Waterfalls are so refreshing....even miniature ones as in my photograph above. But nothing can take the place of the refreshment and fulfillment we find in the Lord, especially when we reflect on His amazing grace and His great mercy. When I think about how lost I was at one time, and how God in His love and grace and mercy brought me out of the darkness and into His life-giving light and truth, I am overwhelmed with love and gratitude to Him for all He has done in my life. I did not deserve His loving-kindness and His forgiveness, yet He had mercy on me.
Grace and mercy are only two of God's many attributes, but it touched my heart to write about them today as I feel very strongly His mercy and grace in my life - in the past as well as right now.
Grace and mercy are often confused, because they have similar meanings. Mercy is deliverance from judgment, while grace is extending kindness to the unworthy, or God's benevolence on the undeserving. If God gave us all what we deserve, He would "zap" us all right now into cinders or send us straight to hell.
David, after being confronted by the prophet Nathan about his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, cried out to God in Psalm 51 :
"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin." - Psalm 51:1-2
When we plead to God for mercy, we are asking Him to withhold the judgment we deserve; to instead give us forgiveness that we in no way earned.
Think about it: we deserve nothing from God. When good comes our way, thank the Lord for His grace. A simple way to think of grace is that it is "unmerited favor."
"But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved:)" - Ephesians 2:4-5
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." - 1 Peter 1:3
"And as grace is free, so is it sure. Nothing can change, or alter, or turn away sovereign grace." - Alexander Whyte
"Grace is the mother and nurse of holiness, and not the apologist of sin." - Charles Spurgeon
"Grace is the mother and nurse of holiness, and not the apologist of sin." - Charles Spurgeon
"Embrace in one act the two truths - thine own sin, and God's infinite mercy in Jesus Christ." - Alexander MacLaren
"Nothing humbles and breaks the heart of a sinner like mercy and love. Souls that converse much with sin and wrath, may be much terrified; but souls that converse much with grace and mercy, will be much humbled." - Thomas Brooks
Following are two audio sermons by A. W. Tozer on the attributes of God's grace and mercy. For those of you not familiar with Tozer, he was an American Christian pastor, author and magazine editor. He was born in 1897 and died in 1963. I pray you take the time to listen to both sermons.
The above sermon is on the grace of God and the one below is on the mercy of God:
These two sermons are full of little "gems" of understanding and are presented in a way that enriches your soul and makes you want even more of God. If you are interested in more sermons by A. W. Tozer on many other attributes of God, go to You Tube and type in "the attributes of God - A.W. Tozer" and they will pop up.
Remember, God wants to fellowship with you. He wants a close, personal, and intimate love relationship with you through Jesus Christ. You need to therefore be in prayer often and reading and studying the Bible in order to get to know the Lord more intimately so you can have a close relationship with Him. God speaks to you through His written Word. The Bible is God's love letter to you and His instruction manual to guide you in living a godly and totally surrendered life to Him.
We are living in what the Bible calls the last days, the end times. Many prophecies are beginning to come to pass or are in readiness to happen soon just as God prophesied they would in the last days. Read Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13 to see the signs of the Lord's soon return.
Now is the time to get right with the Lord and dedicate your life, your heart, and your soul to Him and to the doing of His will.
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. .........For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." - Romans 10:9,10,13
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. .........For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." - Romans 10:9,10,13
Have a blessed and Christ-centered weekend !
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." - Hebrews 4:16
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit;" - Titus 3:5
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." - John 3:3
