving, she virtually said: “Lord, why didn’t you get here sooner? He’s dead because you delayed in coming!”
But Jesus merely said: “Your brother will rise from the dead.”
Her reply: “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

But Martha misunderstood what He was really saying.
She was a devout Jewish woman who was quite orthodox in her beliefs.
Like many of us, she fell back on the familiar to explain the situation.
She thought that Jesus was saying: “Oh well! Take comfort in seeing your brother again in the sweet by-and-by-when-you-die.”

But Jesus said something really amazing, totally radical!
Jesus said … “I AM the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies.”
(John 11:25)

​Notice that Jesus didn’t say: “Let me tell you some interesting facts about resurrection and about the life.”
Nor did He say: “Follow Me, and I’ll teach you some good principles about the resurrection and the life.”

Resurrection is not some mindless process that clicks in as a robotic reaction to us believing in a certain theology by the time we die.
No, He said “I AM….”

It’s all about Him.
He has the power of life and death at His fingertips, and it’s one of the ways in which He expresses Himself to us as we get to know Him more and more.
In the same way, heaven is not merely being in a better place, it’s being with HIM.

In fact, it wasn’t a mechanical process for Jesus, either. He wept over it.
He was his friend after all, and he was moved by his sisters’ grief.

But above all, He demonstrated the Resurrection side of Him, by raising Lazarus from the dead.
But, more than that – He demonstrated it with His own resurrection a little later!

Yet many of the things that Jesus did were metaphors.
They represent principles and powerful spiritual dynamics that go deeper than we can see with natural eyes. His acts and miracles were merely the tip of the iceberg.
This act of raising Lazarus, His own resurrection and His claim to BE the Resurrection and the Life, is one of these spiritual dynamics Jesus wanted to explain and demonstrate.

We call it “Resurrection Life”.
To know Jesus is to experience this.
With a deepening and more intimate walk with Jesus, we can see this exciting dynamic affecting our whole lives. And it will go on into Eternity!

Jesus referred to Resurrection Life in different ways.
For instance, He made this comment in John 12:24.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”

It’s amazing if you think about it.
Especially as a kid, before I knew anything of agricultural practice.
A nice, plump grain of wheat could contribute to my next hamburger or cake – and the farmer put this one aside, just to throw into the ground??
But a few months later, it had sprouted into a beautiful and highly complex organism – far more spectacular than that simple, slightly wrinkled grain that it once was.
Furthermore, it eventually grew a whole bunch of wheat seeds.
I realized then that it’s worth sacrificing the hamburger after all.

It had such powerful potential packed away in such a tiny shell.

Our human body will do the same thing.
If we have that relationship to the Lord of Life, the Source of Life, and Who personifies Resurrection, death is only a small part of the process.

Certainly, there’s a bit of a painful wait for those who are still alive, but the resurrected Christ-follower will be…. Well, how can I describe them, the scriptures say we will be like Him – physically at least.
Use your own superlatives. I’ve run out of mine!

Yet even that is only part of the story.
​Resurrection Life reaches into everything we do.

More on that next time.

It's amazing how often we make choices based on how we react to certain situations.

Driving is a classic example.
It might go something like this:

1. Late for work. I jump in the car rather stressed since wife didn't rouse me in time when the alarm didn't go off, and daughter was in the shower when I should have been.
2. Nearly hit a passing car as I back out of the driveway at 60 k/h.
   Why does he honk at me like that? Doesn't he know I'm in a hurry?? Give me a break!
3. Nearly hit by a commuter backing out of his driveway at 60 k/h. I honk hard and glare at him in passing. Who on Earth taught him to drive?? Doesn't he know anything about road safety?
4. Sit chafing at the red light on the freeway ramp, only to get stuck in bumper2bumper snails-pace. When's this government going to update this over-stretched infra-structure as promised? Won't be voting for them in the next election!
5. A commuter crosses in front of me to get to the next turn off, I have to brake hard to avoid hitting him. I honk hard, lean out of the window and yell at him. Idiot drivers!
6. I nearly miss my turn-off and obliged to quickly cross a few lanes before I'm cut off. It wasn't my fault that a car was creeping up in that blind spot! My car wasn't designed with a left-side fish-eye mirror. He has no right to yell and honk like that! Whatever happened to road-courtesy and graciousness? Idiot drivers!

Of course, I'm not always like that. I like to think I'm a nice guy, except for the times when I have to be a bit nasty aggressive assertive just to survive. :/

Sound familiar? I wonder if my driving would improve if I put myself in the other driver’s shoes?
“But nah! Haven’t got time for that when I’m stressed!”

Another common example:
A girl is disappointed in love for the second or third time.
She vows: “I’ll never fall in love again! All men are the same!”

A lot of sad songs have been written using those words.
Often she gets over it and falls in love again with, hopefully, a dependable man.
​The sad part is when people don’t change their opinion of the other sex or their life choices because of this kind of disappointment. It’s called harbouring bitterness.

Many sadder, even tragic examples can be drawn from everyday life:

• A father hits his child in anger because he didn’t like the way he/she spoke back at him
• A child hates his/her father because of cases of child abuse.
  “I’ll never forgive him!”
  (Please note: I’m neither condoning child abuse or trivializing the pain the victim has suffered.)
• A boy gets ridiculed and bullied at school because he is smaller or different in some way from the “cool kids”. He withdraws into himself.
  There have been some extreme cases when they have tried self-harm, even suicide.

….to name a few.

This is why we need to learn to get out of the reactive way of living, before it becomes a monkey on our back i.e become bitter, unforgiving, hard, cynical or emotionally crippled in some way.

A reaction is normal, but we can still make choices that can lift us above the situation, instead of becoming enslaved to it.
I know. I’ve tried both approaches.
I’m not saying I’ve thoroughly learned my lesson, because I still occasionally react, rather than stepping back and choosing to be pro-active about it.
But when I have done the latter, it’s been so liberating for me, and sown a lot of interesting seed in the life of the perpetrator.

The best example in history was the man who hung on a cross:
“….When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to Him who judges justly.”
(1 Peter 2:23 NIVUK)

Any comments?

We’re talking about new beginnings. The “New You”.

We saw last time how hopeless we are at “Starting Again.”

Now let’s look at the way God does it for us.
Here’s a few expressions that we sometimes hear that help to explain what’s happening on the inside when God gets to work on us:

• Being “Born Again”
  In its original meaning, Jesus gave an illustration of the new life that comes into being when we first experience a confrontation with Him, His Glory and awesome integrity (“righteousness”) and at the same time, His amazing grace and love – and fall at His feet.
  
  Some might think this phrase is a bit of a cliché. It has been used in derogatory ways for something/someone that has been repackaged and relabelled but not really changed on the inside.
  
  Sadly, this is actually true with some people that claim to have become Christians. They have become religious instead. They talk the talk but don’t walk the walk.
  Jesus said “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?” (Matthew 7:16)
  
  If God has really  brought a “New You” to birth inside, it must begin to show in our behaviour, our choices and our actions. Not perfect by any means, but definitely growing.
  
  
• “The Work of the Cross” also known as “Dying to self”
  Sounds scary doesn’t it! What on earth is it?
  
  Whenever I’ve surrendered my preferences in favour of what I know God wants, I’ve felt like I could die!
  It means I have to go outside my comfort zone! I have to kick “the habit”! I have to shut up when Brother Sandpaper says those annoying things about me – worse – I have to thank him for it, because I know he’s right!
  
  This kind of “death” is such a painful experience.
  But if I did it willingly, knowing that God knows far better what’s best for me than I do, it turned out He was right! (Surprise! Surprise!)
  
  The most extreme example of this principle was, of course, when Jesus willingly went to an agonizing death, because His Father had a mighty purpose for it.
  Thankfully, not many of us will go through a violent physical death, but there is a lot of daily character-building stuff that we suffer from which threatens to kill off our old pride, our old selfishness etc. In a sense, that Old Me is being crucified.
  
  There’s also “Brokenness.”
  This is a more severe experience than what I’ve just described above.
  
  I’m talking about tragedy here, or “the dark night of the soul” where people go through bereavement or depression, a sense of hopelessness when you can’t see the sense in all of the pain and loss you’re experiencing right now. Jesus certainly knows what I’m talking about!
  I’m not making light of it at all, since I’ve had a taste of that occasionally, but the outcome is still the same. If I take it with the right attitude, recognising the eternal significance of it, this leads to…..
  
  
• Experiencing “His Resurrection life”!
  Most of us, even before we met Jesus, have experienced that moment when we gave up something (time, effort, money) and it made such a difference to someone in need.
  What a buzz that gave us, right?
  
  Research has shown that people who have given their lives in selfless service to others have a far greater “Life Satisfaction” than those who have heaped up huge wealth for themselves.
  
  How much more does this Resurrection principle work in our lives when the Power of God comes into play! As if the initial experience of God’s Presence isn’t enough, wait ‘til you feel the effects of growing in faith and character.
  It’ll make you think: “Why didn’t I do this earlier in my life??” And then there’s the reward when we go into Eternity….
  
  As Paul said: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (1 Corinthians 4:17)
  
  It’s a pity I don’t always remember this when I’m going through stuff. :/

• “Sanctification”
  This is another theological expression that’s floated around the church occasionally, and it has nothing to do with being labelled with a “holy” quality or even a title.
  
  Just imagine our wonderful leadership at MCF:
  * “Saint David of the Kingdom Keys”?
  * “Saint Karen, Lady of the Jaspers”?
  * “Saint Beverley, Lady of the Church Keys”?
  * “Saint Adam the Messenger”?
  
  Sounds impressive!
  But they’d be the first to repudiate such titles I’m sure, being such humble folk.
  
  And that’s the point.
  They’ve been through life experiences like I’ve described above and learned from them. It’s like a cleansing process, making them ready for leadership. They’ve experienced not only the hard experiences, but also through study of the amazing Word of God, taking it seriously and applying it to their lives, refreshing and refocusing their minds.
  
  “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word..” (Ephesians 5:25, 26)
  
  Note that even that process involves a strong relationship with Him.
  
  ​Comments?
  

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope you had some sort of break (See the article on the Sabbath Principle.)
But all that’s over now. Back to the Real World **Sigh!**

…So, let’s take a big breath, and here we go again!

Will it be the same-ol’ same-ol’?
“NO! This time it’s gonna be different! It’s a new day!
I’m gonna do better this time around! I’ll be a BETTER person! I’m gonna IMPROVE!”

So we go into the new year with a new sense of hope, determination and make all these wonderful NY resolutions (NYRs). We’re fired up and ready to go! After all, we are people of good character, mature Christians and “going on in God.” The world is waiting for the Manifestation of Me.
What could possibly go wrong?

Week 1: How’s it going so far ….hmmm?
If you’re anything like I was, most of these amazing NYRs don’t make it past the first day, let alone the whole year. But it’s the thought that counts! Right?

(On the first two Sundays of 2017 at MCF, Tim Stebbing and David Butler made a few points about these NYRs. I’ll build a bit on what they said, though they may add some comments later if I missed any important points they made.)

“Bummer! I blew it again!!!” we say. “Am I hopeless or what!!” and we beat ourselves up.
Or it’s “The Devil made me do it!” Or “The cravin’s too strong, man!”

Is there any point to making NYRs, we wonder? How do we do this so we don’t fail (yet again!)
Well, let’s look at our usual strategies and motivational catch-cries. Here’s a few common ones:

• Turning over a New Leaf
• Don’t give up!
• A Self-Improvement Plan
• Resolutions (Tim pointed out that these are actually Vows)
• The Power of Positive Thinking
• “Can do” mentality
• “Just Do It!” (Ancient saying of the prophet NIKE)

I’m not knocking these, by the way. Many people have found them helpful – sometimes… and in certain favourable situations. But for mere mortals like me, these awesome-sounding motivators are rather limited in effectiveness.
We have this drive in us to rise above our past failures and weaknesses, but we just can’t do it!

We’re on this religious treadmill or vicious cycle that goes like this:











​Why IS that?
If it’s any comfort, the great Apostle Paul struggled with this too:
“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
(See it in context in Romans 7:21-24.)  
He also said earlier in the chapter: “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” (Romans 7:18.)

So… is there any hope for us at all??
How can we really and consistently experience change?
Paul’s answer: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25.)

Sounds good doesn’t it? Doctrinally correct! Solves all our problems. Right?

Well, when I first seriously read that, I couldn’t help asking God “Lord, this sounds really wonderful, but what does it mean in practical terms? How does this translate into my daily struggles? Or does He wave His hand over my life in some mysterious way to make my sins and failures go away?”
(God was quite gracious with that prayer and my attitude btw)

It took a bit of a while to get it into my thick skull that the key to the verse was in that verse itself.

It was the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
​
Getting to know Him.
Experiencing – I mean experiencing – His love and power in my life by the Holy Spirit, not striving to obey yet another set of rules.

I can honestly say that any major improvement in my life and character has been in conjunction with drawing closer to Him, experiencing His presence in prayer, in worship, in relating to other Bros and Sisters, and often in my daily activities.
I find that the more I put the effort into building that relationship (rather than a mechanical and fear-based obedience to the Laws of God) the better I’ve become, and the more amazing my life has been.
The old habits lose their attraction or often just fall by the wayside.
New and healthier ones become much easier to take on board.

Sounds mystical-religious-spooky? Not a bit of it. Millions through the ages have experienced it and still are. We experience it at MCF. We haven’t “arrived” yet, but any relationship is a lifetime thing anyway. This one goes on into Eternity!

Have you experienced this redeeming relationship?
It all starts, like any living thing, with a birth.
In our case, it’s a rebirth, because we must experience a kind of death first, being the fallen creatures that we are.

I’ll continue this next time.
Contact us if you want to know more -- or even better, put your question in a comment below.

Christmas is just around the corner, so it’s about time we said something Christmassy.
In this post, David B has graciously provided an expanded version of his communion devotional from last Sunday (minus the PowerPoint slides of course).
 
I want to focus on the part of the Christmas narrative where the angels made that amazing announcement to the shepherds:

“…… I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”
(For the full context, see Luke Chapter 2.)

Was it a “Merry Christmas” wish from heaven – to us? 
No, it was more than just a wish, it was a promise fulfilled.

But note what they said.
The traditional version is: “Peace on Earth, good will towards men”.

Well, we all want world peace -- in theory..
Don’t you love that carol (Is it a carol?) that talks about “my grown-up Christmas list” where wars will all end, we just love each other and everything’ll be hunky-dory. I say a big Amen to that – in theory.

But how will it happen?

If I was God (thank God I’m not God!) but if I was, I’d get all my angels to gather up every tank, battleship, missile, rifle, rocket-launcher, nuclear warhead etc etc, send them off to a remote planet and zap ‘em all to smithereens with my own personal Death Star. Then I’d grab some heads of state and bash their heads together and demand they give up violence or Boy! Will they get it!

But all jokes aside, would that solve the problem of the human heart? Can everyone learn to forsake their self-centredness (“Sin”) which sometimes expresses itself in violence.
If Cain killed Abel with just a rock, he had the same condition of heart as he would if he had a weapon of mass destruction.

God has the best will in the universe, but He won’t violate our free choice. And we’ve been making stupid, violent choices for thousands of years, no matter what our well-meaning peace-makers sing about Peace.
The seasons of good will are wonderful, but they don’t seem to last.

The truth is, we can’t do it on our own.

But is that really what the angels were saying?
Why didn’t they come in Kaftans and beads, saying “Hey, Peace, dude! Just make love not war!”

Other interpretations of their declaration say: “.... and on Earth, peace toward men of good will.”
Also “….and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”

The context of the whole bible message is that without a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, you will never know lasting, personal peace – let alone peace among nations!
That’s why it was prophesied hundreds of years before about Jesus that “His name shall be called ….. the Prince of Peace.” (Check out the whole of Isaiah 9:6)

Yes, I believe that there will be lasting global peace – when He returns.
Our best political and diplomatic efforts have failed, big time. His won’t.

Meanwhile, what’s God’s solution to all our present strife?
He sent a baby boy. “Emmanuel” i.e. God with us!
He became one of us. He experienced life as we know it, from birth to death, but then overcame it.
He infiltrated our prison to set us free (if we want to, that is!)

He is the Prince of Peace.
To reach people with Real Peace, we need a Real Person.
Let’s get to know the Prince personally, and then we can begin His Peace Plan in our own hearts.

Who knows what other lives our Personal Peace Plan can touch?
 
 
 

So last time we saw how God, as judge, acquitted us of our crimes against Him and against everyone else. But that was after He paid the terrible price that justice demands. That’s His grace and His mercy!

So we’re free!
We can walk out of court holding our Hell-fire insurance policy, go off and carry on with our former life, right?

But that’s not what life is all about. That’s only the legalities taken care of.
The key principle here is, as always, “Relationships”.
That’s why God made us in the first place, and then bought us back when we turned our backs on Him..
He has exchanged His role as righteous judge with that of a loving father. He has adopted us!

The only trouble is, the problem of our sin can’t be totally erased with a wave of God’s magic wand (not yet anyhow!)
A battle might be won, but all the dead bodies and the fallout from the conflict still has to be cleaned up.
It takes time.
We, as the dominant and specially chosen race, have made a mess of this world. I mean we messed up big time! So we have to still face consequences – disease, pests, weeds, predation, carnivory, degradation of all matter. (In fact, the scientists have recognized this, and call it the Second Law of Thermodynamics.)

On top of that, we still have the power of choice between right and wrong. Do you think bad habits will change overnight? Sometimes they do, and that’s a miracle.
It’s another example of God’s grace and mercy.
But if we took years of bad choices to set one habit, God doesn’t always make that change for us. He’ll help us change if we let Him, but we normally have to learn to get ourselves free of stuff we took on willingly years ago.

Remember what we said last time: God doesn’t owe us anything!
He would be fully within His rights to wash His hands of us, let us go and mess up again. But that’s not what God is.
It’s now a different set of dynamics in this new life as an acquitted sinner.

The many mercies we receive are an alleviation from the pain, suffering and degradation this fallen world is enduring.
We must remember that now it’s all God’s prerogative.
It’s got nothing to do with what we deserve.
If God withholds His blessing in certain instances, even that is for our highest good.

"Justice" has no say in this now. All that stuff was settled at the cross, when Jesus died, and when we first begged for God’s mercy. (See previous post)
 
As it’s been said before: God loves us the way we are, but He loves us too much to leave us the way we are!
And he’ll often make use of our consequences and struggles and injustices in this world to make us strong. Make us spread our wings and fly through – and over – the storms.

But having said that, God will often show us His mercy and intervene in natural crises.
So many stories I’ve heard about how disaster hit certain communities or individuals, and the child of God escapes miraculously. And not necessarily the Christian either. They always say “It was a miracle!”

We see His mercy in the natural world, decaying though it is. Some examples:

• Special hormones or natural pain-killers are released in the victim when a predator catches and devours it.
• Visually impaired people often experience a sharpening of other senses, often way beyond the capabilities of able-bodied people.
• We have developed our God-given talents and technology (whether we give Him credit or not) to make life easier, and ease some of the consequences of our fall.

But even in our everyday lives and routine, you can find examples of God’s mercy -- if we look for it!
His mercy follows me “all the days of my life.”


But once we’ve experienced His mercy, it’s now up to us to be merciful. (See Luke 6:36)
If we’re God’s children, we have to show the same characteristics and the example God showed us, as described above.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
Our Buddhist friends would call that “Good Karma”, but I prefer to call it the principle of Sowing and Reaping. Perhaps that’s another incentive to show mercy to those who have hurt us, used us, cheated on us etc..

But here’s another incentive to show mercy: See Matthew 18:21-35.
Scary!

But mercy has a positive side to it. 
It’s not merely withholding vengeance when you have the chance.
It’s reflecting God’s heart – His desire to relieve the suffering of humankind, when we can.

Yes, we as a race have gotten ourselves into this mess, but sometimes God relieves some of those painful consequences – often through us, the people of God -- IF we have the same kind of heart as God has for suffering people.

That’s why we call these organised missions "Mercy" Ministries.
The Salvation Army have got it right here.
OK, we may not fully agree doctrinally, but they’re often the first on the scene after natural disasters etc. Go, the Salvos!

Is there someone you can think of in your sphere of influence that you can show God’s mercy to?
​
Comments? (But please be merciful to me! J )

The New Testament writers often opened or closed their letters with “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you…” (See 1 John 1:3)
We’ve looked at Grace as part of our relationship with God, and each other, now let’s discuss the concept of “Mercy”.

​“But what’s the difference between Grace and Mercy?” I hear you ask. “Aren’t they the same thing?”
They’re certainty related that’s for sure, but there’s a fine difference.

One of the many things that set us humans apart from other species is this powerful sense of Justice.
Where (or Who) did we get that from?

Justice is (ideally) getting what we deserve, or think we deserve. But that varies from government to government, and from situation to situation.
Injustice is one of the biggest problems in this world.
The struggle for perfect justice seems never ending. So we demand, and fight for our "Rights".

“Rights” are getting what we legally “deserve”, or what we’re legally entitled to at least.
It’s become a highly political thing to demand our rights: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights etc, and mostly this is based on high ideals and moral rectitude.

The only trouble is, sometimes one person’s “rights” override another person’s rights. So who’s right? The irony is, we say “That’s wrong!”

In Shakespeare’s Play “The Merchant of Venice”, Shylock, the money lender demanded his literal pound of flesh when the debtor couldn’t pay up. The judge agreed that this was Shylock’s legal entitlement, but when the creditor drew his knife, the wise judge added that he was forbidden to shed one drop of the debtor’s blood (human rights), on pain of death. Shylock, obviously alarmed, withdrew his demand. The judge then said: “Down, therefore, and beg mercy of the Duke.”

Something sounds familiar here.
When we start demanding our “rights” or “justice” from God, we miss by a mile!
“God! I deserve better than this!”
My Goodness! Do we realize what we’re saying?

If we could see things from God’s perspective (remember, He is the only one Who has a handle on Reality) we would be too terrified to even think of such a thing!
God doesn’t owe us anything!

We make excuses for our tendency to self-centredness (“Sin”).
But God looks at our not-so-nice-guy hearts and sees what’s really going on in there. (Gulp!)

Who do we think we are to accuse God of injustice, when He created Justice and Integrity in the first place??
Ultimate justice will happen when we stand before God, the judge of the universe.
He is omniscient. He has ALL the evidence and proof of guilt before Him.

"But..but...what about the times when we’ve done noble, God-like things? We’ve done good, helped people, made sacrifices." 
All this is wonderful, but God made us that way in the first place. (See Genesis 1:27)
We’re merely acting out the way we’re supposed to be. But we have fallen from that beautiful state that God intended – by our own choices!
No matter how “nice guy” we seem on the surface, we still have this Sin principle operating inside. Then we have the gall to complain when we suffer the consequences.

Normally, we’d throw out any bad apple from the basket of good ones. We isolate and destroy any destructive microbe, pest, predator or weed to keep us safe, successful and healthy.
Yet we often refuse to do the same with our Sin.

Comparisons don’t help either i.e. “OK, I’m bad, but I’m not as bad as him.”
The trouble is...We still get thrown out as a bad apple as well as him.

We can’t blame our parents, we can’t blame our poverty, we can’t blame anyone or anything for our own choices.
So…
Not only are there consequences in this life for being out of kilter with the way the universe is run, but we will have to face ultimate justice, being accountable for everything we’ve done, said or even thought! (Gulp!!)

That means, on my own merits,  I AM GUILTY! I haven’t got a legal leg to stand on.

We have disqualified ourselves from all our supposed “rights” apart from a fair trial -- the ultimate Fair Trial. In the harsh light of Truth, we are completely stripped of any excuse or extenuating circumstances.

Like Shylock, all we can do now is fall down and beg mercy of the presiding King.

Enter the Council for the Defence!
Jesus!

He brings out a legal decree, proclaiming that the ultimate penalty has been paid – at His expense.
We are free to go. Acquitted. 
Now THAT ....is Mercy!

But…. that’s only if we decide to beg for mercy now -- in this life -- while we have the chance.
If we reject,  ignore or even just put off this golden opportunity until it’s too late, we only have ourselves to blame for the ultimate consequences.
If you haven’t already done so, PLEASE, kneel down and ask God for His mercy right now!

OK. So what’s the difference between Grace and Mercy?
Ken Malmin (Bible Temple in Portland, Oregon, USA) put it very succinctly:

• Grace is getting what we don’t deserve.
• Mercy is not getting what we do deserve.

But does God merely let you off legally, waves you out of His courtroom to make way for the next case, letting you wander off to struggle with life on your own? NO!

​It’s only the beginning!
More on that next time.