I will listen to what God the Lord says; He promises peace to His people, His faithful servants— but let them not turn to folly. Surely His salvation is near those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land. Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before Him and prepares the way for His steps.” There are so many promises in God’s living and relevant Word. Identity of Gideon

The cross of Christ is where truth and mercy kiss to reconcile us to our holy God. Luke 23:44-46 “It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit My Spirit.” When He had said this, He breathed His last.” The body of Jesus was buried for 3 days after finishing what God Sent His Son to do. Before his physical death He gave up His Spirit to the Father. John 19:30 “When He had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit.” What is the relationship between mercy and truth? In heaven they were partners. Psalm 57:3 “He sends from heaven and saves Me, rebuking those who hotly pursue Me— God sends forth His love and His faithfulness.” Psalm 89 verses 14-16 affirm Jesus. “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; love and faithfulness go before You. Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim You, who walk in the light of Your presence, Lord. They rejoice in Your name all day long;  they celebrate Your righteousness.”

Psalm 115:1-3 “Not to us, Lord, not to us but to Your name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness. Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in heaven;  He does whatever pleases Him.” Remember when Mercy and Truth came to visit you. Mercy enters dressed in a spotless white dress with a face softly smiling as warmth fills hearts with peace. Mercies manner is charming and as genuine as God’s love is. Mercy is kind as it speaks with grace. The voice of Mercy is soothing to hear as it is filled with the utmost compassion. The moment you recognize Mercy, you welcome her with great love for the fresh mercies issued. We fail miserably without mercy.

Truth walks in confidence. His face is filled with delight even as His burden of duty is heavy. His face shines with the glory of God. His loving eyes pierce through the darkness. His manner is gentle but full of authority. When face to face with Truth, knees quake in His commanding presence. It was Mercy and Truth that watched over Adam and Eve in the garden. The first royal couple were created in pure innocence. They lived in the joy of the Lord without the stain of sin, or the pride of rebellion. They lived in total harmony and loved God.

Genesis 2:17-18 Adam and Eve were instructed. “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die. The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Adam and Eve were deceived by the cunning of the evil serpent. The consequences of their disobedience to God resulted in physical suffering. Our Holy God disciplines those He loves. Genesis 3:16-19 To the woman He said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” To Adam He said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food
until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”

We suffer mentally, socially, and spiritually when we disobey God’s commands. Adam and Eve chose to hide themselves in the pain of shame. Genesis 3:10. Eve gave a painful birth to her son’s Cain and Abel and she grieved bitterly when Cain murdered his brother Abel. Genesis 4:8. The first Adam and Eve died spiritually the moment they ate from the forbidden tree. Genesis 2:17. All sins, big or small cause pain to our Father as He is holy so we are separated from our Holy God. Genesis 3:22-24. Our sin nature is selfish, prideful, and greedy. Truth was sent by God to respond to sin with Mercy. John 1:17-18 “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made Him known.” The Truth mixed with Mercy satisfies the law with Grace. 2 Corinthians 3:6-18 “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Wisdom’s Way