We’ve had a cat problem at our house. There are two strays that keep coming into our garage and eating cat food for our two cats. We wouldn’t have such a problem feeding them, but they spray all over everything to mark their territory. Our garage stinks, my workbench stinks…they even get up on our cars and spray, so when we turn on the blower, our cars both stink! So we decided to feed our cats all they want once a day, then we shut the doors and keep them shut (our cats inside).

This morning Anita heard a cat outside wailing away, trying to get attention. We ignored it. A little later I noticed the two strays wandering off away from the house, looking quite dejected. I was glad they wandered off, but got to thinking.

Is there a lesson in all that about how we, as a church, treat stinky people trying to get into our church? People who are sinners bring their baggage in with them, and inevitably try to mark “their territory” on the inside. So is the answer to lock them out and not let stinky people become insiders, or is the answer for us to tolerate their stink for awhile and help them get cleaned up by being washed in the blood of the Lamb? I guess that becomes our personal decision, doesn’t it?

Tags: mercy, sin, stink

There’s a legend about a rabbi who welcomed a weary traveler into his home for a night of rest. After learning that his guest was almost a hundred years old, the rabbi asked about his religious beliefs. The man replied, “I’m an atheist.”

Infuriated, the rabbi ordered the man out, saying, “I cannot keep an atheist in my house.” Without a word, the elderly man hobbled out into the darkness.

The rabbi was reading the Scriptures when he heard a voice, “Son, why did you throw that old man out?”

“Because he is an atheist, and I cannot endure him overnight!”

The voice replied, “I have endured him for almost a hundred years.” The rabbi rushed out, brought the old man back, and treated him with kindness. How do you treat unbelievers? If God patiently waits for them to come to faith, can you?

Tags: evangelism, judging, mercy

In his book One Anothering, Richard C. Meyer recalled this incident:

I was a student minister at a little church up on the Hudson River – I’d go up every weekend from Princeton, where I was in seminary. I met my wife in that church, in fact. “Fellowship” consisted of a monthly meeting of the women’s association and an occasional men’s breakfast, where you had a baseball or football player come in and give his testimony.

Then one weekend, I found out some shocking news: a teenage girl in the congregation had left town to go to her older brother’s. She was pregnant. I said to the dear woman who told me, “Could I go and see her?”

“Oh, no,” she replied, “You’re the last person she wants to know what’s happened.”

Suddenly it hit me: That’s what’s wrong with the church in our time. It’s the place you go when you put on your best clothes; you sit in Sunday school, you worship, you have a potluck dinner together – but you can’t bring your life! You leave behind all your pain, your brokenness, your hopes, even your joys.”

How do you think New Hope is doing in that area?

Tags: care, church, grace, mercy

One Sunday after worship, a pastor found a small, stuffed animal in one of the pews. It was tattered and very dirty. His first impulse was to throw it away. Then he realized the fact it had been brought along to church indicating it was loved by some child.

Often we look at someone who is worn or diseased, tattered and torn by life, and our first reaction is to turn away. The way we react to them says in effect, “You are worthless.” Yet, if we allow the love of God to control us, we cannot reject any person, regardless of their condition.

Everyone, no matter what their inner or outer condition, is loved by God. Jesus taught us this when He said, “Anyone who comes to me, I will never drive away.”

Think about the lesson of the loved stuffed animal today when you come upon someone unlovely.

Tags: grace, love, mercy, sin

“You’re blocking the way, sir,” said the usher to a man sprawled in the aisle of a movie theater. “Please get up.”

The man didn’t move or reply. The usher called the manager over, who said, “I must ask you to move.”

Still the prone man didn’t reply. So the manager called the police. “Get up or I’ll have to take you in,” the officer said. “Where did you come from, anyway?”

The man finally stirred and said, “The balcony.”

Have you ever felt condemnation toward another who was down and out? How can we judge someone when we haven’t walked in their shoes or understood what they have gone through that brought them to that place? Let’s be a little more understanding. Our job is not to judge, but to assist others on their spiritual journey. How are you helping?

Tags: humor, judging, mercy, resurrection

Back during the days of the Cold War following World War II, victorious Russia, not trusting anybody, blockaded the capitol city of Berlin between West Berlin, under the control of the American Army, and East Berlin, under the control of the Russian Army. There was tense hostility between the two cities and the now-infamous Berlin Wall was soon to be constructed. To demonstrate their dislike of the free West, the communists in East Berlin one day took a truck load of garbage and dumped it across the line into West Berlin.

The people of the West could have retaliated, but instead dumped a truckload of valuable food supplies over onto the East Berlin side. Above it they placed a sign: ‘EACH GIVES WHAT HE HAS’.

What do you have to give your enemy? Bitterness and resentment, or grace and blessing. The choice will be determined by what’s really in our heart. Think about it.

Tags: blessings, forgiveness, mercy, World War II