TODAY'S VERSE:
Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).
As we continue our study on Jonah in prep school, we are learning more and more about the mercy of God. As we celebrate Thanksgiving this month, let’s all remember that His mercy is a lot to be thankful for!
God loves us so much - more than anyone can. Billions of years ago He made a plan for us. It is one of mercy and grace - compassion, forgiveness, and unearned favor. He shows us His mercy through His grace; He shows us His compassion and forgiveness through all the grace gifts He gives us. God has set us apart to live a life in the sphere of grace, or surrounded by grace! We don’t earn it or deserve it. God gives and we receive! He gives us the grace to accomplish what He wants. He tells each believer, “Relax! Rely on Me and what I give to you – My provisions - to show My mercy. I will do the work of transforming you into the image of Jesus Christ!”
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
Both the cosmic system and our flesh hate God’s mercy and grace. They don’t like the fact that Jesus Christ has done all the work on the cross for our salvation, then continues to do the work, providing the power of God the Holy Spirit, for our repentance and acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. They don’t like the fact that after salvation He continues to do all the work, providing the power of God the Holy Spirit, so we may learn, believe in, and apply the thinking of Christ. God knows we are weak and pathetic without Him! He has solved the problem! God promises to give us His endless mercy and grace. His plan is a grace plan! He gives to us what we don’t earn or deserve! He wants us to have a lifestyle of believing in His mercy and grace and of being faithful to Him. He wants us to have a loving relationship with Him and trust in His care for us!
Hebrews 4:16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.
Satan wants to cause division between God and us; between family members, church family members, and friends. He doesn’t want us to know God’s forgiveness; he doesn’t want us to forgive others or ourselves. He wants us to feel guilty. We will fail at times. When that happens we need to realize it and turn back to God, repent. God is the source of mercy! He will take our failures and turn them into blessings. He gives us mercy and grace and teaches us how to give it to others. When we do that, there won’t be division between family members, church family members, and friends. We’ll have compassion and forgiveness for each other! We’ll rely on God being there for us!
True mercy is objective; it is not influenced by emotion or personal opinion! It is the thinking of Christ found in the Bible. We have to learn it. The more of Christ’s thinking we have in our souls, the more objective we will be with others and ourselves. We will learn not to set unbiblical expectations on ourselves and others.
Luke 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
God’s mercy is endless! He gave Jonah lots of mercy! He gave the Ninevites lots of mercy! He gives us lots of mercy! It’s up to us to choose to live in it. He lets us choose to be obedient or disobedient. When we choose disobedience, we see how hopeless and helpless we are, and when we return to His thinking, He shows us His mercy. We see that He comes through for us time and time again! This is how we will learn to understand how great His mercy is. We can see how it works! He wants us to live in His mercy and grace and be free in obedience to Him. God will never let us down! We can expect His undeserved, favorable treatment!
Thank You, Loving Father, for the comfort of Your endless mercy and grace!