"Man gets life with mercy..."

As I got the newspaper out of the box this morning, I looked at the main headline on the front page that read, "Man gets life with mercy in killing of area minister". This headline kind of struck me in a different way than I believe it was meant to. The article is about a young man, U.S. Army Spc. Daniel Smith, who has been on trial this past week in Huntington, WV, for his role in the the June 2008 robbery and killing of the Rev. Mark McCalla, a 48 year old pastor of Huntington's Highlawn Presbyterian Church. Pastor McCalla was an avid outdoorsman and was taking target practice on the morning of June 19, 2008, when two young men showed up, Smith and Pfc. Stephen Wilson, after driving from Fort Drum, N. Y., where they were both absent without leave (AWL). This was a horrible crime that was totally unnecessary; based on the descriptions given of Pastor McCalla, I am sure that he would have given them anything they requested without them having to kill him.

The Herald-Dispatch article said, "It took jurors about 90 minutes to agree upon the guilty verdict. They needed another 70 minutes to return the life with mercy recommendation. The mercy recommendation means Smith could be eligible for parole in 15 years, but Prosecutor Tom Plymale said any eligibility would be delayed at least 22 additional years because of Pratt's (Wayne Circuit Judge) robbery sentence." Smith's parents both testified in the sentencing phase and asked the jury to recommend mercy for their son, who turned 24 years old this week. "'I'm begging for you to do it,' testified Talton Smith. 'He's a good man.'" The Public Defender asked the jurors to remember Smith's "honorable service to his country and testimony from his friend's, who called Smith a good person and credited him with saving a fellow soldier from suicide. 'Some day maybe the good in him can come out again,' Lewis (defender) told jurors."

"HE'S A GOOD MAN" ???!!! I'm sorry, but a "good man" does not commit such a horrid act with such malice and then have no remorse whatsoever, until he knew he was found guilty; that's when he begged for "mercy". "HONORABLE SERVICE TO HIS COUNTRY" ???!!! And yet he was AWL from his post in Fort Drum, N.Y.??? Again, I am sorry, but someone who is honorable does not leave their assigned position without prior approval - - my dictionary defines "honorable" as "worthy of honor; upright; a title of distinction or respect." Does that describe Spc. Daniel Smith, or for that matter, Pfc. Stephen Wilson? In fact, none of us are really "good" or "honorable" people....In Luke 18:19, Jesus Himself says, "...Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone." This was in response to a young ruler who asked Him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life.

Paul, one of the most faithful and devoted servants of Jesus Christ in the Bible, came to realize that he was a sinner and worthy of death. In Romans chapter seven, Paul came to understand the true meaning of the law; the law is fundamentally good, but the result of the law is to bring into the open the power of sin. Many people think they can be sanctified, set apart for only Christ's service, by keeping the law. Jesus Christ and His blood Sacrifice is more better and powerful than the law, therefore the only way to be sanctified is through the blood of Jesus! In Romans 7:15-25 we find Paul's explanation of what happens when one tries to be sanctified by keeping the law; "For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I {would} like to {do,} but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want {to do,} I agree with the Law, {confessing} that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good {is} not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin." In this passage, Paul uses the word "flesh" to denote the personality of man controlled by sin and led to selfish desires instead of being led to serving the One True God. Paul is relating his experience as a believer here; in a non-Christian there is no battle, just the bondage of a sinful nature. "For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death" (Romans 7:5).


All of us as human beings were born into this world with a sinful nature and we all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. From the moment we are born we start down a path toward hell and eternal death, but God has prepared and offered a way for us to avoid that and reach eternal life in heaven with Jesus. That is the "MERCY" of God; not getting what we deserve, which is eternal death in hell. But by His "GRACE" we receive eternal life in heaven with Christ! Grace can be defined as God's undeserved, unearned favor, goodness, kindness and love shown toward us....Grace is a free gift that cannot be earned, only received!!!

U.S. Army Spc. Daniel Smith was found guilty and then was recommended for mercy by the jury. Aren't we all guilty? Yes, we are! But we also are recommended for mercy by a God that loves us through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ!! "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him" (I John 4:9). All any of us, including Smith and Wilson, need to do to receive this free gift of salvation is to call out the name of Jesus and admit we are sinners, believe that Jesus died for our sins, confess our sins to Him, and confess Jesus before others; "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13). I pray with all my heart that Smith and Wilson do not miss the opportunities placed before them by God to hear and receive the gift of salvation, therefore being able to receive TRUE 'MERCY" offered by the One who died for them, not just the legal mercy offered by a jury and a judge. So instead of the headline reading, "Man gets life with mercy in killing of area minister", it should read, "MEN GET LIFE THROUGH MERCY AND GRACE BECAUSE OF THE KILLING OF THE ONE AND ONLY SAVIOR"!!!!!

Jesus gave His life voluntarily and was crucified, dead and buried. He then rose from the dead and He is now sitting at the right hand of God Almighty. He is waiting for YOU to call out His name and come to Him as you are, a sinner in need of His MERCY and GRACE......

I RECOMMEND LIFE WITH MERCY AND GRACE!!!

WILL YOU RECEIVE IT?????