The mercy seat
Grand Sweep Daily Reading: Deuteronomy 21, 22, 23; Psalm 51
Psalm 51:1-4 (NIV)
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
Good morning!
Regrets run deep when it finally hits home. Have you ever said or done anything that you sincerely regret?
I have a true confession to make. When I was a child, I had a mean streak! Sometimes I would go way out of my way to set my little sister up for a fall. We picked at each other constantly. Sibling rivalry is not exactly the term I would use to describe our relationship and behavior – there were times when it was all-out war. The competitive spirit between us was, at times, hurtful and cruel. We took stabs at each other which left raw and open wounds. What prompts us to do the selfish things we do? Whatever possesses us to skin each other alive with sharp, harsh words and wrong behaviors? We tear one another apart just to build up our own selfish ego. Do you find satisfaction in beating your brother to the finish line?
Sometimes we apologize without meaning it. We get caught and apologize, not really meaning it. We cross our fingers and toes and eyeballs, and anything else we can cross. Crossing ourselves is worthless when we stand in the grip of grace that can only come through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. What happens when, for the maybe the first time ever, we begin to see our sin for what it really is? How do you feel when you begin to realize that your poor words, actions, and self-centered motivation has not only hurt your family and friends, but that we have grieved the very heart of God?
I will never forget the weekend I began to experience sincere regret over my selfish ambition and hateful actions. I was attending a youth revival. Sitting in a room with fifty of my peers, the director began to talk about the condition of his heart. He said that he needed to take a closer look on the inside of his life to see what God sees when He looks at him for real. Pulling a chair from the corner of the room, he had all of us sit in a large circle. He placed the chair in the center of the room. With a humble and contrite heart, this humble man shared that God reached down from heaven when Jesus Christ died on a cross to save him from the messes he made in his life. He said the Lord touched Him by revealing his mean spirited behavior toward his brothers and sisters. He didn’t know whether any of us had regret over the things we may have said or done in our past, but He knew that without God’s mercy and grace, he simply could not go on. Then, he did something amazing. He sat down on the mercy seat. With tear-stained cheeks, he asked all of us to come and pray for him. I was stunned. I saw an adult that I respected sit in a chair in the middle of a large youth meeting, and confess that he had made some serious mistakes in his life. Not only did he confess, but he asked all of us to pray for him! My mind was racing a million miles per minute. The group inched toward our director, one by one, touching his shoulder, the chair, his head, each other, and we prayed out loud. Some of my friends began to cry. People were sniffling and shaking all around me. One by one, we cried out to God for His grace and mercy. We asked the Lord to forgive our youth leader and help him feel forgiveness for the sins he had committed throughout his life. He sat motionless, with his head buried in his hands. I could see the tears falling from his face and dripping on his pants leg.
After a few moments, he stood up from the chair, thanked all of us for praying, and said that he knew, without a doubt, that God had forgiven him right then. The chair sat empty – I couldn’t help but stare at it. He asked us a question – was there anyone else in the room who needed to know God’s healing love and mercy? Was there anyone else willing to take their place on the mercy seat? When I sat down on the chair that night and one hundred hands reached out to me in prayer, it was as if gravity had ceased to exist and that chair was literally lifted by the prayers and petitions of my friends, all of them focused on my healing and forgiveness. I didn’t realize just how miserable I felt until I experienced what it was like to have that guilt and shame taken up. This was the very first time I experienced what it meant to lay my sin out in the open before the foot of the cross and beg Jesus Christ to come into my heart, and forgive me.
The mercy seat sits empty this morning. There are people on their knees in prayer right now, waiting for you to come. Will you choose to sit on the mercy seat? Will you allow your brothers and sisters to pray for you, crying out to the Father on your behalf? Will you humble your heart, take a good look at the sin that eats away at your soul, and confess it once and for all before the One who can forgive and redeem you?
Come sit on the mercy seat today. There is a special place waiting just for you, in the sanctuary of the Lord. Won’t you come and worship the risen Christ with me today?
Grace and peace,
Deb Spaulding
www.songofdeborah.com
Pray for: new life! Jesus Christ died to set you free from the sins that separate you from Him. The mercy seat is for you and for me. Come sit with me! I’ll see you at church.
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© Copyright 2007, Deb Spaulding
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