The Mercy of God - Never Fails

 

 

Lamentations 3:22

Because of the loving devotion of The LORD we are not consumed,

 for His mercies never fail. 

Psalm 103:10

He has not dealt with us according to our sins or repaid us according to our iniquities.

    Though The Lord could destroy us at any time for our great wickedness against His Word, yet He restrains Himself, for it is not His will that any of us should die in our sins. He wants us to repent of our unrighteous acts against Him and obey His Word, which He has given us through the cross. For Christ is The Living Word of God sent to die for each and every one of us. 

    Who are we that God should love us so? We are His sheep even though we were once lost in the darkness of our own hearts and minds. It is why He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross, so that us who were once lost sheep can be found sheep and placed in His pasture of love and mercy. 

    Exodus 34:7 says He extends His mercy to a thousand generations: " Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation." 

    Numbers 14:18 tells us God is slow to anger and of great mercy. He wants us live with Him when we die. But unless we choose to live for Him now, there won't be a home in heaven for the unrepentant sinner. 

     1 John 1:9 tells us " If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." God wants us to confess our sins against Him to Him. No one else has the power to forgive us for the sins we have committed against God except God. 

    It's as if you did me wrong and went to a stranger for forgiveness for what you had done to me. Would that make the wrong you did to me right? Not hardly. It is the same when we have sinned against God. To sin against God is to break His Word, to disregard His Word and to deliberately ignore His Word. To sin against God is to disobey when He tells us to do something and we don't. And when He tells us not to do something and we do it anyway. These sins need to be repented of when we come to God for His forgiveness. 

    In His unfailing mercy God will forgive the sincere repentant heart and wash the sins from the seeker's heart. He promises:

Psalm 32:5

Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

Psalm 51:2

Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Proverbs 28:13

He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.

1 John 1:7

But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 

    

   

    

 

 

Guard Your Heart - - Guard Your Brokenness

 

Psalm 34:18

The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 7665 & 1793

Broken: to break, break in pieces, shattered

From the Hebrew word 'shabar' (pronounced shaw-bar') 

Contrite: crushed

From the Hebrew word 'dakka'' (pronounced dak-kaw')

THE SPIRIT OF CONVICTION

It is not we ourselves who break our hearts for God, but the Spirit of God who breaks the hearts of the believer to receive the good things God has prepared to fill the broken hearted with. It is the Holy Spirit, after all, who convicts the heart of sin (John 16:8; 1 Thessalonians 1:5).

John 16:7-11 Jesus tells His disciples that He needs to go away and why:

7. But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

8. And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:

9. in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me;

10. in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me;

11. and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.

The Spirit of Conviction  pricks the hearts of they who hear the Word (Acts 2:37). In order to be restored into a right relationship with God in Christ, we must take the next step after the Holy Spirit convicts our hearts to believe.

THE NEXT STEP: CALLED TO REPENTANCE

Repentance:  I repent, I change my mind and think differently afterwards. (After what? after I believe.) Changed after being with God.

I repent. God forgives. Jesus Saves. The Holy Spirit restores.

Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15; Luke 15:10; Luke 24:47; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Acts 3:19.

Acts 2:38, 39

38. Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39. This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

WE ARE ALL CALLED TO SALVATION

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 6:40

For it is My Father's will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies."

THE PROMISE PROMISED 

Isaiah 44:3

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.

Joel 2:28, 32

28. And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.

32. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.

THE GUARD

    We need to guard our hearts which have been broken not only by God but for God. We need to remain so close to Him we can hear His whispers and He can hear our prayers. For the Lord hears the prayers of the righteous, the cries of the brokenhearted, the longing of the heart to be with Him. 

    How do we guard our hearts with this purpose in mind? Stay in His Word: Read it, Live it, Breathe It. Yes, it's a very hard thing to do, isn't it? But we who repent of our sins are forgiven by the forgiving God Who forgives sins. And when we have repented, the Spirit of God restores us to God. 

    It is a good way to end the day before falling asleep, for tomorrow is not guaranteed to us. it's better, do you not agree, to fall asleep knowing we are forgiven than to fall asleep in our sins? It is also a good way to begin our day. O Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner! The words spring from our hearts to our tongues and leap off of our lips into the ears of a hearing God. 

    We guard our brokenness, when we remain in a humble state of mind, remembering who we were before we believed in God's Christ for our salvation and how we came to be where we are now after receiving Christ and His Holy Spirit. 

     We guard our brokenness, when we remember that we are nothing without God. Nothing without His grace. Nothing without His mercy. Nothing without His lovingkindness. Nothing without His presence. Nothing. Nothing without His Christ. Nothing without His love. 

    We are maggots (Job 25:6). We are dust (Genesis 3:19). We are unclean (Isaiah 6:5). We are sinners (Luke 18:13). We need God. We need His Christ to save us: to wash away our sins. We need His Spirit to restore us to Him: make us holy and useful for His purpose. 

    Let us come near to God (begin to, and continue to, walk in His direction) and He will come near to us (see us coming and run to meet us). As in the parable of The Prodigal Son, which you may want to refresh yourselves with. (Luke 15:11-32)

GUARD YOUR BROKENNESS MEDLEY