As I sit here today and ponder the Greatness of God’s Mercy, I am acutely aware of my inabilities. It is truly a humbling thing to see yourself through the eyes of Scripture and see your shortcomings! I am reminded of the following Holy text; Psalm 103:8 “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” and Lamentations 3:19 “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.
20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassion never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” To think of the Mercies of God and that He never treats us as our rebellion deserves is absolutely a humbling thought. The Lord Jesus is and was always seeking the downcast, sick, blind, oppressed and those in bondage. As Isaiah puts it “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn…” Today is the day of Mercy and salvation! I know that no matter what happens today in life I can trust in the Mercies of God. To think otherwise would be raping my own soul. In case there are some reading this post and do not know or have never experienced God’s Mercy and Grace, please allow me to define these two Attributes of the Almighty. God’s Grace can be defined as God giving you what you do not deserve. Grace is kindness, goodness and love all rapped up as a gift. Ephesians 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith– and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” God’s Mercy can be defined as God does not give us what we deserve. Psalm 103:10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” Mercy is an act of God as well and can only be bestowed on those who fear Him! Never can either one of these Attributes come upon a person who is proud and who think God owes it to them! Jesus told us a Parable concerning His Fathers Mercy and Grace; “Luke 18:9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men– robbers, evildoers, adulterers– or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” That is as simple as it gets. Salvation is God’s Mercy and Grace! Salvation can be received only by turning to Jesus in Faith! Thank you God for your Great Mercy on me a mere sinful man and thank you for the Gift of Grace through your Son Jesus Christ. AMEN!
Thoughts of God’s Mercy and Grace!
August 2, 2010 by bigpreacher
Can’t read those Words and come away feeling haughty..can we???
Within the last three days here in my community, two fathers of four…both in their forties…died suddently…one with a heart attack…the other in a single vehicle accident. Both familes are major Christian families…well-known and loved by many. I seems that God is ‘letting’ in order to turn our gaze towards the ‘eternal’ rather than the ‘earthly’ existence. Pray for these two families.
Carolyn
Wow Carolyn that is a tragedy that God will use for His Glory! I will be praying for these families.