Come Let Us Reason Together

Isaiah 1:18-19 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. ¹⁹ If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

God’s first call to us is to come.  His desire is for us to come to Him, not allowing anyone anything to stand between us.  God created us for relationship with Him. It grieves His heart when there is something in the way of that relationship.  When God was inquiring of where Adam and Eve were, after they had partaken of the forbidden fruit, it was not as an angry God looking for vengeance.  But it was a broken hearted God feeling the loss in the relationship. 

When we stray from God, His desire is always for restoration.  His call is to come as you are.  He doesn’t ask us to clean ourselves up or jump through a bunch of hoops first.  His call is to “come.” He will do the cleansing.  He has made the way of restoration available to us.  The remedy was made in Christ before the foundation of the world. 

The blood of Jesus Christ is like an eraser.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Psalm 103:8-14 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. ⁹ He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. ¹⁰ He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. ¹¹ For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. ¹² As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. ¹³ Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. ¹⁴ For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

Once our sins are cleansed there is no record of it in God’s book. They are put far from us, never to be found again.  One time a number of years ago, I was confessing a sin before God that I had long ago repented of, but was remembering for some reason. I heard the Lord say, “I keep no record of wrongs. Neither should you.” Initially I was a little puzzled. As He repeated His statement I realized what He was saying.  In 1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV one of the characteristics of love is to keep no record of wrongs. God, who is love, keeps no record of wrongs once they have been confessed and repented of.  His blood erases the record of that sin. 

Micah 7:18-19 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. ¹⁹ He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

I am so thankful I serve a God who delights in mercy.  His call is always to come to Him and reason together with Him.  He is a very reasonable God who has made the way for us to be forgiven of all our sins and to be able to daily walk in intimate fellowship with Him.

Come As You Are

Romans 12:1-2 ESV  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 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. 

When we lay our lives before the Lord as a living sacrifice, sometimes we may think we can only bring the pure and undefiled parts, because the sacrifices God wanted were the best of the flock without blemish.  Only Jesus could come to God as that kind of pure, unblemished, perfect sacrifice. We can only bring our weakness and imperfection as a sacrifice unto God and let Him take it and transform us.

In this verse the fact it says "holy" may make us think we need to get ourselves cleaned up first.  It has to do with consecration unto God, a coming to Him based on Jesus' sacrifice. It is the only way to be acceptable.  All our attempts at being holy fall far short of the holiness of God that can only be manifest in our lives because of Jesus' sacrifice and our submission to Him. Holiness is a separation unto God and from the ways of this world.

We come boldly before the throne of grace based on the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We come with all our need to receive mercy and grace. If we wait until we are good enough, we will never come.  It is there before the throne that we are cleansed as we confess our sin and receive all we need to live a pure and holy life.

It is only as we come to Him with all our imperfections and needs that we can be transformed and become all He created us to be.

Hebrews 4:14-16 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 

Titus 3:4-7 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

God Delights in Mercy

Micah 7:18-19  Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. ¹⁹ He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

The Lord God Almighty delights in showing mercy.  Religion has taught that God is looking for a reason to punish.  But that is not true.  God is looking for a reason to show mercy.

As an example I think of Ahab, who was a very wicked king of Israel.  (1 Kings 16:30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.1 Kings 21:25  But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.)

One day Elijah, the prophet, was sent to give a message to Ahab concerning judgment that was coming upon his family because of the wickedness that he had engaged in and that which he was about to do.  Ahab responded by repenting before the Lord.  Repentance attracts God’s mercy. Immediately God brought Ahab’s repentance to the attention of Elijah and pushed back the judgment until the day of the sons of Ahab.  My guess is that had his sons also repented it would have been pushed back again, because God delights in mercy. 

1 Kings 21:27-29 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. ²⁸ And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ²⁹ Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.

Knowing that God delights in mercy is a comfort to me. 

Steadfast Love and Mercy

Psalm 147 :11 in the ESV uses the words "steadfast love" in place of "mercy." When I read that last night is reminded me of the song we used to sing from Lamentation 3:22-23. Lamentation 3:22-25 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion." says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him." (ESV) I chose to add the two additional verses because they seem to complete the thought to me. Again, as in Ps. 147:11, our only real hope is in the LORD, in His mercy or steadfast love. I like that word "steadfast." It means firm and never changing. God's love and mercy are connected and both are firm and never changing. That makes me feel secure to know that these characteristics of God will not change. Another verse that this reminds me of is, Psalm 103:4 "Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies." I remember reading somewhere or in another translation that "crowneth" means to "surround." So God surrounds us, perhaps like a hug or shield with His lovingkindness and tender mercies. This also makes me feel secure. In Ps. 103:4, we also see yet another aspect of God's mercy....it is tender. That makes me feel safe.

Hope In His Mercy

Psalm 147:10-11 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. 11The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

I find this scripture very comforting. I am very thankful that God takes pleasure in those who hope in His mercy. Really His mercy is my only hope. Because I am a sinner, it is only God's mercy that preserves me from being destroyed.

God loves me as I am. But He also desires that I become all that He created me to be. His love provides me with all I need in order to fulfill His will. The mercy of God is part of that provision. I consistently sin and because of His mercy I am not destroyed and am given another chance.

He takes pleasure when we choose to hope in Him, in His mercy, rather than hope in ourselves or our own strength.