Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.

I examine the works of those who claim faith. It is in the works of faith that truth in belief can be found. Where faith is claimed and rule is imposed to keep the faith I find often that those rules fail because of a failure in the belief system itself.

The rules vary widely across cultures. Some are so silly that they are dismissive, who cares, no harm no foul. When a violation of rule becomes punishable, then lives are endangered. Some are punishable by death and that is tragic. False faith clings to these rules with reckless disregard of the root problem. Their belief system is ineffectual in capturing and changing the heart of its believers.

Obedience to feckless rules isn’t faith. True faith changes lives in the promotion of peace, gentleness, love, patience, kindness and forgiveness. It does not get bent out of shape when silly rules are broken.

Ephesians 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

Jesus Christ has the power to change hearts. That is effective faith.

Psalms 136b for his mercy endureth for ever.

I’ve been taught by trusted theologians that when something is important God repeats it in the bible. They make lengthy sermons which are sometimes based on how many times a word or phrase is repeated.

This phrase “for his mercy endureth for ever” appears 26 times in Psalm 136, in each and every verse. It is repeated so many times that by the end you are thinking “yeah, yeah, yeah”. That goes to an important issue that speaks to the very nature of man in relationships. We start taking one other for granted.

No one likes to be taken for granted. People have broken friendships apart for just that reason. It is a sign that your affection is fading. There are times in my life when I have done the very same thing to my God. The difference is that God isn’t human. He doesn’t cut you off because you have taken Him for granted. He isn’t human, He is God and His mercy endureth for ever.

Has it been awhile since you have had a meaningful conversation with God? Are you afraid to talk to Him because you think He might mention something about taking Him for granted? Is there something you don’t want to talk to Him about? Those are human reactions to human emotions, they aren’t God’s. He will surprise you with what He has to say, but you will never find out unless you turn around and talk to Him.

“for his mercy endureth for ever.”