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Volume 9 ... #30
The Mercy of God To Show Us Our Sins So We Can Repent and Correct Our Way
The Mercy of God To Show Us Our Sins So We Can Repent and Correct Our Way
On January 1, 2017, Pam Padgett's doorbell rang. (Pam is in our little church group.) It was her neighbor Kim.
When Pam opened the door, Kim said: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" .... and held out to Pam a birthday card.
Pam was very shocked for it was not her birthday.
Kim explained that is what Pam's FaceBook page says.
Pam remembered when she registered several months earlier for Facebook to explore advertising our books, there was a place calling for Pam's birthday. She didn't want to give her real birthday for "fear" of internet types of fraud and Pam also thought, "They don't need to know my birthday." So she just put January 1 as her birthday and thought no more about it.
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When Pam told me the story, I said, "How embarrassing."
Then later that night, it came to me: "Pam lied."
I wrote her the following email.
Pam ... I was thinking tonight of the way you went when you listed January 1 as birthday. The first thing I said about it was it was embarrassing. But it was really more serious than that.
I hate to say this but you showed yourself a liar to Kim because you were afraid.
At first when you told me the story, I didn't think much about it but Holy Spirit called it to my attention.
It's lying and it's lack of faith in God.
And it gives the wrong message to Kim of course.
Maybe you've already seen all this.
I'm sure you'll be shocked when you think about it.
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Pam responded:
This is absolutely true. I did lie, which is very serious. Thank you for your note.
Such a way of darkness. I'm very glad to have the opportunity to repent.
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Pam said she felt uncomfortable when she did this but just reasoned her uncomfortable feeling away.
She said had she stopped and prayed she was sure God would have stopped her.
The HOLY SPIRIT in us puts up a STOP SIGN but sometimes we run right through it. The fact that she felt "uncomfortable" about what she was doing that day was the Holy Spirit in her warning her.
I have found the Holy Spirit always warns me when I am about to go the wrong way or when my speaking is getting out of control so I can pull back.
Another sign of wrong way is Pam was being led by "fear". And she acted on that "fear" to protect herself instead of taking that "fear" to God and depending on HIM to protect her or to show her what to do.
Pam just acted by her own flesh in this much like an animal will react to a very loud sound by running away. This is what the flesh does.
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James 3:17 ... But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
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The day after this happened, I was thinking about it and how amazing it was that the neighbor saw this on Facebook and as a result brought Pam's attention to what she had done. That is like a miracle which allowed Pam to repent and make changes to the lie printed on Facebook.
Then I remembered the following:
God says, "I will be merciful to your unrighteousness ..." Heb. 8:12 (part of New Covenant)
Heb. 8 ... 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 13 In that HE saith, A new covenant,
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I realized this was the mercy of God to Pam ... and I marveled at God through this event and this scripture.
And it caused me to see that God will keep us and correct us when our way is wrong even to the end.
This is the mercy of God toward us, HIS children.
*****