Paris received mercy that most just dream about.
Paris Hilton was back in court again, recently. This time she was sentenced to two consecutive six month sentences in jail on misdemeanor drug possession charges and one obstruction of justice charge in Las Vegas. Then, because of a plea deal, she was placed on probation for one year and allowed to pay a $2, 000 fine. For good measure she was also sentenced to 200 hours of community service.
Hilton, heiress to the Hilton Hotel fortune, has been in court before for alcohol related driving offenses and drugs. She was sentenced to 45 days in jail once but did only 23 of those days. In Las Vegas she pleaded guilty to the misdemeanors to avoid felony possession charges.
Standing before the Las Vegas Justice of the peace, she admitted her guilt and received her sentence. Because of the probation she walked out of the court to a flurry of photo flashes, and photographers.
Whether deserved or not, Hilton received Justice tempered with mercy. Everyone else in the courtroom that day didn't get the same treatment.
One day we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. The righteous will stand to be rewarded. Fortunately, those who believe in Christ will receive what Miss Hilton received; justice tempered with mercy. We will be found guilty but forgiven because of the blood of Jesus. We will walk into heaven by His grace and mercy although we deserve harsh punishment.
There is a bible passage that refers to our day in God's court; it's in 2 Corinthians 5:10: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things[ done] in[ his] body, according to that he hath done, whether[ it be] good or bad.
For some, their day in court won't be a happy day and they won't be sentenced to the Hilton.
The ungodly will be given eternal punishment and condemned to hell. No probation. No flashing cameras. No community service. No mercy, and no plea bargain. Their punishment is forever.
Showing posts with label Mercy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mercy. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Friday, June 04, 2010
The devil or the umpire stole his perfect game
He pitched the perfect game, then the umpire stole it.
Everyone of us can can can relate to what happened this week to a Detroit pitcher who pitched the perfect game, only to have it stolen from him by an admitted bad call from the umpire. Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga had pitched the perfect game against Cleveland and he was down to the final out. But a botched call by an umpire blew his chance to make it into the history books as only the 21st person in MLB league history, and the first ever Detroit Tiger to pitch the perfect game.
The umpire reviewed the video and admitted he made a bad call; in tears he apologized. The fans protested, millions watched the video on the Internet; they protested too. Baseball's great names and legends protested, but the baseball commissioner refused to reverse the call. He said mistakes and errors in judgment by umpires is part of the game and a part of life.
Perfection. We all strive to achieve it but it always eludes us. We can't ever seem to get everything just the way we want. Sometimes we make it through an entire day perfectly, then at the last minute, something goes wrong and perfection eludes us. We set a straight path the inevitably gets a crook in it somewhere.
While perfection is a goal for us, it is elusive because we are imperfect by design. We live in an imperfect world and interact with imperfect people similar to ourselves. Bad people, bad calls, and mistakes in judgment mess up our lives, whether done by ourselves or forces outside of our control.
That's a bum deal.
Our joy is knowing that we don't have to be perfect in every way. The beauty of being a child of God is that we have an honest judge who will consider our situation in the end and because of the blood of Christ, reverse our imperfections and declare us sufficient to stand before God, worthy of heaven.
2 Timothy 4:8 (msg) says,".. he's an honest judge. He'll do right not only by me, but by everyone eager for his coming."
Had the baseball commissioner in Detroit had this passage in mind, he would have reviewed the video, accepted the umpire's statement of perfection and allowed Mr. Galarraga to take his place in history as the first Detroit pitcher to ever pitch a perfect game.
Thankfully, if the devil tries to steal our perfect day, we have a loving God who will do right by us and straighten it out.
We won't ever be perfect, but God will love us perfectly.
That's fine with me.
Everyone of us can can can relate to what happened this week to a Detroit pitcher who pitched the perfect game, only to have it stolen from him by an admitted bad call from the umpire. Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga had pitched the perfect game against Cleveland and he was down to the final out. But a botched call by an umpire blew his chance to make it into the history books as only the 21st person in MLB league history, and the first ever Detroit Tiger to pitch the perfect game.
The umpire reviewed the video and admitted he made a bad call; in tears he apologized. The fans protested, millions watched the video on the Internet; they protested too. Baseball's great names and legends protested, but the baseball commissioner refused to reverse the call. He said mistakes and errors in judgment by umpires is part of the game and a part of life.
Perfection. We all strive to achieve it but it always eludes us. We can't ever seem to get everything just the way we want. Sometimes we make it through an entire day perfectly, then at the last minute, something goes wrong and perfection eludes us. We set a straight path the inevitably gets a crook in it somewhere.
While perfection is a goal for us, it is elusive because we are imperfect by design. We live in an imperfect world and interact with imperfect people similar to ourselves. Bad people, bad calls, and mistakes in judgment mess up our lives, whether done by ourselves or forces outside of our control.
That's a bum deal.
Our joy is knowing that we don't have to be perfect in every way. The beauty of being a child of God is that we have an honest judge who will consider our situation in the end and because of the blood of Christ, reverse our imperfections and declare us sufficient to stand before God, worthy of heaven.
2 Timothy 4:8 (msg) says,".. he's an honest judge. He'll do right not only by me, but by everyone eager for his coming."
Had the baseball commissioner in Detroit had this passage in mind, he would have reviewed the video, accepted the umpire's statement of perfection and allowed Mr. Galarraga to take his place in history as the first Detroit pitcher to ever pitch a perfect game.
Thankfully, if the devil tries to steal our perfect day, we have a loving God who will do right by us and straighten it out.
We won't ever be perfect, but God will love us perfectly.
That's fine with me.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
I lost my signal in the middle of my call.
Right in the middle of our conversation, I lost my signal.
The phone call was rather important I thought, especially since the two of us had been trying to connect for quite some time but had been playing phone tag. When we finally caught up with each other our exchange of information began; then suddenly the phone went dead.
"Hello, Hello, Can you hear me?" -There was no answer. Either I lost my signal or he lost his.
With all of the pressing technology that exists today no one should expect to finish a conversation because the prospect of an interrupted signal always exists.
When I thought about that I wondered about our conversations with God. Is it possible that some of us have been playing phone tag with God; He's been leaving us messages and we've been promising to get back to Him at our earliest convenience. That's when we promise to pray, read a devotional, or to attend a worship but never get around to it.
Even worse, there are times when we really need to talk to God but we lose our signal. You see, God hangs up on us if we try to talk to him while we are in the midst of our sins. Sometimes He looks at the ID, sees it's from someone who wants something but doesn't want to repent to get it. I'm sure when I'm in that state, my call gets ignored. It's like trying to talk to your grandmother while smoking a joint; she won't hear a word you have to say.
Better than Verizon or AT ant T, God can connect with us anywhere. There are no dead zones; but he has rules. We can't ask for blessings, healings,and guidance while we are willfully living sinful lives without repentance. If we want to get a call through without an interruption, we should make our first call an earnest plea for forgiveness; God will know it and pick up the phone.
There is a bible passage in Psalms 66:18 that says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."
When we are straight with God the followings verses say in Psalms 66:19-20, "But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me."
It's best that I try to straighten myself out before I try to hookup with God, or he may just hang up; or worse, not answer.
When he calls the next time, I'll change my location; find a signal and stay there, so I won't be interrupted again.
I'll do the same for my business caller, too.
The phone call was rather important I thought, especially since the two of us had been trying to connect for quite some time but had been playing phone tag. When we finally caught up with each other our exchange of information began; then suddenly the phone went dead.
"Hello, Hello, Can you hear me?" -There was no answer. Either I lost my signal or he lost his.
With all of the pressing technology that exists today no one should expect to finish a conversation because the prospect of an interrupted signal always exists.
When I thought about that I wondered about our conversations with God. Is it possible that some of us have been playing phone tag with God; He's been leaving us messages and we've been promising to get back to Him at our earliest convenience. That's when we promise to pray, read a devotional, or to attend a worship but never get around to it.
Even worse, there are times when we really need to talk to God but we lose our signal. You see, God hangs up on us if we try to talk to him while we are in the midst of our sins. Sometimes He looks at the ID, sees it's from someone who wants something but doesn't want to repent to get it. I'm sure when I'm in that state, my call gets ignored. It's like trying to talk to your grandmother while smoking a joint; she won't hear a word you have to say.
Better than Verizon or AT ant T, God can connect with us anywhere. There are no dead zones; but he has rules. We can't ask for blessings, healings,and guidance while we are willfully living sinful lives without repentance. If we want to get a call through without an interruption, we should make our first call an earnest plea for forgiveness; God will know it and pick up the phone.
There is a bible passage in Psalms 66:18 that says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."
When we are straight with God the followings verses say in Psalms 66:19-20, "But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me."
It's best that I try to straighten myself out before I try to hookup with God, or he may just hang up; or worse, not answer.
When he calls the next time, I'll change my location; find a signal and stay there, so I won't be interrupted again.
I'll do the same for my business caller, too.
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