Mercy Verse

I'm always looking for good mercy verses.

For those of you that don't know, I changed my name to Mercy when I joined SAG because there were too many other Tracy Edwards's on IMDB, and I had just been in the play The Crucible where my name was Mercy Lewis, and people called me Mercy sometimes at rehearsal, and I sort of liked it.

I also feel like anything good that has happened or is going to happen to me in the acting world is going to be because of God's mercy because this industry is too crazy and I am too clueless.

So anyway, I found this good verse today in Luke. It's after Mary found out she was going to be the mother of Jesus and when she went to her relative Elizabeth's house and sang a song of praise for how God had blessed her.

In Luke 1:50, she sings, "And his mercy is for those who fear him, from generation to generation." 

Mary feared the Lord, and I think part of the way she feared him was just by believing in her blessing. Elizabeth said to her in verse 45, "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." 

The main way I want to fear the Lord is by believing in his word and his promises and that he is with me and fighting for me in my pursuits.

I've been working hard at pursuing acting, especially recently, and Deuteronomy 28:8a says, "The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake ['if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God' - v.1]." It also says in verse 12a, "The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands."

I know God is with me and blessing me in my work as I fear and obey him, but I also know it is not by my work that I have hope but only by his mercy.

Less Excess

Deuteronomy 17:17-20 - "And he [the next appointed king] shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel" (ESV).

I know I have not been appointed King and probably will never be, but I like these standards God sets for him, and I feel like I should have them for my life too.

I've been listening to a lot of Dave Ramsey lately (even though I'm not in debt and am pretty good with money), because he talks about investing and how it's "so easy" for anyone to become a millionaire if you just invest a small amount of money every month.

It's pretty enticing, and even though his teachings are laced with all kinds of scripture and there's lots of talk on generosity and right living, it sort of makes me get excited about accumulating wealth, which at this point in my life is more of a hindrance than anything.

Here are the reasons why it's a hindrance:

1. Every time I turn around, there's someone else that needs money. And it's either someone I care about or for a reason I care about, and if I were to think too much about accumulating money, I would not be able to give.
2. I currently do not have a plan for what I would do with accumulated money. I guess at some point I might like to buy a house, mostly because I like to have people over and host things. But right now I have been blessed with pretty frequent house-sittings jobs where the people encourage me to have people over, so it doesn't really seem like I need one yet. I also don't think I need a ton of money for headshots or acting class because I've spent a lot of money on that before, and God has since shown me I don't need money for that stuff. I also don't need an iPhone because I don't need to be addicted to checking my email, and I already have a really nice camera my roommate lets me borrow whenever I need it. My computer's still working pretty well, and my car's still running. And if my car dies, I'm pretty sure my mom is going to let me have hers since she's buying a new one. So yeah, it really doesn't seem like I need money right now. Sure I might need it somewhere down the road at some point, but until that point comes or God gives me a more clear vision for why I should be saving, I think I will just keep on giving. I do have a small amount of money saved for things that might come up, but I do not think it's "excessive," and also I can use it for giving.

I don't want to be distracted by tons of "stuff" or by men, and I really do above anything want to focus on God and his law and living how I am called to live. I do not always do this, but this passage reminds me that as a leader, it's not a bad goal to have.

Faith Overflowing

Mark 7:20-23 – “And he said, ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of a man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person'" (ESV). 

The next part in Mark is about the Syrophoenician’s faith – the woman who was not a Jew but wanted her daughter healed of a demon, and Jesus said it’s not right to give the children’s bread to the dogs, and she said yes but even the dogs get the crumbs, and then God healed her daughter because of that statement, because of her faith.

So this all just makes me think about the heart, my heart. I mean, this woman did not prepare this statement beforehand, she just had such faith she wasn’t about to say, “Oh okay,” and leave Jesus because he said he wasn’t going to heal her daughter. She was going to keep fighting for what she came to him for, you know? 

I want to be like that, where faith is so deeply rooted in me that it comes out in everything I say and do. And I want faith to come out of me instead of evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, adultery, coveting, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.

Oh Lord cleanse me of these sins and put faith so strongly in my heart that it comes out in everything I do.