Under His Mercy, Whether You See it or Not
Mercy always precedes grace, but they always go hand in hand. Before God gives us what we do not deserve (grace), He first withholds from us the judgment we have coming (mercy). God is, by nature, merciful: He does not treat us as we rightfully deserve. Rather, in loving grace, He pours out His forgiveness over us. For such mercy and grace we can never praise Him enough. Imagine if God’s mercy were to somehow expire, though. What if one day He’d had enough of forgiving our sins—those sins that we can’t seem to master or turn away from? What if He were to reach a point where He decided to mete out exactly what we deserve as punishment for our sins, our faithlessness, our self-centered ways? Of course that turn of events would violate His own gospel: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). But if God’s mercy were to expire, we would perish. “Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 136:26). - Blackaby Being Still With God
The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 2 Chronicles 15:2
Our response to God greatly determines His presence in our lives. If we seek God with all of our hearts, then we will find Him (Jer. 29:13–14). The Lord wants to have fellowship with us, but He will not force a relationship upon us. We cannot reject fellowship with God and expect Him to remain near. He does not merely follow us throughout our day in case we need His assistance. If we continue to forsake Him, a time will come when we desperately need Him and He will not be near (Isa. 59:1–2). It is an affront to sovereign God to treat Him like a servant who should wait upon us. God will relate to us on His terms, not ours. God desires a close walk with us. He will make His presence real and personal if that is our desire. If we repent of our sin and seek God on His terms, we can look forward to intimate fellowship with Him (James 4:8–10). We are to continually seek Him, not content to enter a new day without the assurance that God is walking beside us. Do you say you want to experience God's presence while your actions reveal otherwise? If you say you want to know God better but neglect studying His Word, are you truly seeking Him? Have you regularly forsaken the place of prayer? If your actions reveal that you are genuinely seeking God, then He promises that you will find Him (Matt. 7:7). - Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day
You, my Dear Reader, have indeed life today before you.
It started with waking up today.
It began with taking in the first of many inhalations of air.
Maybe with a stretch of the body to assist in waking up.
The opening up of the eyes, the hearing of the world with your ears.
The senses aware more and more of the world around you.
In those moments, either as a Believer or not a Believer, you just experienced the extraordinary thing. You just received the mercy of God.
You were either granted a new opportunity to find a relationship with Jesus today or if you are claiming that you are a Christian, to become more like Christ today than yesterday.
You, in the midst of what you mistakenly think today is about, were granted God’s mercy.
You weren't given a "golden ticket" to simply go and do what you want to do. The mercy of God upon this world is coming to a head. It's coming to an end soon and the Rapture of the Church as spoken of in the book of Thessalonians will take place. Regardless of the unknowledgeable in this world who claim that it's not in the Bible. Scripture perfectly says, as in all it does, that the natural man does not understand the things of God because it is foreign to them. They are Spiritually discerned. You have to have the Spirit of God within you to understand the deep things of God. Not the things that lead to salvation, the deeper truths of God you do.
For the believer also receives God's grace as well as God's mercy.
Grace is God’s unmeritted favor. Receiving God’s blessings while not deserving a one of them.
In regards to both, both are at the core of each morning you open your eyes.
You who are saved and you who are not are here for a purpose. Regardless of the self-centered outlook of this world's teaching, it's not about you or I. It's the fulfillment of God's Word. Of His promises to His Church and to Israel. Of His promise to the unbeliever as well.
Look now at your day in front of you. You who claim to be a Christian, did you start with prayer? Did you start with time with God? Did you open up your Bible at all since the last time that you were in Church? When was the last time you prayed that God would continue to use you to further His Kingdom? When was the last time your prayers were about others?
All in this world have to realize your life is in God’s hands. It can come to an end in any instance. The reality is that everyone leaving this world is that God says that person's life of chances is over. Either they have come as far as they would in their present world to become more like Christ, should they be a believer, or they have proven to have decided they will never come to Christ for salvation. Those under the age of accountability God cares for Himself.
You who read this have no guarantees that you will go any farther in living life. As much as this world creates videos of tragic events, you should have more than enough evidence to prove that life can take unexpected turns in an instant. A vehicle can go by, a tire comes off it, it takes off uncontrolled and strikes someone not doing anything but living life. They are either killed or in that instance their life just took an unexpected turn.
Someone sitting in a car dealership, behind glass windows. Calmly talking about a vehicle purchase. A pair of dual tires crashing through the windows and flattens them. A life changed in an instant.
Someone zigzaging in traffic on the highway. Running off the road and back on again. It takes many to bring the car to a controlled stop. The person behind the wheel wasn't drunk, they had a stroke. A life changed in an instant.
You and I have no idea just how many times God’s grace and mercy have covered us.
You may be living the lie that you deserve this or deserve that. All in this world can claim that lie. Truth is everyone deserved death for their sin. You were born guilty of sin so no, living a great life won't save you in God’s Court.
Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
If you think at all that you will stand before Christ to defend yourself concerning the charges of sin He's levied against you, you have a fool for a client.
You were given the gift of His grace and mercy in your waking up this morning.
Don't waste it.
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