Obtaining Mercy

Philippians 2:14-16 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

Murmuring – uttering complaints in a low voice; gloomily angry manner; grumbling.
Disputing – contending by arguments; altercation.

I used to think in order to be a light to the world, I had to be perfect. Let’s be honest – only Jesus could live a perfect life.

The above verses tell us that if we want to be blameless and harmless, the first way to do that is to guard our attitude and mouth.

Don’t be grumpy, irritated, grumbling under our breath about everything that doesn’t go our way. Don’t use words to argue, fuss, and try to get our way. Don’t cause controversy or arguments.

Now that is something I can work on! I can take everything to my Heavenly Father and let Him do the changing of my heart or my circumstances, whatever He chooses.

And the second way to be a light in this dark world is to hold forth the Word of life.

Forth – forward in place; beyond the boundary of a place; out in public view.

Offer people the Bible: Give them a Gospel tract, an encouraging verse, invite them to church, send a card with verses of wisdom. There are many ways to hold forth the Word.

Last Sunday I overheard a lady asked one of the ushers if there was an old Bible laying around, as hers was very old and falling apart. He told her to take one of the pew Bibles home. She argued that she didn’t want to remove something that was needed. He assured her that the Bibles were there to be used. People took them home all the time. He literally held forth the Word of life to her!

Every light matters to those who are in the dark, trying to find their way home.

Your light matters! Don’t hide it under a bushel basket of murmuring and disputing. Let Jesus clean up our attitudes, control our mouths and SHINE from our lives.

You may never know who sees your light and finds their way to the Saviour.

Look…there are days when we need things to be simple: 

Days when problems are avalanch-ing, grief is rising to I-can’t-breathe proportions, and storms of every day life are howling. 

Did you know that God does simple too???

I’ve experienced that since the day of my mom’s stroke. These are a few of my one-, two-, and three-word, Holy-Spirit-whispered messages:

• “Anchored.”

• “Hope.”

• “Don’t talk.”

• “Just wait.”

• “Go on.”

• “God of…consolation…”

• “Glorious!”

• “Rejoice evermore.”

So simple. 

Super hard to trust and obey, though! Whew!

But on every day, my super power is Submission. So is yours.

Whatever He whispers to your heart today, keep it simple. Trust His Word. And obey.

Do you know how an anchor works? It’s not just the weight and size of the anchor that holds the ship steady. An anchor is meant to be dragged horizontally across the ocean floor. It gathers sand, mud and clay to create resistance through friction and suction to keep the boat safe.

The above Scripture tells us that Christians have a Soul Anchor. But this Anchor doesn’t just drag along after us, collecting spiritual debris that slows us down and keeps us stuck.

Hebrews 6:19 says that our Soul Anchor is sure and steadfast. It isn’t moving around looking for purchase. It is established and resolute.

Verse 19 also tells us that our Anchor “entereth into that within the veil”. What veil is that? It’s the veil of the temple that separated everyone from the Holiest of all, where the mercy seat resided. It’s the same veil that tore from the top to the bottom – from Heaven to man – when Jesus died, to open our way to fellowship with our God.

That’s where our Anchor is set – within the Holiest of All, where after His death on Calvary, Jesus’ blood was poured on the Mercy Seat in Heaven. Hebrews 10:19 “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus”.

So, the verses above say that when we flee for refuge and lay hold on the Hope of Salvation in Jesus, that Hope is the Anchor that holds our soul. Our Anchor is set in the Solid Rock. (I Corinthians 10:4)

Jesus was the Rock that was broken for us on the cross. That body still bears the wounds of His death and we are anchored there, in Him, for all eternity.

So when we feel like our life is being tossed with tempest, in a contrary wind, with the waves covering our ship, we need to remember where our Soul Anchor is set.

We are not adrift in life, aimlessly wandering, hoping to somehow please God. We are not at the whims of satanic pressures or worldly forces.

We are anchored sure and steadfast in our Redeemer, the Hope of our Salvation, the Rock of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is seated on the right hand of the throne of Heaven, where He ever lives to make intercession for us. (Hebrew 7:25)

Your Anchor still holds. Trust Him.

Do you ever find yourself in an endless loop of self-disgust or self-hatred, or thinking often about how worthless you are? Maybe you just feel like you are “too much” for those around you – too loud, too opinionated, too stubborn, too bright, too creative, too feminine, too sensitive.

These words come from our past experiences. Most of the time, someone we love or respect once spoke these words to us.

These words have become what we believe about ourselves. And every time we repeat them in our head, we are STRENGTHENING and REINFORCING that belief.

But what if THOSE WORDS ARE WRONG? What if that isn’t what JESUS thinks about us?

Maybe it’s time to jump into God’s Word and find out what He says about us!

Will He say we’re a sinner? You bet!
Will He say we are worthy of hell? Yeah, right again.

But He will ALSO say that He LOVES US SO MUCH He sent His SON to die IN OUR PLACE!

He will say as we think in our heart, so are we; and He will supply all our needs; and that we need to forgive those who sin against us; and that we are His workmanship, created unto good works. 

God’s Word is a stream of living water that washes away all those WRONG thoughts we have about ourselves, and gives us His thoughts about us.

I challenge you to ask Him today, “What do you think about me, Lord?”

The words He speaks to you will be truth.

Romans 8:33-39 – “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.