Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Gracious, Merciful And Kind!

Gracious, Merciful And Kind!

The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy (Psalm 145:8).

Ephesians 2:4-5 says, “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).” Even when you were deep in sin, God loved you. Psalm 103:8 also says “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” We serve a gracious and merciful heavenly Father, who is slow to wrath and quick to save and forgive.

There’s no sin so great that the blood of Jesus can’t cleanse. God’s forgiveness has nothing to do with the magnitude or gravity of your offence. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In whom (Jesus Christ) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” This lets you know that in Christ Jesus, you have redemption through His blood, and the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, not according to how minor or severe your sins are.

When you understand the love of God and how gracious He is, rather than run from Him when you do something wrong or make a mistake, you’ll run to Him. No wonder He says in Hebrews 4:16: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” You may be reading this today, but for some time now, you’ve carried this weight of guilt because of something you did wrong. Talk to the Lord about it and ask Him to forgive you.

Never allow the feeling of guilt or self condemnation fritter away your faith and dampen your zeal for spiritual things! The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. He’s ever willing to take you from where you are to your glorious place in Christ. His forgiveness is available even now: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

God never encourages us to sin (1 John 2:1-2), but He lets us know that if you do sin, you have an advocate in the Person of Jesus, thus you have a right of appeal. He has graciously made forgiveness for sin one of your divine rights and privileges as a new creation in Christ.

Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for your great love, mercy and compassion towards me! I rejoice to know that, in Christ, I’ve been redeemed through His blood, and have forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of your grace! Thank you for the glorious liberty to come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Further Study
Psalm 86:15
But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

Jonah 4:2
And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

Nehemiah 9:31
Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

Daily Scripture Reading
1 Year Bible Matthew 3
Reading plan Genesis 6-8

2 Year Bible Matthew 2:2-3

Reading Plan Genesis 3

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