Not for All

There are those that will not receive compassion, either from us, or more importantly from God.

“¹⁴What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! ¹⁵For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’” – Romans 9:14-15 (ESV)

Paul here is pointing out God’s sovereignty. God dictates all, whether mercy or compassion are given or not. And as noted, not everyone will receive them.

“²⁷And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: ‘Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,’” — Romans 9:27 (ESV)

Paul again references the Old Testament and notes that not all of Israel will be saved even as the Israelite people are the chosen people.

Yes, we are to give compassion where we are confronted with the opportunity. And we are to discard custom and convention for compassion. And we are to give compassion even when we are worn out. But we also have to remember we will not give compassion to all in the world. There are those that we are not able to reach nor do we come in contact with.

I am but one person and where I am to do all that God has for me to do, I also have to remember that it is up to God where mercy and compassion are given. I follow the LORD and He works through me. Where He deems mercy to be given, I will give mercy. Where He deems compassion be given, I will give compassion. Where He knows salvation is at hand, I will be there to offer His gift. But make no mistake, it is not for all, and the LORD takes the lead with who receives.

What is your take on mercy, compassion, and salvation? Are you of the view that everyone should receive indiscriminately? What if you were to devote yourself to God and know that He decides and not all receive mercy, compassion, and salvation?

Discard Custom and Convention for Compassion

“²⁰And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” – Luke 15:20 (ESV)

This verse is from the parable of the prodigal son. You know the one, where the son took his inheritance early, left and squandered it all and then returned to a father who welcomed him back with open, thankful, and excited arms. All of that is great, but I was looking here at this one verse to where I was led this morning.

In that day the men were to be dignified and stoic. They had servants to do for them. Not to mention that once the son had gone with his early inheritance, he was considered dead to the family. So, it was out of custom and convention for a head of household to act in such an open, thankful, excited and revealing way.

As my pastor described for me to get a visual, imagine this father seeing his son in the distance and hiking up his cloak and coverings and sprinting to embrace his son who had been “dead” and was now alive. I am sure that the son was filthy and had a pretty good stench to him as he had been living and working with pigs.

The father was not concerned with the condition of the son and did not listen to the son’s confession or even consider what had transpired. He simply heaped on compassion to him. He forgot and went against all customs and conventions of the day to drench his found son in compassion for he considered himself whole again.

How often is it that we avoid compassion because it is not conventional or customary to give it in our times today. I think of giving forgiveness where it would be customary to condemn. I think of service to those who may not be “deserving” of service. I think of hugging someone instead of hitting them when they do wrong against us. We have to step out of the customary and conventional response to demonstrate compassion and that will disrupt the situation entirely.

What is your reaction when something goes awry? Are you of the action to stick to the response expected? What if you were to discard the customary and conventional responses and deliver compassion instead?

Compassion Even When Worn Out

I want to believe that everyone has compassion for others. Yet, what about when we are worn out and in need of some rest. Well, there is never a time where compassion takes a back seat.

It is natural to want to have some time to rest. In today’s world everything is so fast paced that we all look for that time to relax and not be bothered so that we can just kick our feet up. But, Jesus tells us that rest comes to those who come to Him.

“²⁸Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28 (ESV)

Even as we will have rest when we come to Jesus, that does not mean that we will not be tasked with continuing the work. We will be worn out, yet we are to continue the work that He has for us and find rest in the work as it is in the name of Jesus and not just work.

“³⁰The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹And he said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. ³²And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.” – Mark 6:30-32 (ESV)

In the above verses, there is reference to the work that the apostles had been doing. They had been sent out by Jesus to spread the gospel and they had just returned to Jesus. They were excited and telling of all that they had done. They had worked and worked and worked and had no chance to rest and kick their feet up. Jesus knew this and recognized it and decided to give them a chance to catch their breath. He went with them to a place to do just that, away from the hustle and bustle to recharge the batteries a bit. But, that was not what happened. As they went away, the people followed and went ahead of them to the place they were going to rest.

“³³Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.” – Mark 6:33-34 (ESV)

Here we find that the rest was not going to come. The apostles were not going to kick their feet up. They were not going to have a chance to breath. Jesus provided the example we all should follow. When there is a need, we are to work to fill that need. In this case, the need was for the gospel and the need was immediate. Even in the face of being worn completely out, Jesus showed the apostles that serving was more important than rest.

We will all have times when we are completely worn out, yet there is no time to shy away from continuing the work of the LORD, spreading the gospel, and serving others. Whenever and wherever we might be we are to have compassion for those in need and know that we will have rest when the work is done. Be the example that Jesus demonstrated for us here, show compassion for others even when we are worn out.

What is your view of when to show compassion? Are you all in when you have the energy and the time? What if you were to follow the example of Jesus and show compassion to others even when you are worn out?

Clean Now to Enter

Did you know of the myth that the high priest would tie a rope around his ankle before entering the Holy of Holies. The myth is that entering is/was so dangerous that if the high priest were to be struck down by God, no one would be able to enter to remove the body. The rope would be used to pull the body out and a new high priest would be selected. Again, this is a myth, but a pretty strong one and fearful for sure.

Fast forward to today. The curtain to the Holy of Holies was torn and now we are all able to enter and communicate directly with God. Think about that, what was once considered so dangerous that an escape plan was mythically created has now been opened to all and fear of death is no longer there. Oh yes, we should still fear God. But our fear should be of His awesome power and glory and not that we cannot speak with Him.

“¹⁹Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, ²¹and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²²let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” – Hebrews 10:19-22 (ESV)

The curtain was torn at His death and we now have full access to the LORD. You see, we have been cleaned thanks to the shed blood of Jesus on the cross. He died so we do not have to and His blood was sprinkled on us to wash away the sin in our lives so that we do not need the rope around our ankle for an escape plan. We have been welcomed in to the place where we can be with God all on our own. We have been cleaned up so that we can enter.

“²³Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” – Hebrews 10:23 (ESV)

The LORD is faithful and true. He does not waver in anything. We can and should have full confidence in Him that we can enter knowing that we have been cleaned. We may be sinners, but those sins have been washed away so that we can enter and commune with the LORD. He accepts us as we are and is faithful in His love for us now and forever.

What is your view of your cleanliness? Are you still tying a rope around your ankle for and escape plan? What if you were to realize that you have been cleaned to enter and commune with the LORD and that He accepts you and is faithful from now to forever?

All Clean to Hear the Gospel

“²⁸And he said to them, ‘You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.’” – Acts 10:28 (ESV)

Peter was in the house of an Italian, not exactly the kind of house a Jew was to enter and associate at the time according to the law. But, Peter was taking his direction from God and not from the law. The “new” law of God, the New Covenant, was the action that Peter was taking into account when he joined this Italian and all others in his house. Thanks to Jesus all people, yes all, were to be led to the LORD, Jew and Gentile.

“¹²In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. ¹³And there came a voice to him: ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ ¹⁴But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.’ ¹⁵And the voice came to him again a second time, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’” – Acts 10:12-15 (ESV)

You see, Peter had seen in a vision just a few days before that all was clean now thanks to the LORD. Yes, we see in the vision that there was reference to all animals, and not “all” lineage of man, but this was a vision and things are not always literal. The parallel is related to uncleanliness according to Jewish law. Like some animals, some people where considered unclean according to the law. But the law had changed.

Thanks be to God for the change in the law. He made it possible that I might hear the gospel and have the opportunity to be saved. Thanks be to God that I am not considered unclean and not able to know Him. Thanks be to God that Jesus came and died for my sins to wash me clean. Thanks be to God, thanks be to God!

What is your view of clean versus unclean? Are there those that would be considered unclean? What if we think in terms of the New Covenant and know that all are clean thanks to and in the eyes of the LORD to receive the gospel and know Him?

Faith to be Clean

“¹²While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, ‘Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.’” – Luke 5:12 (ESV)

Notice the man’s faith. He knew that Jesus could clean him of the leprosy that plagued him. He did not need to see any additional proof. He did not even know what would be expected of him or what would take place for him to be cleaned, he just knew that Jesus could heal him, or make him clean.

I think that we do not have that kind of faith today. This man was cast out from society based on an illness he contracted. It seems as though he was just waiting on the opportunity to meet Jesus. He knew, without question, that Jesus could heal him. And more than just being healed, he could be made clean so that he could rejoin society.

This was not the only time that someone had that kind of faith in Jesus.

“²⁰And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, ²¹for she said to herself, ‘If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.’” – Matthew 9:20-21 (ESV)

This woman’s faith was so strong that she did not even need Jesus to know. She only needed to touch his garment to be healed and cleaned. Again without knowing how, only that He could, the woman reached out in full confidence and faith.

I say we get back to faith in God that He will heal and clean us. Jesus wants us to have full confidence in Him. He let’s us know that all we have to do is ask and he will be there for us. And not just to fix things, but to bring us back to where we are to be. He cleans us up so that we can rejoin society.

“¹³And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will; be clean.’ And immediately the leprosy left him.” – Luke 5:13 (ESV)

“²²Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ‘Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.’ And instantly the woman was made well.” – Matthew 9:22 (ESV)

Notice Jesus’ responses when these two reached out in full faith. In both cases, it was not the fact that they needed to be healed and cleaned, it was that they had faith that Jesus could and would. There were and are plenty of people that have a condition that is not healed and cleaned. But these two did not require severe action from Jesus. They prayed that He was present an opportunity to show Jesus their faith in Him and when it came, they seized that opportunity.

I have to be better at my faith. I have to know that Jesus does what we ask of Him. We only need the full faith that He can and will clean us up. I have to KNOW He will not let me suffer any longer.

What is your view on faith? Do you rely on the physical to resolve things? What if you were to have faith in Jesus and rely fully on His grace and mercy to clean you up?

Clean the Inside

“Cleaning Yourself” was the title of another of my studies and writings. In that writing I was studying in Isaiah where we are to wash ourselves to remove the big chunks of dirt and making ourselves presentable to God. We are still sinners and have plenty of filth, but we can work to wash away the conscious sin.

This morning I am in Matthew 23 where Jesus is speaking at the temple about 3 days before His crucifixion. He is in public and not mincing words and at this moment is speaking of how the scribes and Pharisees are hypocrites in their work. They say one thing in public and then in private act another way entirely.

“²⁵Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.” – Matthew 23:25-26 (ESV)

Jesus, speaking directly to them tells them to first work on their hearts and allow that to make its way to their actions for all to see. The scribes and Pharisees were famous for preaching the ways of the LORD (cleaning the outside for all to see) and then when they were out of sight of the people, they would not necessarily heed their own words (dirty heart that was not seen).

Isn’t this the way we are as well. We all talk aloud how we should be acting in the way that God would have us act and then when it comes time to actually act, it is as if we had not even hear ourselves speaking aloud. I know that I struggle with this myself. One of my biggest struggles is maintaining a calmness. I tend to allow my passion for order in things spill out and lose the calmness I speak of with others. I immediately turn to the words known by parents as they speak to their children when caught in the act of not heeding their own advice, “do as I say and not as I do”.

“¹Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘²The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, ³so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.’” – Matthew 23:1-3 (ESV)

Jesus tells us to do as the scribes and Pharisees say and not as they do. I know, isn’t that the words from above. It is. Jesus is acknowledging the correctness in the words from the scribes and Pharisees. He is letting it known that the people that are doing what is preached are doing so in a righteous manner.

Jesus also point out that these same scribes and Pharisees are not righteous as their words and calls to action. They say one thing and then do another, not out of passion for a particular thing, but as they are just saying one thing for people to “see” and then doing something else when the feel like no one is watching. They lack the integrity of their own words.

This is where I was going with my writing this morning. It is up to us to clean our hearts on the inside and allow that cleanliness to show through our actions on the outside. We have to scrub ourselves of the dirt and grime on our hearts and then allow that cleanliness to drive us to do some scrubbing on the outside with our actions.

We are not able to wash away our sin, but we are able to scrub the vessel starting on the inside that the LORD will be seen by all on the outside as well.

What does cleanliness look like to you? Are you showing one thing on the outside and walking around doing otherwise on the outside? What if you were to start by cleaning yourself up on the inside and allowing that cleanliness to be seen in your actions on the outside?

Cleaning Yourself

I wrote about asking for a clean or innocent heart. This morning I read and am writing about cleaning yourself up.

“¹⁶Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;

remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;

cease to do evil,

¹⁷learn to do good;

seek justice,

correct oppression;

bring justice to the fatherless,

plead the widow’s cause.”

— Isaiah 1:16-17 (ESV)

The LORD is speaking through Isaiah here to the Judah. He has told them of their wickedness and now is guiding them through it. Notice verse 16 and how it leads off, “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean”. We have the task of cleaning ourselves up.

Now, the word “clean” is again used and as I have mentioned before, the Hebrew word for “clean” can also mean “innocent” and when used brings out more meaning for me. I think of it in this way. I have the task of cleaning up my known sins and dirtiness. I can make myself innocent before man by following the law. I also make the decision not to consciously sin. I will still sin as I am a sinner forever, but I can choose not to sin consciously. And even when I do, part of the washing up is confessing those sins to the LORD to be forgiven and washed clean.

I have to be careful in that I am not saying we are able to wash away our uncleanness and save ourselves in the process. We are only saved by the grace of God and thanks to the birth, death, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. There is no substitute for that salvation and being washed white as snow.

What I am referring to is washing away that which I know to be sin and cleaning myself up for presentation to the LORD. We are not going to get all of the dirt off or out, but we can wash up cleaner than we were a moment ago.

How, through our daily, continual prayer and confession. We are to ask for forgiveness daily. We are to ask for forgiveness continually. We are to seek to be cleaned all the time. I can say that I sit in my office early in the morning daily and offer up prayer to the LORD. I proclaim His Glory, thank Him for all, seek His guidance, and ask for forgiveness. This is my daily action to clean myself up.

Even as I take daily action, I admit that I am not in continual prayer and confession. I wait. I wait until the next day and offer up my prayer. But just as in most everything else, by waiting I miss things. I forget my sins. I omit my sins, somehow thinking that they are gone and I can wrap them into a “forgive my sins LORD” declaration. But that doesn’t cut it. It is like showering and only allowing the water and soap to run down without scrubbing to remove the caked on dirt.

I have to remember to be in continual prayer to confess and ask for forgiveness right away. I have to wash up and make myself clean to remove the sin immediately. I have to make and keep myself clean for the LORD. No, I cannot save myself pure, but I can remove the caked on sin and dirt and get closer to righteousness, cleanliness, and innocence than I have ever been.

What is your view of cleaning yourself up? Are you relying on someone to do it for you? What if you took responsibility, not for your salvation, but to clean yourself up to be as presentable to the LORD as possible at all times?

Asking for Clean Heart

The Hebrew word for “clean” can also mean “innocent”. This really helps with me in the impact of my study this morning of that word, “clean”. I am in Psalm 51 and the title of the chapter in my ESV Bible is “Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God” which is the first part of my verse of study this morning.

“¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.”

— Psalm 51:10 (ESV)

Doing the substitution of “innocent” for “clean” opens the verse a bit more for me. “Create in me an innocent heart, O God” has a bit more impact when I am reading. I am guilty of sin and always will be. But, I am also washed clean and returned to the innocence of the lamb thanks to the redeeming blood of Christ.

As I read, I have to remember that this Psalm was written prior to Christ coming and dying for the sins of the world. Daily requests to the LORD for cleanliness or innocence took the place of the yearly pilgrimage for offering and asking for forgiveness. Yes, the pilgrimage was still part of culture, but David here is giving the example of not waiting on the once a year thing and seeking cleanliness daily.

Christ came and died and rose again. His blood was spilled that ours would not have to be. He provided that we would be washed clean. We would no longer be “required” to provide offering of animal sacrifice, as Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. As the physical temple curtain was torn, giving access to God directly, our daily ask for forgiveness was amplified as the way. We now have that direct line to the LORD and He can and will give us a clean heart.

Yes, we are to ask daily for a clean heart. We have been washed clean, but we do still need to confess daily and ask that the LORD work in us. I am a sinner always and will be dirtied up from that sin each day. I need to bathe in Christ each day to cleanse myself of the dirt and sin.

“⁷Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”

“¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.”

— Psalm 51:7 & 12 (ESV)

I ask for a clean heart daily. I pray to the LORD, admit that I am dirty with sin and ask for His forgiveness. I ask to be watched over and that the LORD will keep me from sin, knowing that I am prone to sinning and always will be in this world. Only He can restore me daily to innocence when I come to Him asking for cleanliness.

When you pray, what are you asking for? Are you seeking only the glorious things? What if you were to ask for you daily dose of cleanliness that is only provided by the LORD?

We are Building Materials

I have been studying the words “build”, “builds” and “built” for the past few weeks and what I have learned is that the LORD builds in intentionality. Everything that he does has purpose. He only uses the finest materials in the building of His House. And this morning it all comes together that we are the building materials He is using.

“⁴As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ⁵you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 2:4-5 (ESV)

The LORD sees us as precious stones used to build His house. We are the building blocks. We are used in His good work. I am encouraged completely by these words.

“¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” – Matthew 16:18 (ESV)

I find it great and interesting that the LORD chooses Peter to speak to us about being the building blocks when he was identified by Jesus to the “rock” on which His church was to be built. Peter may have been the rock on which the church was built, but he wanted us to know that we are also the building blocks. Peter was just a man as we are, and yet Jesus used Him for great things as He will with you and me.

Temples and houses of worship are built using only the best material. The Tabernacle of Moses, being a tent was built using only the best materials available (see beginning in Exodus 25). No detail was left to chance. All of it was of the highest quality even as it was a tent that was to be moved with the peoples migration.

And all of the materials were provided by the people, not by the hardware store. All was the fruit of the people. God used the people to not only provide the materials, but to build the physical place. And that is what He does even today with you and me. He has made us as the building materials and the builders of His house.

Yes, Jesus is the cornerstone, and Peter is the rock, we are the materials, and we are the best of materials. We may have some blemishes and may not be very pretty, but Jesus will refine us to the glorious materials He needs for the construction of His house. Just as the materials that were available for the Tabernacle of Moses was refined to be the best for the LORD.

What is your view of the materials to build the House of the LORD? Are you searching for those materials to be provided for you? What if you were to look inward to find the beauty and best materials are you and allow yourself to be used by God to be the materials for His House?