”And mercy…” Psalm 23:6

I have often heard it said that grace is God’s unmerited favor and mercy is God’s refusal to give us the punishment we so richly deserve. I have also heard it said that we cannot earn mercy or grace, that they are gifts. The Bible bears this out time and again:

“ For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:” Eph. 2:8

Still have you ever wondered what motivates God toward mercy? If He is truly merciful then why doesn’t He just save everyone? After all no one is more deserving than anyone else. Romans makes it perfectly clear that we have all fallen too far to be worthy of salvation. So why can some claim to have received mercy while claiming that others have not received it?  Does mercy follow everyone or just a certain few?

Tell me what you think!

“ Surely Goodness…” Psalm 23:6

     For a long time I was confused about this word, “goodness”. What is good?

If my family and I go to Olive Garden and the new dish we try is delicious we will say “It’s good.”

If I find a person to be exceedingly kind or giving or righteous, I will identify them as a “good” person.

So when I started meditating on this verse months ago, “surely goodness…will follow me all the days of my life”, I mistakenly thought that goodness following me meant God would be constantly making me more and more righteous, conforming me to His image as it were; But the word goodness used here has more to do with favor or blessing than it does with righteousness. To have goodness following me means that the blessing of God is constantly upon my life. Practically it means that everything that happens to me will somehow work out for my benefit.

The Bible bears this out in the writing of the Apostle Paul, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28

That means everything, even the bad stuff, is bringing about a blessing for my life if I follow it to its conclusion….And there is the rub. So many times we fail to receive the goodness because we don’t continue to walk with God in a situation until He can bring the blessing out of it: We get fed up and leave the church; We get sick of being sick and grow bitter with Jesus who has “held up” our healing; We get tired of waiting for that certain someone to change and walk out on the relationship.

Somehow though if we can just keep next to the Shepherd in the midst of our circumstance He will cause His blessing and goodness to follow us all the days of our lives.

So how is goodness following you today?

“my cup runneth over. ” Psalm 23:5 KJV

I am here to testify that life is full! I keep a blessings list in my desk drawer. Specifically, I keep a list of blessings that come from every trial. That list is full and constantly growing.

As I walk this valley of the shadow of death I realize I have two choices. I can look at the death OR I can look at the life that is being squeezed out of the deathly shadows.

the devil is constantly whispering the death into my ear, telling me there is no light, only trouble. He tries so hard to drag my eyes away from the cup of the Lord’s blessing; But praises be! Greater is He that is in me. His voice draws me back to the cup so that I can see it is overflowing with the lemonade that the Holy Spirit has made out of life’s lemons!

Maybe you are struggling in a dark place, having trouble seeing the Lord’s overflowing blessing. Here are seven things that cause all our cups to overflow:

1. “And it came to pass.” These words are all over the Bible. All our testings are temporary. They cannot last.

2. “There is no temptation come upon you except what is common to man.” 1 Cor. 10:13 You are surrounded by people who understand the struggle and who can help you. Reach out and God will provide someone to support you!

3. “God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear.” 1 Cor. 10:13 He has put a strength inside of you to bear the trial. It may not feel it but the strength is there. Your faith will not fail!

4. “He will with every temptation provide a way of escape.” 1 Cor. 10:13 Always God provides a distraction, a secret passage, a back door for you to escape by.

5. My tests increase my abilities. I am a more capable man today because I know how to walk in trials.

6. My tests increase my compassion. Judgment leaves the room when I know and understand the pain life can bring.

7. My tests increase my wisdom. I have come to a fuller understanding of myself, others, God, and God’s purposes through my trials!

What are some of the blessings that overflow your cup in the presence of your enemies?

     “Thou anointest my head with oil.” Psalm 23:5

     So today we finish talking about the anointing. The anointing:

Complicates

Assures

Requires and the anointing

Excites

     I want to tell you, there is nothing more exciting than living life under tha anointing. Christianity when lived in cooperation with the Holy Spirit’s plans is anything but boring! It has its complications(life under the anointing can get challenging). It has its assurances ( with the anointing I will succeed in the way God has ordained). It has its requirements (in order to walk in this anointing there are things I must do to cooperate with Holy Spirit). But all that leads to a life full of excitement!

As I write this I am preparing for a weekend prayer gathering where we will be believing for healing of bodies, marriages, and bank accounts. Now as I pray I am not just biting my nails hoping God will do something. I KNOW God is going to meet us! I can pray this way because God has anointed us to pray. Because of what we do lives will be saved. Bodies will be healed. Provision will be received. Laborers will be sent to the field!  What could possibly be more exciting than watching the world change supernaturally?

What has God done in your life through the anointing?

      “Thou anointest my head with oil.” Psalm 23:5

       In the last two days we have discussed that when God anoints a person for something, life gets complicated AND  full of assurance. Battles arise but so does victory because the anointing makes it so!

You might remember that we are using the acronym C.A.R.E.  to discuss how the Holy Spirit manifests anointing in a person’s life. When you are anointed, and if you believe and are born-again you are anointed, then life will get complicated; But you will also succeed in life through the anointing, if you follow the requirements of the anointing. You see the anointing requires  something of us.

This is where so many Christians fall off the road and end up swimming in a sea of half-believing misery. I have so often heard it preached that“There is no one so miserable as a half-hearted Christian.” It’s true! Many of us have “just enough of the truth to keep us out of Hell but not enough to make us happy or victorious on Earth.”

These statements paint the picture of Christians who have received the anointing but refuse to walk out the requirements of the anointing. I know as soon as I start talking about God requiring something of us a whole segment of the Christian population begins to wrankle, feeling I’ve just done away with grace. Listen, I’m not talking about eternal destinations here. I leave that with the Judge of all the Earth who penned John 3:16-18. I am however talking about our level of joy.

No one can deny that many Christians heading for eternal life live as though that’s more a punishment than a gift. So many of my brothers and sisters just seem stuck in a cycle of negativity they cannot break.  The cause of this is a life out of harmony with the anointing. Holy Ghost promises joy unspeakable and full of glory. Holy Ghost promises peace that passes understanding. Holy Ghost also promises that if we live in ways that quench or grieve Him we’ll have none of that (even though we retain our salvation).

I’m not a legalist friends but I will say that the degree to which we conform to the patterns of the Word or to the patterns of the World to that degree we will increase or decrease joy, victory, and success.

     “Thou anointest my head with oil.” Psalm 23:5

     It struck me as I finished writing yesterday that there may be those among us who are unfamiliar with the term anointing. The anointing, in short, is the touch of God on a person’s life that equips and empowers them for a certain work. In the Old Testament it was received when a prophet poured a specially mixed oil over the individual chosen by God for a certain work: Aaron was anointed by Moses as High priest. Saul and David were both anointed by Samuel as kings. Elisha was anointed as prophet by Elijah and so on.

We are explaining what the anointing looks like by using the acronymC.A.R.E..  Yesterday we explained that the anointing  complicates  life. Aaron, Saul and David all discovered this after they were anointed. I guess that makes the anointing sound bad, but really the anointing is a thing to be greatly desired. While it may complicate things, it also assures!

      Let me tell you something, when God calls you to something and anoints you for the work your success in that endeavor is assured! The truth is, if God is behind you in a work ( and that is what the anointing means) there is absolutely no possibility that you will fail. The world may stand against you. Satan himself may show up to nay-say your endeavors; But if God has ordained and anointed your work it will succeed and nothing can stop it.

In David’s day not everyone was anointed…but today in the New Testament EVERYONE WHO HAS ACCEPTED JESUS AS LORD AND SAVIOR IS ANOINTED!  

We know this is true because of the Scripture. You see, the oil used to anoint Aaron, Saul, and David was symbolic. It was not the oil that gave them power; It was the Holy Spirit whom the oil symbolized that empowered them. Once these men were anointed the Holy Spirit came on them to assure them of success as long as the men stayed faithful to their God.

Here’s where it gets exciting for us as New Testament Christians Paul the apostle writes, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.” Eph. 1:13, 14 NIV

     Hallelujah! Those of us who believe are anointed with oil of the Holy Spirit!

Christian arise and realize that if you follow Him into the things He has anointed you for then your success is assured. You may battle but you will not fail!

Tomorrow: the anointing requires!