The faithful love of the Lord
never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies
begin afresh each morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT)
How can we not be joyful when it comes to God’s
faithfulness, His never ending love and His new mercies for us every day! I can’t
read these scriptures and not think that the Joy of the Lord is my strength!
When we make Jesus the Lord of our lives, we receive gifts that we would never
be in position to receive otherwise.
God’s grace is a gift to His children, a gift he gives to those who
have made Jesus their Lord and Savior – we don’t do anything to receive this
gift, it’s part of our inheritance.
Just
like the grace we extend to our own children when they haven’t done anything to
deserve a reward. I’ve often given my sons gifts simply because they’ve asked –
not that they have gone out of their way to do something for me – but simply
because they asked and I was able to give them the gift they asked for.
7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.
Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be
opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds.
And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do
you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a
snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to
your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those
who ask him. (Matthew 7:7-11 NLT)
There is nothing that our God can’t do for us – He is able
to do great and exceedingly wonderful things, He doesn’t put limitations or
requirements on His gifts – He only tells us to ask Him and receive by faith.
Mercy another
gift from God, given to us because we’ve either made a mistake or just because
in this world, there will be trouble – isn’t it good to know that Jesus told us
that, “…Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart,
because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33c NLT)
Think of this: if you have told your child a thousand times to
stop climbing and jumping out of a certain tree, yet he continues to do
so and one day breaks their arm - are you going to stand there, shaking your
finger at them and give them a lecture on listening to you? Heck no, you are a
good parent – you are going to carry him to the ER, while trying to calm him
and reassure him, lavishing all your love on him – not because he made a
mistake, but because you love him no matter what and want to ease his
suffering.
15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept
it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of
them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a
prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others
will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. (1
Timothy 1:15-16 NLT)
I’ve heard this said before, the difference between mercy
and grace is – MERCY is NOT getting what you deserve and GRACE is getting what
you DON’T deserve. There’s nothing more joyous to my heart than the love I have
for my family and when I think of the love God has for his own Son Jesus, and
the price Jesus willingly paid for us all; I can’t even imagine the extent of God and Jesus’ love for us.
I know when I give my children a gift, I love to see them
use their gift, I don’t want to see it sitting on a shelf never to be used.
This is how I see God’s mercy and grace for us. He wants us to be blessed, He
wants us to use the gifts He’s already given us! Jesus already paid the price –
so let’s not put it high upon a shelf to gather dust, thinking it’s too special
for us!
Don’t get caught in a trap thinking, “we’re not good enough for those
gifts, you got this wrong God – there are just ‘some things’ that the blood of
Jesus can’t clean”… don’t buy into those lies of the devil! The devil wants you to
think that way because you become very dangerous to him when you accept God's gifts of mercy and grace! And when you receive all of the gifts God has for you THAT is
when you can become WHO God called you to be!
Receive God’s gifts for you
today, claim them with the blood of Jesus, stand on the promises you have been
given and then give God all the honor and glory He deserves.
