faithrunner

I love the Psalms and reflections on them. The Psalms are prayers and songs that let us say things we are not sure we can say to God. They guide our hearts into the presence of God, and they allow our emotions to enter the worship chambers of eternity.  I was reading/singing through them this morning and these stanzas jumped out at me: Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed. (Psalm 85:10; NKJV) Mercy and truth have met together. They are not strangers no matter how far apart we separate them. They have met like negotiators to resolve matters that could keep them apart and cause another war.  Truth tells the dark, blatant facts and unassailable realities that reveal our fallen nature and root of evil in our lives. Truth reveals the nonnegotiable facts of life and will not compromise. Truth shines light on reality and does not care to hand out sunglasses.  Mercy sits at the same table and does not deny the truth but offer...

Church Service in West, TX Last week's bombings in Boston and fertilizer plant explosion in West, TX , along with a sudden death in our church fellowship have sent many of us who are Legacy Church reeling in sadness. Loss is a part of life , but we stagger out of them after events shatter what we think is 'normal' or take loved ones from us. We can't just write loss off as "that's the way life is" or act like they didn't happen. We must wrestle through them, but how we respond to those loses makes the difference in how we live the rest of our lives. Our natural response to loss at the hands of others is revenge and justice . Innocent people died at the hands of calculating, evil men. We want justice for the lost lives. We want somebody to do something. Now! In the middle of the loss of innocent life and injustice perpetrated in his day, Jesus declared, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy." ( Matthew 5:7 ) ...

Sunday morning, May 1, we woke to the international coverage of the Vatican's beatification of John Paul II . What interested me about the event and how it added to the significance of the day was that the Vatican chose to beatify John Paul on Divine Mercy Sunday , a day which he extended to the entire Church in 2000 when he was Pope. On this day, the Pope desired, "Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment." ( Diary 300 ) "On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity." ( Diary 699 ) The world watched as the faithful celebrated The Blessed John Paul II's beatification on the Sunday after Easter, which was set aside to ex...