Mercy by Kristene Mueller

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvIf7VZu8xY

Inspiration

Rahab

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:6

Are any of us really so different from Rahab the prostitute? Maybe our sin is not prostitution but as Isaiah says, "we have turned - every one - to his own way." Rahab was a lost sheep, stuck in the muck and the mire of her sin with no hope of a reputable life. But in the midst of her sin, the Lord used her because of the faith Rahab possessed. 

Last year I took my IMPACT 360 girls on a Biblical womanhood retreat. We talked about the story of Ruth and the redemption of her story. The Lord used a man named Boaz to see this lowly, servant girl and to give her a life of hope and value. As we talked about the kind of man Boaz must have been to have done this, the girls coined a phrase for the t-shirts we made that weekend - "Where is my Boaz?" Boaz was a man of grace, redemption, and mercy. We Christian women love the story of Ruth. But how often do we remember that Rahab, the prostitute, was the mother of this man of character? Because of her great faith she was able to save her family and move from a life literally in the pit of sin to being one of four women named in the lineage of Christ. Rahab was shown mercy and grace by our great God who values faith. Hers is a story of redemption that continued in her family line through Boaz and ultimately, the life of Christ. Today that same redemption is offered to us through faith in Christ. 

I am a sinner like Rahab. But a scarlet cord of faith is hanging out of my window. The blood of Jesus covers me and offers redemption. He took Rahab's messy life of sin - her rubbish - and redeemed it for His good purposes. May He take my life of rubbish and sin and use it for His glory. May He make me a woman of faith like Rahab the prostitute.