Our Merciful God (Psalm 25:10)

Today's scripture: Psalm 25:10

One of the most amazing things about our God is how merciful He is. You may have heard mercy defined as our not getting what we do deserve. We are all sinners—each and every one of us. We are prideful (see Monday's devotional about that topic!). We gossip. We get angry. We tell what we laughingly call "white lies."

Some of us have done even worse ...

As the Bible succinctly puts it, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (NKJV, Romans 3:23). Indeed, "There is none righteous, no not one" (3:10). Each and every one of us deserves eternal separation from God.

Oh, but then there's that wonderful, amazing word: mercy. God in His mercy doesn't give us what we do deserve. When we commit our lives to Him, we don't get that eternal separation. Instead, we do get what we don't deserve: grace.

God's grace offers salvation and redemption. It lets us relish an on-earth relationship with Him. It gives us confidence that we'll spend eternity with Him.

Mercy ... we deserve hell, but we get heaven.

Take a moment and ponder this amazing gift of mercy. Then take another moment and thank the Lord for His mercy ... and His grace.

Mercies Every Morning (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Today’s scripture: Lamentations 3:22-23

Two weeks ago, we looked at one of my favorite psalms. Today, we linger on two of my favorite verses of all the Bible as well as the words of my favorite hymn that was inspired by these words.

God’s mercies are super-abundant and never-ending. Because of this, “we are not consumed.” We may be down, but we’re never out.

Because of His unfailing compassion, we can experience His mercy and faithfulness each and every moment.

Let’s now take a closer look at the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” Thomas Chisholm wrote this hymn “as a testament to God’s faithfulness through his very ordinary life.” He later said, “… I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God and that He has given me many wonderful displays of His providing care, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulness” (as quoted on http://gaither.com/news/%E2%80%9Cgreat-thy-faithfulness%E2%80%9D-story-behind-hymn).

Chisholm’s words speak across the years:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O, God my Father! There is no shadow of turning with Thee. Thou changest not; Thy compassions, they fail not. As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

I’m blessed (especially as I grow older and wearier) when I sing the last verse:

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide. Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. Blessings all mine, with ten thousands beside!

His mercies and compassion never fail. They are new every morning.

Great is His faithfulness!

Trustworthy Mercy (Psalm 13:5)

Today’s scripture: Psalm 13:5

I’ve written before that I was abused as a child and young teenager by three different men. When you’ve been hurt by an adult, it’s often hard to trust anyone … even God Himself.

I didn’t trust men for a very long time, and I didn’t trust God either. Oh, I still believed in Him, but I distrusted His love … for me, at least.

I’m so grateful that I found trustworthy people, and I’m (literally!) eternally grateful I found my way back to the arms of Jesus.

I finally realized that God is worthy of trust, that His mercy is abundant, that His grace is abundant, and that His love is everlasting.

He is the God of my salvation, and I can trust in Him in every situation and at all times.

If you find it difficult to trust, go to the One who is worthy of your trust too. People may let you down, but God never will.

Never.

Saving Mercy (Titus 3:4-7)

Today’s scripture: Titus 3:4-7

We’ve talked before about justification by God’s grace. He sees us as righteous after we’re saved by His grace.

Especially as we focus on the birth of Jesus this Christmas season, I’m just in awe that God, the Creator of all things, loves me enough to have come to earth … for me!

He offers grace and mercy to me.

And even more He has adopted me as His dearly-loved daughter. I’m an “heir according to the hope of eternal life.”

He is indeed kind. And gracious. And merciful. And loving.

He is my Creator. My Savior. My Redeemer. My forever Father.

He is my everything … What is He to you?

Mercy for a Thousand Generations (Deuteronomy 7:9)

Today’s scripture: Deuteronomy 7:9

Eternity is an impossible concept. We on earth are bound by time.

We wake up at a specific time. We go to work at a specific time. We plan according to time. We review a calendar with dates and times. We look at devices that tell us the time.

So to even try to understand a God who is outside of time is … well, impossible. Yet that same God somehow put time as we know it in place when He created this earth. When He created morning and night. When He put the first man and woman in paradise.

He knew the choices they’d make. He knows the choices we’d make. And yet, in His mercy, in His all-knowing, beyond-time mercy, He “keeps covenant … for a thousand generations …” He keeps His covenant with you and with me.

I don’t understand it, but I’m blessed to know it’s true!

God's Rich Mercy! (Ephesians 2:4-7)

Today’s scripture: Ephesians 2:4-7

Ah … God’s rich mercy!

He so delights in not giving us what we deserve; we were “dead in trespasses” from the moment we took our first breaths. In our sinfulness, we deserve eternal death and separation from our Lord and Savior.

But “because of His great love” for us, He offers grace: giving us what we don’t deserve.

Because of His love for us, we are “alive together in Christ.” We are “raised … together,” and we will one day “sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus …”

We will spend eternity in the presence of our triune God: Father, Son, and Spirit.

Our God is indeed “rich in mercy”!

Paths of Mercy (Psalm 25:10)

Today’s scripture: Psalm 25:10

As we continue to look at mercy, one thing we haven’t really made clear is that mercy, God’s mercy, is exclusive. It’s only available to “such as keep His commandment and His testimonies.”

If one is not a follower of Christ, then she can’t expect to receive God’s mercy—both that mercy that doesn’t give what is deserved as well as that compassionate treatment we saw on Monday.

Our God longs to shower all humankind with love and grace and mercy, but because He gives free will, allowing each person to choose Him—or not—He will not give the same gifts to those who choose not to follow Him as He does to those who do.

It makes sense. While woman who teaches may certainly love all her students, she certainly would not give them the same gifts as she does her own children.

So while “all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth,” only those who “keep His covenant and His testimonies” follow those paths.

Great Mercy (Luke 1:57-58)

Today’s scripture: Luke 1:57-58

When the Lord revealed to me that I wasn’t going to have children of my own, I have to admit, verses about God’s mercy in providing children to barren women (and there are several in the Bible) made me a bit melancholy.

Why did He show mercy to them and not to me?

It took a while, but I finally realized that He had “shown great mercy” to me in a couple of ways.

First, He answered my prayer for peace when His will was not for children.

Second, He did give me children—children of my heart and spiritual children. I have great nieces and nephews (and now great-nieces and nephews!) and “adopted” children, those young people whose lives I’ve been blessed to influence. I also have been exceedingly blessed to share the good news of salvation when I speak, and seeds have been planted and watered through God’s words through me.

So, now when I read those stories, I rejoice in God’s mercy … for them and for me.

Mercy ... All Along (Genesis 39:21)

Today’s scripture: Genesis 39:21

The story of Joseph is likely familiar to most of us. A favored son. A slightly cocky teen. Sold into slavery by jealous brothers. Accused of attempted rape. Imprisoned. Forgotten.

Joseph had every reason to give up, to doubt, to reject God.

Yet, in each situation, Joseph knew that the Lord was with him, “show[ing] him mercy.”

His trust never wavered, so when he was finally released from prison and elevated to the second-highest ruler in the kingdom, he gave all credit to his merciful God. He was able to say with a sincere heart, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” (NLT Gen. 50:20).

He saw God’s mercy all along.

Are you in a “prison”? Have you been betrayed? Have you been wrongfully accused? Don’t lose hope in merciful God. One day, you too will be able to see how God intends to use your situation for good … if you don’t lose heart.

He Who Has Mercy (Isaiah 49:9-11)

Today’s scripture: Isaiah 49:9-11

My Bible study gals are going through a study of the names of God. We’ve learned that He’s our Jehovah Nissi—our banner, protector, and guide. He’s our Jehovah Elohim—our creator. He’s our Jehovah Rapha—our healer.

I’ve probably written before how much I love that God chose to call Himself by so many names. We can call on Him by name no matter our circumstances.

You and I have been looking at another name for a few weeks. While I don’t have a Hebrew word to give you, I think we could call Him: “He who has mercy.”

And in His mercy, He leads us. He guides us. He provides for us. He protects us. He feeds us. He gives us light in the darkness.

He who has mercy … on you … on me.

Praise Him!

Mercy versus Wrath (Psalm 85:4-7)

Today's scripture: Psalm 85:4-7

Friday's verses seemed to speak to being already forgiven, and yet today's verses are a plea for God's mercy and for His wrath to subside.

If, as we're promised, we're forgiven when we accept the gift of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ's death, burial, resurrection, then why would we still need to pray for His mercy? I believe it's because we still struggle with our flesh, and so, even though we're forgiven, we still need to confess when we sin and seek His mercy. We still need to rejoice when we receive grace instead of the wrath we so deserve.

Our God is so very, very good to us. We fail Him so often (or perhaps I should speak only for myself). We fall back into sinful habits or ignore Him or neglect to serve Him or others. We don't love as we should, and we don't give as we could. We don't use the gifts with which we've been blessed, or we don't give Him glory when we do.

As I've written before, I honestly wonder sometimes how He puts up with us. We really are the most stubborn, willful, fickle people. Skeptics point out the wrath of God as a reason not to believe, but when I think of the God of the Bible, I only see His wrath when mankind deserved it. He always offered grace when people listened to Him and obeyed Him.

And He does the same today.

White as Snow (Psalm 85:1-3)

Today's scripture: Psalm 85:1-3

We are so deserving of God's wrath and anger. He who is perfect and without sin created man, and in grace and mercy, He gave him the choice to follow—or to turn away. Sin entered the world when man chose to turn away.

Sin is ugly, dark, and insidious. Sin creates a chasm between us and Holy God. Sin keeps us from seeking Him.

God has every right to be angry with sin ... and with us. Yet, He loves us so very much, He made a way for the ugly darkness of sin to be covered with the blood of His Son. Instead of seeing the blackness of sin, He sees us white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).

I hadn't thought about it when I chose this psalm, but it's a perfect reminder of why we celebrate this season. We celebrate the coming of the Son of God, the Lamb who came to save us from our sins. When this psalm was written, of course, Jesus hadn't yet come to earth, but there was still a means by which sin was covered by blood, the blood of a spotless lamb. How blessed we are to know the Lamb who paid the penalty for our sins.

We really are deserving of God's wrath and anger. But because of Jesus' sacrifice, which included coming to earth, taking on flesh, and living as a human, we are cleansed of sin.

And instead of wrath and anger, God showers us with love, grace, and mercy.

Amen.

Expect Mercy (Psalm 62:11-12)

Today's scripture: Psalm 62:11-12

Yesterday, I shared wisdom from Matthew Henry. As you meditate on today's verses, I think I'll share more of his inspired words:

God hath spoken as it were once for all, that power belongs to him alone. He can punish and destroy. Mercy also belongs to him; and his recompensing the imperfect services of those that believe in him, blotting out their transgressions for the Redeemer's sake, is a proof of abundant mercy, and encourages us to trust in him. Let us trust in his mercy and grace, and abound in his work, expecting mercies from him alone.

Read that last sentence again. And again.

Our merciful, gracious God is absolutely, beyond doubt trustworthy. We can trust Him to provide, to protect, to heal, to strengthen. We can praise Him for His attributes.

We can revel in the blessings He showers on us. Praise His holy name!

Mercy! (Psalm 6:7-10)

Today's scripture: Psalm 5:7-10

Yesterday focused on the wicked and evil ... the last two verses of today's scripture do the same.

I don't want to focus on wickedness this morning, though, so I'm going to focus on the first two verses instead (such is my prerogative as the writer!).

I've written before how I love the word "mercy." As we've seen before, grace is receiving what we don't deserve, and mercy is not receiving what we do deserve.

Our God is so patient and loving. I may be the only Christ-follower who slips up, who sometimes neglects time with the Lord, who battles habitual sin ... but, I sense I'm not alone. Yes, the longer I walk with the Lord, the less often I do these, but I still fail sometimes.

Yet, God continues to love me and bless me. Instead of the punishment I do deserve, He showers me with good things. He protects me and gives me strength. He provides for me and cares for my needs.

He guides my paths and gives me wisdom to make decisions. He allows me to serve Him and others using the gifts He's given me.

I deserve His turning His back on this flawed, fleshly vessel, but He invites me to climb on His lap and call Him, "Abba ... Daddy."

Ah, mercy.

Thank You, Lord God, for mercy. You continue to bless me beyond expectation, beyond anything that I deserve. Help me to serve You so that I can give You back even a fraction of what You've given me. Thank you.