Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
Blessings to you all from my home in Bellingham. I hope you had a great week. I am doing well, working on a few projects in preparation for some coming trips. I am enjoying God’s presence and encouraged by His love. I am still contemplating upon the glory of God.
God doesn’t just want us to know His character. He wants us to exhibit His character in our lives as His sons and daughters. As children of God, we should be forgiving. We should be merciful and gracious in our heart and actions towards others. We should be longsuffering in the circumstances of our lives and in our relationships with others. We should abound in goodness and abound in truth. Like our heavenly Father, we should show mercy in every opportunity that is given to us. This does not mean that we simply sweep illegitimate issues under the rug.
Exodus 34:5-7 Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
The last phrase in these verses is not out of context with the preceding descriptions. It says that God does not clear but rather visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and fourth generation. The words “the guilty” are not in the original but are meant to clarify what He does not clear. It is somewhat accurate, but it must be taken into consideration in the context of the previous descriptions. It can only be understood in the context of forgiveness, mercy, grace, longsuffering, abundant goodness, abundant truth, and eternal pardon. It is not a judgment to destroy the person, but a judgment to destroy the root of iniquity that leads to sin. It is simply what happens to the iniquity when God visits it. God’s presence eradicates our intern flaws and heals the hearts and minds.
Jesus is our salvation in all things. He is a loving Savior granting us forgiveness. He grants us mercy as a judgment unto life. He demonstrates His love to us in His patience and endurance. He reveals the abundance of His goodness to us in all things. He gives to us His truth—the stability and faithfulness of His presence to perform the will of His freedom in our lives. He gives us constant and eternal mercies that demonstrate His forgiveness of our weaknesses, our internal rebellions, and even our disconnections from His presence in our journey with God in life. He is a loving Jesus, but He is also a dangerous Jesus. He is loving in His care for us, but He is dangerous to the things that seek to destroy our lives. By no means does He clear the guilty but visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.
He carries a shepherd’s rod, and staff to guide us and protect us from the wandering ways of carnality and the vulnerabilities of the destruction of the flesh. These are essential tools for managing and protecting each of our lives as members of His flock. His rod is used for discipline and defense, while the staff is used for guidance, rescue, and gentle correction. He doesn’t overlook our internal flaws; He comes to heal our hearts and minds that we will walk in His ways in our paths of life.
Psalms 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
This is also part of the glory of God. God wants us to know His glory, and He has declared that the knowledge of His glory will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. The evidence of His goodness, deliverance, and care will be greater than the knowledge of man’s sin in the earth.
Blessings,
Ted J. Hanson
Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:
Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:
House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225
To avoid us paying a transaction fee from your donation, you can also set up a payment or an automatic payment from your bank to House of Bread Ministry. Just set it up as a ‘bill pay’ through your online bank account and your bank will mail a check to House of Bread Ministry. We will record your payment as a donation to House of Bread Ministry (E.I.N. 91-2009037) and we will send you a contribution receipt at the close of the year.
Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728
