2 Chronicles 30:9 For as you return to the Lord, your kindred and your children will find compassion with their captors, and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.
The phrase repeats itself so many times in the Bible it rings in our ears like a mantra: The Lord your God is gracious and merciful. It's almost as if it's God's nickname: Gracious and Merciful. So why do you think biblical writers and speakers repeated it so often?
I think it's because biblical readers and audiences were not so different from us: they were forgetful. They were overloaded with guilt. They thought God was angry with them, or indifferent to their plight, or distant and irrelevant. No no no: The Lord your God is gracious and merciful. Repeat it until it's in your bones and you really believe it: The Lord your God is gracious and merciful. The Lord your God is gracious and merciful. The Lord your God is gracious and merciful.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
This message is part of the ministry of All Saints Lutheran Church. See our website for more information and calendar. If you wish to no longer receive these messages, please reply and ask to be removed. Remember to join us for worship this weekend: Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 9 am. Due to the parking lot repair work, our parking lot is closed until Saturday. It will be available for next weekend's worship.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment