{"id":218,"date":"2015-01-14T02:52:19","date_gmt":"2015-01-14T02:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/?p=218"},"modified":"2015-12-10T22:01:40","modified_gmt":"2015-12-10T22:01:40","slug":"mercy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/mercy\/","title":{"rendered":"MERCY"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><span class='et-dropcap'>O<\/span>ne of the questions I am often asked at present is \u2018Why doesn&#8217;t God stop the terrorists?\u2019 \u00a0While there are no simple answers to this question, we need to remember that it is not God who has carried out these acts or even encouraged them. \u00a0Indeed, Jesus taught\u00a0<em>\u201cBlessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God\u201d\u00a0<\/em>(Matthew 5:9).<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>JUSTICE<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Furthermore,\u00a0<span class=\"yellow\"><strong>the evils of every age will be brought to account<\/strong>.<\/span> Of this we can be sure. In 2 Peter 3:5 we read:\u00a0<em>By the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the godless.<\/em>\u00a0In the flow of his Letter, Peter says that just as Noah\u2019s flood occurred \u2013 and there is good historical evidence for this \u2013 God will bring about a final day of accounting. If God has brought judgement on his creation once, why shouldn&#8217;t he be capable of doing it again? Everyone of us has been put on notice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">If we believe this, our question becomes\u00a0<span class=\"yellow\"><strong>\u2018When?\u2019<\/strong>.<\/span> We cry out with Psalm 13:1:\u00a0<em>How long, O Lord?<\/em>\u00a0Again, Peter helps us by saying,\u00a0<em>The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance\u00a0<\/em>(3:9).<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>MERCY<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">We must not confuse God\u2019s slowness with insensitivity, indifference, or slackness. He could, if he chose, burst in on the world right now. We mustn\u2019t mistake his non-return for apathy. \u2018No,\u2019 says Peter, \u2018He is just being patient, giving people time to repent\u2019. Jesus himself indicated this when he implied that he would rather leave the ninety-nine on the hill in the wind and rain, to make sure that the one who is lost is safe. Our problem is that we feel the cold and the discomfort while we wait. In his goodness and mercy God is being patient.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><span class=\"yellow\"><strong>Knowing God.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0To understand this about God is most important, for it impacts on our relationship with Him and our outlook on life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">It is one of the strengths of The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Anglican Church that they identify and set out the substance of biblical teaching about the nature and work of God. For example, Article I speaks of\u00a0<span class=\"yellow\"><strong>God\u2019s \u2018infinite power, wisdom and goodness\u2019<\/strong>.<\/span> Unlike the gods of ancient Greece or Rome, or other religions, the Bible teaches us that God is infinitely wise and good in the way he exercises his power.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><span class=\"yellow\"><strong>Understanding this is essential for the way we live<\/strong><\/span>. We see it for example, in the life of Joseph. His complete trust in God\u2019s power and goodness prevented him from being resentful and bitter in the face of the appalling treatment he received from his brothers. Unlike most of us, Joseph was ready to forgive because he understood that the final word lay, not with his brothers, but with God. He therefore knew that God was working out a bigger and better purpose through his brothers\u2019 actions:\u00a0<em>\u201cAs for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive,\u2026\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(Genesis 50:20).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">While most who read this are not living in fear of their lives, we all need to ask what our faith means to us. How dependent are we on our physical security for our spiritual well-being? We will only know true courage, perseverance, and even joy when we know deep in our hearts that an all-powerful, good, wise and merciful God is in control. He is patiently and persistently working out his ultimate good purposes for his people.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ne of the questions I am often asked at present is \u2018Why doesn&#8217;t God stop the terrorists?\u2019 \u00a0While there are no simple answers to this question, we need to remember that it is not God who has carried out these acts or even encouraged them. \u00a0Indeed, Jesus taught\u00a0\u201cBlessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":624,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>MERCY - The Anglican Connection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why doesn&#039;t God stop the terrorists? 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