Thursday, April 21, 2011

God's mercy is new every morning!


For some reason or another, I have found myself waking up earlier and earlier in the morning. I finally figured out that God wanted to share some things with me concerning his mercy and grace. Many people don't understand that God gives us a do-over every day. Every day that I wake up is a chance for me to correct what I got wrong yesterday. Every day that I wake up is a chance for me to experience his undying love.

Lamentations 3:21-23 KJV says: This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness!!

Before I go any further let me just say: I get tired of this entitlement mentality that has crept into Christians and prevails in American society today. This attitude that "I have a right to it" or "I am entitled to it" or "You owe it to me." This idea that we have no responsibilities, no obligations, no price to pay; that we don't have to work or put any effort into succeeding in life. Getting saved is the easy part but excelling in the faith will cost you something. It is a heretical notion that somehow the Lord owes us something. The Lord does not owe us anything: we owe Him everything!

Jeremiah tells us, it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, then it follows that our salvation, our not being consumed, is entirely on God's terms. Again, taking the Bible as a whole, we see that the Lord does set the conditions on which we will be saved. Now, mind you, our meeting these conditions still doesn't entitle us to salvation. We still have not earned it. And we can never earn it (Matthew 19:26). We'll never be entitled or have a right to it -- at least not by anything we can ever say or do in and of ourselves. Paul tells us in Titus 3:5-7 (one of those anti-works proof-texts) "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration" (water baptism in Jesus' name) "and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (receiving the Holy Ghost); "which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Verse 23 tells us, "They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness," like we sing in the old hymn. What are new every morning? God's compassion. They are fresh in our lives every day. They are in full strength. They do not deteriorate, spoil or go stale. We've heard throughout our Christian journey about how much the Lord loves us and cares for us. Here is yet another confirmation of this. And that's the whole point: it is HIS love, HIS care, HIS mercy, His compassion. It is of the Lord's mercies! It is of the Lord's mercies! It is of the Lord's mercies! Revelation 4:11 tells us, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created." God isn't here for us, we're here for Him. We're here to honor Him, glorify Him, bring pleasure to Him; not the other way around. Any blessing or pleasure or honor we receive as a result of our serving Him, is entirely out of the goodness of His heart.

I believe that Christians can get a bit self-righteous and think they are more than what they are. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Everyday we must understand just how much of a mess we would be in without God's mercy. We may not speak wrong but we all have had wrong thoughts. Look at the many scriptures about thoughts and how powerful they are. I have thought of committing suicide in the past and even attempted it but THANK GOD FOR HIS MERCY!! We will never deserve the unfailing, undying, unmerited favor that God bestows upon us. So let us always remember this before we decide to bad mouth someone for the wrong they've done. If it wasn't for mercy you wouldn't be where you are.



Remain blessed

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