From:
Date: April 6, 2021
Subject: It's April 6; Good Morning Union


“He does not treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities.”            Psalm 103:10-13

 

This theme comes through often in Scripture. Apparently, it’s always been an issue that needs resolving in the human journey, to grasp God’s absolute love and acceptance. Three illustrations are used by David to confirm this assurance of God’s “unfairness!” He does NOT treat us as we deserve or repay us in kind for when we have failed:

 

  1. “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for me.”
  2. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed my transgressions.”
  3. “As a father has compassion for his children, so the Father has compassion on me and anyone who comes to Him.”

 

So:

  1. How high are the heavens?
  2. How far is the east from the west?
  3. How great was my father’s love for me?

 

I cannot measure the ends of the heavens, and even if I could I couldn’t grasp it. The speed of light is fast enough to circle our earth 7 times in a second (if it could go around corners!) At that speed some theorize that the universe is 14 billion light years across. That’s light traveling at 186,000 miles per second (thus 7 times around the earth in a second) taking 14 billion years to cross what we think is the size of the universe. So how great is God’s love for me?

 

East never meets west! If God would have said, “As far as the north is from the south,” there would have been a limit. If I go north long enough I will start going south; and if I continue south long enough I will eventually start going north again. But start going east and see when you start going west! They never meet. So how far has God removed my transgressions from me?

 

And for the third illustration I was very blessed. I am one of the fortunate ones that had a father who WAS a great illustration of my Father in heaven. He wasn’t perfect, but he was focused, first on his God and then on his family, and he made perpetual MAJOR sacrifices for both. I was very blessed to have a father who demonstrated God’s compassion on me. If you were not that fortunate then look at the Father you have in heaven and focus on the rest of my texts that hopefully will demonstrate to you that you still have a “Father” who loves you. I’m sorry if your earthly father let you down. I want to assure you your heavenly Father will not.

 

Have a great day being treated unfairly (see my beginning text) by a loving, forgiving, and compassionate Father,

Pastor Rich

Quote for the day:      "Most people do not listen with the intent to understand. Most people listen with the intent to reply.” Ask yourself if you're truly listening to others or if you're being distracted by your own chatter. Sometimes, listening means staying silent to give others a chance to talk, soaking it in, then perhaps responding if your response is needed.

 

PS        Christ on Demand 7:30 p.m. | lower level classroom in the library, and on Zoom. This week Deneil Clarke will be sharing.

PPS      The Garden | Bible study for women. 8:00 p.m. Join Megan Fleming and Annabelle Harper for some time with Jesus.

PPPS    If you, your club, or your campus organization want to promote your activities, send your announcement to David.klein@ucollege.edu and he’ll get it up on the big screen before uGather.