Sunday, November 02, 2014

"Grace & Mercy"

Reflections4Life November 2nd, 2014
“Grace & Mercy”
“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
Scripture Contemplation: Psalm 84; Isaiah 55; 63; Ephesians 2; 1Timothy 2; Hebrews 4…
There are some of us that have been running for a very long time. Running from our past, our mistakes and failures, from the unfair judgments of others. It’s time to stop running away and run into the arms of God where grace and mercy wait to embrace us.
I declare and decree that this week’s Reflections will be a continued source of encouragement and inspiration for your heart, mind, and soul. Yes, we all make mistakes and fail at one time or another. God wants you to know that no matter what you did or have done, His grace and mercy are extended to you. Receive what God is freely giving to you. There’s nothing you can do, no place you can you go where God’s grace and mercy are not present.
It is both wonderful and humbling to know how deep God's love is for us. No matter how many times we screw up; how many times we deliberately go the wrong way, God still accepts us. Not because of anything we did or didn't do; but by His grace and mercy. His grace paves a way for us to return to Him, while mercy covers us, and keeps us from being destroyed by our less than favorable actions.
Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
The mercy of God ensures that we don't receive the just punishment our actions warrant. Yet...most of us are still running away from God; convinced by the enemy that God doesn't love us or want anything to do with us. The enemy is a liar! God will always love us; even in our lowest state. For His grace and mercy are evidence of that fact.
Beloved, whatever you do in this lifetime, God is right there with you. Yes. We screw up royally at times. We make mistakes that seem so severe that there is no returning. However, the grace and mercy of God is there for us. Not to take advantage of, but to ensure us that we have a way out; even when the path before us seems impossible and so dark.
There will be times when we feel as though God has abandon us. That, He has left us to the hands of the enemy to destroy us as punishment for our actions or a consequence for something we may have done that we may not even be aware of.
That is not God. That is not our Heavenly Father who sent His only Son to die for us. Those thoughts, that feeling, are straight from the enemy. And he will try to use it against you to stop you from going forward, and seeing the hand of God which is extended with grace and mercy.
Romans 8:37-39 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
NOTHING can separate you from the love of God. You cannot fall too far that God cannot reach you. You can never go too out the way that God does not have a plan and purpose for you to return to His fold. God loves you too much to just let you give up and abandon the path that He has ordained for your life.
God’s grace is sufficient enough for you if you believe. His mercy is evident in the fact that you are still here with an opportunity to get things right, when you know that the things you have done warrant a far more just punishment than you have received.
Wherever you are right now in your life, I implore you to trust God. Allow His grace and mercy to wash over you, and lead you onto the path that He has ordained just for you. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Yes. I said it! Do not allow that spirit of self-pity blind you to lessons that God wants you to learn in this season of your life. You are still here; in the land of the living, effecting the lives of people directly or indirectly. YOU do make a difference; even when you feel under pressure, against the wall, and abandon by God, and can’t see the road before you.
Know this: God is right there with you. He will never leave you or turn His back on you. He will always hold that door open for you to walk through, with boldness and confidence. Though things may currently be at a stand-still, or feel as though the walls are closing in on you; HOLD ON! God is there and His grace and mercy will not only cover you, but bring you through!
I decree that the spirit of peace and prosperity has found permanent rest in your lives. Beloved, though you may feel like you’re at the end of your ropes, and that you have lost all hope, and your heart is breaking; know that the Father has not abandon you, but has extended His grace and mercy towards you; to help you make it to the other side of the road that seems impossibly dark and impossible to conquer. However, you got this, because God got you! No matter what! You are indeed Blessed. Now go…and Be a Blessing!
©2014. Ruthe Mcdonald. All Rights Reserved.



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