Obtaining Mercy

 

"Servants don't blow a trumpet out in front of themselves." ~ Dr. Carter

 

"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them:  otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

"Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men.  Verily I say unto you, They have their reward."

Matthew 6:1-2

We don't lose our reward if we are praised by men for our good works.

We lose our reward if the motivation for our good works is the praise of men.

 "That we should be to the praise of his glory…" Ephesians 1:12a

 

Our sole motivation (and our soul motivation) should be to bring God glory.

Why do you do what you do?

 

 

"Not many of us are living at our best. 

We linger in the lowlands because we are afraid to climb the mountains. 

The steepness and ruggedness dismay us, and so we stay in the misty valleys and do not learn the mystery of the hills. 

We do not know what we lose in our self-indulgence,

what glory awaits us

if only we had courage for the mountain climb,

what blessing we should find if only we would move to the uplands of God."

~J.R.M. (Streams in the Desert)

 

So…let's get on our climbing boots…

("…your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;" Eph 6:15)

And head out for those hills!!!

(The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places…" Habukkuk 3:19)

"But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine." Isaiah 43:1

 

 

"For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;" Hebrews 3:14

 

"The problem of getting great things from God is being able to hold on for the last half hour." ~Selected from Streams in the Desert

 

"For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry." Habakkuk 2:3

God's promises are not always swiftly kept,
    But they are surely kept! 
God moves at exactly the right time, every time.
.

 

 

"You will never learn faith in comfortable surroundings"~L.B. Cowman

 

"Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.  This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me."  Psalm 119:49-50

 

Let despair drive you to the Word. 

Your faith will come alive as you trust in Him.

 

 

"He turned the sea into dry land; they went through the flood on foot :  there did we rejoice in him." Psalm 66:6

 

"How many there are who can endorse this as their experience: 

that "there", in their very seasons of distress and sadness,

they have been enabled, as they never did before,

to triump and rejoice."

~Dr. Macduff, Streams in the Desert

No matter where your "there" is…you can rejoice in the Lord today.

 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face;

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.

~Helen H. Lemmel

 

 

 

"…in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;" Isaiah 49:2

"The photograph of His face can only be fixed in the dark chamber.

"But do not suppose that He has cast thee aside.  Thou art still in His quiver, He has not flung thee away as a worthless thing…" ~Meyer

 

Praise the Lord, He is holding me close, even in the darkness…I am hidden in His hand!

 

"Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon,  

Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." Luke 5:4

"How far have we advanced into this river of life?  The Holy Sprit would have a complete self-effacement (modesty, constraint, humbleness, humility).  Not merely ankle-deep, knee-deep, loin-deep, but self-deep." ~J.G.M., Streams in the Desert

 

"…and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles." Ezekiel 47:3b

"…and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees." Ezekiel 47:4b

"…and brought me through; the waters were to the loins." Ezekiel 47:4c

"…and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over…Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river." Ezekiel 47:5b, 6b

In every instance, no matter how deep the water, God brought Ezekiel through…even when the water became a raging river, he was "caused" to "return to the brink of the river."

No matter how deep, He is with us. 

"How deep He does not say.  The depth into which we launch will depend upon how perfectly we have given up the shore…

"Jesus bids us launch.  He made us and He made the deep, and to its fathomless depths He has fitted our longings and capabilities." ~From Soul Food, Streams in the Desert

Have we given up the shore?

Have we launched out beyond our own abilities?

Are we "self-deep" in this river of God?

That gives me much to think on today. 🙂