“Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” “What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth— then my judgments go forth like the sun. For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
— Hosea 6:1-6

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
— Matthew 9:9-13

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Mercy Over Sacrifice
By Jennifer Kane

Merciful Father, I come in my need,
Broken in promise, in weakness indeed.
Not in my strength, but in grace I will stand,
Drawn by the love of Your merciful hand.

Jesus, Physician, You came for the lost,
Healing the sinner by bearing the cross.
Nothing to offer, no bargain I bring,
Only my trust in the mercy You sing.

Spirit, renew me to walk in the light,
Guard me in weakness, and strengthen my fight.
Pressing to know You, my joy and my song,
Mercy shall lead me forever along.

Lord, I return, Your mercy is mine,
Love everlasting, eternal, divine.
Jesus, my Savior, my soul’s only plea,
Anchor of hope through eternity.

~~~~~

Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13, Hosea 6:1-6

Have you ever been there? At the end of your rope, overwhelmed by a circumstance, a habit, or your own failure? In that moment of raw need, it’s a natural reaction to pray, “God, if you just get me out of this, I promise I’ll never do it again.” We offer a bargain, a sacrifice of our own making, hoping to earn a moment of relief.

But so often, the relief comes—by God’s grace—and our promise fades. We find ourselves circling back to the very thing we swore to leave, discovering that our willpower is a fragile thing. We weren’t even willing to maintain the sacrifice we promised in exchange for the mercy we received. This cycle can leave us feeling defeated and distant from God. Yet, it is precisely into this cycle of failure and feeble promises that the word of God speaks a better word: Mercy.

The prophet Hosea speaks to a people who are going through the motions. They offer their sacrifices, their religious rituals, but their hearts are far from God. They treat their relationship with Him as a transaction. God’s response is stunning: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” He isn’t looking for perfect people who never stumble. He isn’t waiting for you to finally keep your end of the bargain. He is looking for a heart that knows its need for Him.

The call to “return to the Lord” is not a call to get your act together first. It is an invitation to come to the One who “tears that He may heal,” and “strikes down that He may bind up.” His discipline is not meant to destroy you, but to drive you back into the safety of His mercy. He wants your heart, not your promises.

See the beautiful fulfillment of Hosea’s words in Jesus. Jesus doesn’t go to the temple to find the most righteous, rule-following people. He goes straight to Matthew, a tax collector—a man known for his betrayal and greed. He goes to the sick, the sinners, the ones who know they are at the end of their own rope.

And His call is simple: “Follow me.” It is not, “Clean yourself up and then follow me.” It is a call extended in pure, unearned mercy. When the religious leaders are scandalized, Jesus quotes our passage from Hosea: “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” He is the embodiment of that mercy. He is the physician who heals the sick. He is the sacrifice that ends all our feeble attempts to sacrifice.

Your failed promises are not a surprise to God. Your inability to maintain your own sacrifices does not disqualify you from His love. It simply proves that you are the very person Jesus came to call. You are the “sick” who needs the “physician.”

The strength to persevere in your walk with God does not come from mustering up more willpower to keep your promises. It comes from daily returning to the Merciful One who became the perfect sacrifice for you. It was His mercy on the cross that saves you, and it is that same mercy that will sustain you.

Stop trying to bring God a sacrifice you can’t maintain. Instead, receive the mercy He freely offers in Christ. Let that be the fuel that empowers you to truly follow Him.

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Merciful Father, I come to You today, acknowledging my weakness. I have made promises I could not keep and offered sacrifices I could not maintain. I have trusted in my own strength and found it failing. Thank you that Your Word meets me not with condemnation, but with an invitation to return. Lord Jesus, you are the Physician for my soul. I am the sick one you came to call. Forgive me for trying to earn the mercy you so freely gave on the cross. Help me to stop bargaining and to simply receive. Your sacrifice is enough. Holy Spirit, empower me to “press on to know the Lord.” When I feel weak and tempted to turn back to my old ways, remind my heart of the boundless mercy that is mine in Christ. Let that truth be the anchor for my soul and the strength for my journey. It is in the merciful name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

September 30, 2025