40 Days of GRACE - 02
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of GRACE
Day 2 | OUR MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS LORD GOD
40 Days of GRACE
Day 2 | OUR MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS LORD GOD
OUR MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS LORD GOD
Exodus 34:5-7
“Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.’”
There’s a story told about C.S. Lewis attending a conference on Comparative Religions. Lewis was an Oxford Professor from 1925-1954 and was close friends with fellow professor JRR Tolkien, author of Lord of the Rings. Both men served on the English faculty there. Tolkien was a Christian, but Lewis had rejected and left the church. However, Lewis returned to it at age 32, owing to the influence of Tolkien and others. He wrote 30 books and did wartime radio broadcasts about Christianity during WW2, bringing him great acclaim and helping calm the nation.
Regarding our topic, several people were debating what was unique about Christianity. After numerous suggestions were rejected, Lewis walked into the room. He was asked: “What’s unique about Christianity?” He then replied, “Oh, that’s easy; it’s grace.”
As we read the Bible, many conclude that GRACE started in the New Testament with Jesus. However, as we see here in Exodus with Moses, that is untrue.
In Exodus 2, when Moses is meeting with God on the mountain, Moses asks Him what His name is, what it means, and what he should tell the children of Israel. God replied: “I Am Who I Am.” In the Hebrew, that reads YHWH. Four letters, no vowels (They didn’t use vowels in their writing back then). We pronounce it “Yahweh.”
Here in Exodus, we have a fascinating event. God and Moses are together, making a second set of 10 commandment tablets and the LORD passed before Moses saying WHO HE IS: “Yahweh, Yahweh, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”
Notice that the Lord God, Yahweh, is merciful and gracious … and more! He has been gracious since before Genesis 1:1.
Prayer: Lord God, I am so grateful to have a relationship with You through Your Son Jesus. Thank you for your grace and mercy and long suffering towards me. Amen.
Exodus 34:5-7
“Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.’”
There’s a story told about C.S. Lewis attending a conference on Comparative Religions. Lewis was an Oxford Professor from 1925-1954 and was close friends with fellow professor JRR Tolkien, author of Lord of the Rings. Both men served on the English faculty there. Tolkien was a Christian, but Lewis had rejected and left the church. However, Lewis returned to it at age 32, owing to the influence of Tolkien and others. He wrote 30 books and did wartime radio broadcasts about Christianity during WW2, bringing him great acclaim and helping calm the nation.
Regarding our topic, several people were debating what was unique about Christianity. After numerous suggestions were rejected, Lewis walked into the room. He was asked: “What’s unique about Christianity?” He then replied, “Oh, that’s easy; it’s grace.”
As we read the Bible, many conclude that GRACE started in the New Testament with Jesus. However, as we see here in Exodus with Moses, that is untrue.
In Exodus 2, when Moses is meeting with God on the mountain, Moses asks Him what His name is, what it means, and what he should tell the children of Israel. God replied: “I Am Who I Am.” In the Hebrew, that reads YHWH. Four letters, no vowels (They didn’t use vowels in their writing back then). We pronounce it “Yahweh.”
Here in Exodus, we have a fascinating event. God and Moses are together, making a second set of 10 commandment tablets and the LORD passed before Moses saying WHO HE IS: “Yahweh, Yahweh, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”
Notice that the Lord God, Yahweh, is merciful and gracious … and more! He has been gracious since before Genesis 1:1.
Prayer: Lord God, I am so grateful to have a relationship with You through Your Son Jesus. Thank you for your grace and mercy and long suffering towards me. Amen.
Posted in GRACE