The quality of mercy

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.

Shakespeare

All of us like the idea of receiving mercy. We like to talk about mercy until we are the one who needs to give it to someone else. Mercy, in a nutshell, is forgiveness. It is not giving someone the punishment they deserve. Mercy is letting a past wrong go or being kind and gentle when someone is less than perfect. All of us have needed mercy at some point in our lives and I'm sure we will need it again eventually, some sooner than others. Lamentations 3:22 says that it is because of God's tender mercies that we are not consumed. If God were to give us all what we really deserve, none of us would be here. But he gives us new grace every morning. Should we not show the same quality of mercy to others. In the words of Shakespeare, let mercy drop as the gentle rain from heaven. It will bless both the one who gives and the one who receives. 

Thankful for his Mercy,

Sullivan Jones 

The Narrow Way

Jesus said, "Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. - Matthew 7: 13 -14

To many, Christianity seems to be too confining. Life is full of choices and human nature says to live life to the fullest. It is a big world out there. How can you know what you are missing unless you sample all of it. Live and let live is the cry of the day. But like the Leprechaun who knows he has found the rainbow with the real pot of gold, so is the Christian who has discovered the real source of joy. The path that we are on may be narrow and confining but it leads to Jesus and he is the source of eternal life. Once I consider that, everything else pales in comparison. There may be wider roads that offer more in this life, but the one I'm on leads to Jesus. Won't you come along? You'll never be sorry you did. 

Following Jesus,

Sullivan Jones 

I Choose to Believe

Recently I was talking with a friend and he was expressing that there are things in the Bible that are hard to comprehend with the human mind. In order to believe that the Bible is the word of God we are asked to believe some things that seem strange to logical thinking. Skeptics have said for years that Jonah could not have really lived inside of a fish. And whoever heard such a tale as two naked people in a garden listening to a talking snake. It almost seems to be science fiction here. Don't get me wrong, I believe every word of the Bible. I am speaking from a standpoint of human logic. 

The book of Hebrews tells us that in order to come to God we must believe that He (God) exists and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek after him. The apostle Peter spoke of the Apostles Paul's writings as "some things hard to be understood" (II Peter 3:16). Yet as Christians we do believe these things and that belief is what has opened the path for us to have a relationship with God.

True, we have often been ridiculed for believing "ridiculous stories" but I say it takes far more faith to believe in evolution than it does to believe in God. In order for evolution to be true there is no end to the "miracles" that would have had to happen at each step in the game; yet evolution is deemed science while the Bible is deemed nonsense. The problem is that our human logic gets in the way of simple, child-like faith. It is far easier (and wiser) to simply trust that God knows what he is doing and let him work out the details. Yes, there are some things I will probably never understand in this life but the good thing is I don't have to. I choose to believe that God made it all and that makes all the difference. 

Sullivan Jones