Thankful, Day Ninety-Seven

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!

Serve the LORD with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the LORD, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the LORD is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100, NKJV

Since I talked about my Dad in the last blog, I thought I'd at least give you some insight into my own shady history. I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior, repented of my sinful wickedness, and surrendered my life to God on September 24, 1978...at the tender age of 6. That's right, I "got saved", I was "born again", at six years old. I've recommitted my life to Him multiple times over, but that first time was thirty-three years ago this fall. I was changed that day, transformed from a sinner into a saint, brought out of darkness into marvelous light. God made my whole world different! And thank God He did! Because I was on my way to hell (in spite of what Rob Bell may think).

And you may think, "C'mon! You were six! How bad could you have been?" If you have to ask the question, you must not know many six year olds, and you've obviously forgotten what it was like to be one.

By the age of six, I knew how to steal, and lie, and lie about stealing. I stuck bubblegum in the neighbor kid's hair, and threw rocks at the boys down the street. I stuck nails in the tires of cars belonging to people I didn't like. I was stubborn and rebellious. I backtalked my Mama alot. I drowned our pet cat one time (and my Pentecostal mother prayed that cat back to life!). Do you get the picture that I wasn't a very nice little boy? Oh, lots of people thought I was an angel, but I'm pretty sure there were some demonic imps propping up my halo.

Suffice it to say (and I haven't even told everything I could) I was a wretched little boy and I needed Jesus in my life. I got saved at 6, and I quit lying and stealing and throwing rocks and sabotaging tires and drowning cats. And I did pretty good with myself for a few years, 'til I became a teenager and discovered a whole new world of rotten things I could do that had never entered my mind as a child. And afterward was adulthood, and more stupid choices and actions. And now I'm middle-aged...and guess what? There are still ugly things I find myself doing. Even though I know better and mostly don't want to do those things anymore, sometimes I choose to do what is wrong rather than what I know to be right.

So I'm thankful for God's mercy today. The Bible says the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning! He is full of compassion and abounding in mercy. His tender mercy continues to be made known unto me. And I'm so very thankful that He hasn't run out of mercy for me and fried me to a little greasy spot on the sidewalk. He is longsuffering, willing not that I should perish, but rather that I should come to repentance.

Thank you Lord for that initial act of mercy that saved me as a six year old child from myself, from sin and sickness and satan and hell. Thank you Lord for extending Your love and forgiveness to me thirty-three years ago. I don't know where'd I'd be without it, and it's no fun thinking about it.

Thank you Lord for your continued grants of mercy that are always available when I call on your name, especially after I have stumbled and fallen by making stupid choices. Thank you Lord for extending your love and forgiveness to me on a daily basis, if need be. I don't want to live a day outside of your grace and love and mercy.

Thank you Lord for your unending mercy that will continue to work in me until I have become like you. Thank you Lord for extending the kind of mercy that never ceases, that never ends, that is from everlasting to everlasting. Amen.