This week in my daily devotions I have been considering the subject of mercy. The main focus of these devotional readings ( http://www.ifequip.com/category/beatitudes) has been Matthew 5:7.

   Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy.

   God blesses those people who are merciful. They will be treated with mercy!

   Blessed are those who show mercy. They will be treated mercifully.

   Happy are the kind and merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.

  They are blessed who show mercy to others, for God will show mercy to them.

  Looking at this one verse, in several different translations shows two clear points. A person will be blessed, and find joy and happiness in the act of being merciful, and God will be merciful to those who grant mercy to others.

    To whom am I to be merciful towards? Should my mercy be extended only to those who have earned it? Is there a certain type of character to whom I am to be merciful? Are there certain types that I should deny mercy to?

  I know of only one method of obtaining any kind of answer to my many questions on this subject. I go to Jesus and observe Him.

  Jesus describes mercy to us in a parable about a king and two debtors. The king forgave the debtor who owed him an enormous sum, a sum so great that it could not be paid back, but the one whose debt was forgiven by the king, ran right out and demanded a paltry sum be paid back right away by a man who owed him money. This man could not pay and begged for time, but the one the king forgave would not allow it and cast him into prison. When news of this reached the king he was very angry, and ordered the man whose debt he had forgiven to be cast into prison until the very last penny had been paid because he who had been forgiven so much, had no compassion and no mercy upon his fellow man who owed a tiny sum in comparison.

  Jesus was clearly merciful to the poor. He stopped by the roadside many times to heal beggars afflicted with leprosy, blindness, and lame. So it is clear that I am to be merciful to those who suffer from poverty or are afflicted by handicap or disease even if those handicaps or diseases are deplorable to society. (look up leprosy during the time of Christ.)

 Jesus extended mercy to the Roman soldier and restored to him his child. Rome was the oppressor in that day, the symbol of a tyrannical government. This did not stop Christ from showing mercy. I am to be merciful to those who oppose me politically, morally and to those who work in support of government and programs that oppose me politically and morally.

  Jesus was merciful to tax collectors, who were hated and despised by Jewish society. They were in a sense considered traitors. By their actions they betrayed their people and assisted the tyrannical government in oppressing them. Yet Christ demonstrated mercy to them. I am to be merciful to traitors and liars and cheats.

 Jesus was merciful to outcasts from society. Women of ill repute, lepers who were considered to be unclean and untouchable. He even touched the untouchable. So I am to be merciful to the untouchables of society.

 Jesus was merciful to the criminal hanging next to Him, one who according to scripture has earlier been mocking along with everyone else. A criminal who could do nothing at all for Christ, who could only call out "remember me, when You come into Your kingdom." Jesus was merciful. I am to be merciful to people without regard for what they can do for me, or have done for me, and regardless of their social stature.

  And last, but not least, in fact the most profound; Jesus was merciful to me! To the one who openly opposed Him, mocked Him, mocked His people, mocked His word, to the one who broke every commandment, to the one who did not extend mercy, who hated, who reviled, who stirred up trouble, who lied, cheated, stole, murdered with my words, to the one that did nothing at all, not one tiny thing to deserve mercy, to the one who earned and fully paid for condemnation with thoughts, words and deeds, HE EXTENDED MERCY. If He, in His outrageous grace, can extend mercy to me, then I should and must endeavor with all of my might to extend mercy to everyone.

 Now to some this is an unthinkable thing. But I think the distress comes from the understanding of what mercy is and how we go about extending it. Mercy does not automatically mean that we dismiss deeds committed by persons. Should someone commit a heinous crime, and murder another, being merciful to this person does not mean excusing their crimes, nor does it mean setting them free from the consequences of that crime. Perhaps mercy to this person would be to pray for them, to still see them as a living, breathing person, to see them as redeemable, to perhaps visit them in prison, or write to them.

  I think that extending mercy to all might become easy were we able to always see the humanity in another, even one who is opposed to us, maybe even hates us, or to one who has done the unthinkable, the awful, the terrible. In order to see the humanity in others I believe we have to see the capacity for inhumanity within us all. 

  There are those who murder with their hands, taking the life of another unjustly and without cause. Then there are those who murder with their lips, defiling the character, judging and condemning another, ruining their life, their peace and their reputation and refusing to extend any possibility of redemption. Both are murder in God's eyes.

  Okay, so I am to be merciful. I am clear on that, the next question is how. How do I extend mercy to the untouchables? Right now, in today's world there exists a group of persons who are hell bent to destroy us. Were I in their hands the most grievous torture would be enacted upon me, and I would most likely die, probably with my head cut off. We have all seen the countless videos and read the stories of the multitude of people murdered by the hands of Islamic terrorists. The fleshly me wants an eye for an eye, or in truth I want a head for an eye. My flesh screams out to nuke every last Islamic country that holds even a thread of terrorism within it into the stone age. My flesh cries out, assemble the armies and march upon them and bring destruction to every last living thing that stands in our path. But my soul cries out something different. I have to listen carefully, for I cannot hear it for the boiling blood and pounding heart of my flesh, but I pause, I consider, I remember the things I have been learning about mercy and I know that my cry for vengeance and destruction is not the cry of my soul. My soul cries for peace. My soul prays for the spirit of God to be poured out upon the Muslim people, be they terrorist or normal hard working folk, my soul cries for the eyes of those committing evil to be opened, for their hearts to be deeply burdened for the atrocities they have and are committing. My soul cries for the hate to stop, for the mercy of God to reside in the hearts of all men. My soul cries for peace on earth and good will to all.

 And I hear that still small voice saying "yes child", "pray for them, pray for this world, pray for grace, pray for mercy, pray for peace, and be a light."

 What does the Lord require of me? "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

 

    Five times married, and the scriptures do not say whether her husbands all died, or whether they divorced her and moved on, all we know is that she had gone through five husbands and was currently living with a man who was not her husband.

  Regardless of what happened to her husbands, that's a lot of grief and suffering. Death, abandonment, infidelity (hers or theirs) all take their toll upon a soul. I expect it is reasonable to say that this woman had experienced more than her fair share of sorrow.

  I expect that she had her moments, face down on the ground, weeping and crying out to God her "why me's" and her "how long's". Since she didn't even bother with the formality of a marriage ceremony with the man she was currently with, I expect she had perhaps given up on things ever changing. Perhaps she thought that she was beyond the hope of her prayers being heard and answered.

  I doubt she had very many friends, if any. She went to the well in the heat of the day, the other women of the village would have already come and gone in the early hours, when it was cooler. She probably avoided them. I can certainly relate to the desire to avoid others due to fear of judgment or rejection.

  So the woman goes to the well, in the heat of the day to draw water, and low and behold the Messiah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords meets her there. What an amazing experience for her, a life changing experience, an answer to all the prayers, a source of hope that overcomes all the hardships and sorrows, a friend above any earthly friend.....she, the lowly woman with five husbands and at least one lover, the woman who must go to the well in the heat of the day to avoid the other women, comes face to face with Jesus.

 The experience was life changing, for she who came to the well in the heat of the day, now goes out to tell others, Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Do you think he might be the Christ?”

 Orthodox Church history tells us that the Samaritan woman whom Christ met at the well in the heat of the day, was later baptized by the apostles and took the name of Photini which means “the enlightened one". It is said that she traveled to Rome, preaching the gospel and that she was martyred for her faith in the year of our Lord 66.

 You can read more of the Orthodox church history on Photini here:

http://www.antiochian.org/st-photini-samaritan-woman

   In my devotional reading this morning I read about the Samaritan woman at the well and how God is not deaf to our groaning prayers. He will come, He will answer, He will do so in His time, and in just the right manner. If the wait seems long, take heart and do not cease to pray, to not give up, press onwards, for Jesus will come. "So keep praying and cultivate patient, long-suffering faith. There will be a day when you will find Him unexpectedly at the well of your deepest thirst."

Quote is from the book Things Not Seen by Jon Bloom

    August 16^th is a day of memorial for our family, it always will be. On that day in the year of our Lord 2012 a young man fell to an IED blast in Afghanistan. He was brother to our son, son of another mother. His name is Michael DeMarisco and on the anniversary of his passing, by request of his family we seek to honor his memory by performing good deeds. Our Good Deeds for DeMar started at around noon on Sunday at the Little Caesar’s pizza shop. We purchased nine large pizzas threw two cases of water into the trunk and setoff to find the Albuquerque homeless.

  As we set out I was thinking of the words of Christ in Matthew when he speaks to the people at the great judgment, and the people say “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?, and He replied “‘I tell you the truth, anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me. “  I felt good about what we were doing, it felt right and I was excited.

 Our first homeless person was spotted, lying on the cement, belongings strewn about them in various plastic bags, under a tree where there was some shade.  My son and I exited the car, him with a pizza and me with some bottles of water and approached. As we got closer I realized that the person lying on the concrete was a woman, approximately 50 to 60 years of age.

 I heard her respond to my son’s question “would you like a fresh pizza?”, to which she said “obviously”, and “thank you”, and I asked her if she needed some water to which she replied “obviously” and “thank you”.

   I told her why we were there, that my son’s brother in arms had fallen in Afghanistan three years ago today, and that we were remembering him by sharing kindness with others. She looked up at my son and said “I am sorry for your loss”, and “thank you for your service”.

  Then she reached up her hand and I took it in mine, and the barriers fell, the scales dropped from my eyes and I saw her, saw how she obviously tried to keep herself clean and respectable looking, she was dressed in slacks and a big fluffy shirt, her hands were wrinkled and worn, despite her best efforts at cleanliness she was dirty and smelly, she was stretched out on the concrete using various bits of clothing to cushion herself.  As our hands gripped she began to speak, saying she had done everything she could, she did not know what to do anymore. She said she wanted to go home but she couldn’t because someone else was living in her house. I asked her name and she said “Glenna”, and the balance of the scales fell from my eyes, now she was Glenna, not just “a homeless person”, but a homeless person with a name. My heart burst into pieces. As she clutched my hand and I hers I asked if I could pray with her, and she agreed.

   I do not remember exactly what I prayed, only the overwhelming feelings I felt as I prayed, my voice choking on tears, overcome with the knowledge that I was unequipped to meet the needs of Glenna and our paltry pizza and bottles of water were not even coming close to meeting the great needs of this poor forgotten person, this broken old lady. I felt dirty and unclean and the feeling had nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that I was gripping the hands of an unwashed homeless person. The feeling was internal, a deep understanding of my own unrighteousness, my pride that had dared to think that I was doing something good when in fact I was utterly helpless to do anything of value, that I had nothing to offer her that could be any long term value. Thankfully Christ does. Hopefully in some small way He used us to meet some of her need and even if we failed in meeting that need, He is able, and He is willing and I continue to pray that He will do so.

 My prayer came to a close and she thanked me, tears flowing down her cheeks. She asked me to pray for her, that she would be able to go home to her house, her house on Eubank and Constitution. She said she has tried to go home, but someone else lives there now. She thanked us for the pizza and the water and she wept as she thanked us for lifting her up to Jesus. It was difficult to walk away, I felt helpless and hopeless and useless as we walked back to our air conditioned car.

 The afternoon progressed, we passed out pizza and water to various homeless persons that we found along the way but for me, the day began and ended with Glenna.

 Lest anyone think that I tell this story in order to demonstrate the goodness of my heart, and to show how righteous and holy I am, assure you this is not the case.  I am still processing all that God is trying to teach me from this event. My own self-righteousness was exposed, something I had thought I had eradicated for the most part.  I do not feel good about my encounter with Glenna. We gave her food, we gave her drink, we prayed with her, and yet I feel as if I stuck a Band-Aid on a gaping wound, and walked away, the blood still gushing out, the person still in grievous danger.  I left with a deep feeling of inadequacy , a feeling that Jesus wants more of me, He wants it all, and where I had the assumption that all that I am has been given to Him. In truth there is so very much that is held back.

  As we drove about the city, I observed all the new high rise apartments, expensive and highly coveted for they give the opportunity to live the downtown scene in Albuquerque.  Underneath them, in the shadows, behind the bushes, are the forgotten ones, the homeless. So many of them have mental issues, some of them are drug addicts and drunks; some are just people down on their luck, all of them visible if you look, but few look.

 The city of Albuquerque has been working hard to eradicate these forgotten ones. They have moved their tents time and time again, pushed them out of the places where they gather to rest, posted signs all about the city urging people not to give them money and yet no one has asked the question “where shall they go?”, there is not enough shelters for the amount of homeless we have, and there is no assistance for their mental health issues.

  Sometimes I think that we truly do not want to see them, when we do we are prone to hand them five dollars, or buy them a meal, and then we can go about our lives and feel better about ourselves because we demonstrated a little kindness. Yet the problem remains. I do not know what the answer is; I am not even sure I have yet grasped the question. All I know is that I met a homeless lady named Glenna, and she wants desperately to go home to the house that she no longer lives in…….someone else lives in her house now. In meeting her, in praying for her, my own inadequacies and sins were laid bare, the shining wrappings that cover them ripped off and the realities exposed.

 I gripped the hands of Christ today. I left Him lying on the hard concrete, on a hot day in the Albuquerque sun, I left Him with three bottles of water and a pizza………and a prayer. 

 

 I am still trying to process all this.

 

Good deeds for DeMar, in memory of Michael DeMarisco who gave his life for his brothers on August 16^th, 2012 in Afghanistan. He was a beautiful young man, his family misses him so, and his brothers in arms miss him so. Rest in peace DeMar, and thank you for the lessons learned today.

 The photo of the homeless woman posted is not a photo of Glenna. I did not think it appropriate to invade her privacy by taking a photograph of her misery. Instead I used a photo taken from the internet, from a search for "homeless women".

  Today marks for me, fifty four years upon this earth. I stand here today, grateful to God for everything, for every experience, for the good and the bad, and for the marvelous grace He has faithfully bestowed upon me, even during those times when I refused to call Him Master and King, even there, even then, He has watched over me and has preserved my life. I owe everything to Him.

One day, perhaps it is today, I will reach my final birthday upon this earth. At some point during that last year I will pass from this life to the next. I wonder how I shall feel, when I at last stand before my King. After all, I have failed Him time and time again,.........and yet He forgives me. He ever forgives me......and He loves me, He ever loves me.

 Oh for more of Him in the years to come, and less of me! To know Him more fully, to live with eyes wide open, to recognize Him in the many ways He shows Himself!

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

“For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’”

 Lord how many times have I passed You by?

How many times in these 54 years have I walked past, blind to Your presence, blind to Your need, caught up in my own selfishness, my own pride….Oh Lord, how many times? I fear to know the number of them.

  So I stand here today, in Your presence and give You thanks for these 54 years, and ask You to continue to mold me, continue to change me, Lord do not leave me to myself!

Help me Lord to run the race well!

Help me to be a better wife to my husband, a better mom to my sons, a better friend to all and most of all Lord, may there be more of You in my life and less of me.

 " A life not lived for others is not really a life, living for self only is not really living, dieing to self is when you come to life."

 My Birthday Wishes for this 6/11/2014, my 54th birthday!

1.       For my children to have peace with God.

2.       For my children to be blessed of God.

 

3.       For I and my family to live our lives in a manner that is pleasing to God.

 

4.       For justice to be done in this world, but always tempered with mercy.

 

5.       For compassion to reign in the hearts of all mankind.

 

6.       That we might all love truth and speak it ever in love.

 

7.       That war would cease.

 

8.       That the eyes of the world would be opened to take in the many and boundless wonders of His grace.

 

9.       For the sick to be healed.

 

10.   For those in prison to be comforted.

 

11.   For wrong to be made right.

 

12.   For the ugly things in my heart to be eradicated forever and only the light of His grace remain.

 

13.   For my eyes and my heart to be ever open to Him.

 

 

      My heartfelt thanks to each person who has taken the time from their busy days to wish me a Happy Birthday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Psalm 6

O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
    nor discipline me in your wrath.
 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
    heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
My soul also is greatly troubled.
    But you, O Lord—how long?

    What is David feeling as he pens this song?
                         He desires that the Lord not discipline him in anger...
                             He asks for grace....
                               He is languishing (suffer from being forced to remain in an unpleasant place or situation.)...
                                 He seeks healing.....
                                   His bones are troubled...(emotions are causing physical problems)....
                                     His soul is troubled...
                                      He pleads for God to save him.....
                                        He is weary...
                                          He has shed so many tears he feels his bed is flooded with them.
                                            He is wasting away from grief....
                                              He grows weak from the attack against him...

 When I first prayed this Psalm, I faltered at the part about foes. I thought to myself, I really do not have enemies, no one seeks my harm, no one is trying to destroy me....and as I pondered this I realized..NOT SO! I am surrounded by foes, and they urgently and vehemently seek my utter destruction.
 
 The enemy of my soul and yours seeks our death, seeks to steal all joy, all hope, to suck the very life from your soul and leave you a broken heap upon the floor. He rejoices in your sorrow. He rejoices in your pain. He is the one who tells you all is lost, there is no hope, curse God and die. This enemy has many weapons that he uses in his purpose. Right now, for those I love, his weapons are PTSD, alcohol, grief, anger, despair, frustration and hopelessness. He attacks all members of my family with one or more of these weapons.

       "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. "
       "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. "
       "This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. "
       " In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. "

 And then we have the world, which is also our enemy. It has not the passion that the true enemy of our souls has, it just simply entices us with its many offerings. Do you feel pain? Come and drink away your cares, forget them for the moment, drink...drink...drink...this is how to have fun, how to forget your burdens. Come buy this thing, come buy that one. Having this will at last make you happy. Seek after money, if you have enough you will have power. Power will make you happy. All lies, all glitters as gold but when you grasp it and unwrap it, the gift inside is shriveled and dead.

  "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

  And last we have self. That sinful creature that in its own power cannot please God, even should it wish to, and apart from God cannot even summon the desire to please God. That part of us that is weak, that entices us to give up, to surrender to the lies of the enemy of our soul, to surrender to the lies of the world, to just reach out and grasp anything shiny thing we can in order to have a moments happiness.

  "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 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. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me."

 My friend, regardless of whether you are aware of it or not, you and I are beset by enemies. Like David,  we grow weak from their onslaught against us.

 At the end of this Psalm, David states DEPART from me, all you workers of evil! Depart O enemy of our souls! Depart O enticements of this world, Depart O sinful flesh that seeks to entangle us....FOR THE LORD HAS HEARD THE SOUND OF MY WEEPING!

 O soul! Hold fast to faith, hold fast to God, keep your courage and do not despair. You will yet see your enemies ashamed and greatly troubled. You will yet see them turned back.

 "You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again."
 
"Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning."

"You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word."

  Via, Veritas, Vita.......way....truth....life..... JESUS

All He Says I Am

He whispers in my ear
Tells me that I'm fearless
He shares a melody
Tells me to repeat it
And it makes me whole
It reminds my soul

I am all He says I am
I am all He says I am
I am all He says I am
And He says I am His own

I was blinded by scales upon my eyes
Then He came like a light
And burned up all the lies
He set me free
He reminded me

I am all He says I am
I am all He says I am
I am all He says I am
An He says I am His own

Chains are broken
Scales are on the floor
Truth is spoken
I'm no orphan anymore

I am loved
I am new again
I am free
I'm no slave to sin
I'm saint
I am righteousness
I'm alive