40 Days of GRACE - 04
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of GRACE
Day 4 | GOD’S GRACE AND MERCY
40 Days of GRACE
Day 4 | GOD’S GRACE AND MERCY
GOD’S GRACE AND MERCY
Jeremiah 3:12
“‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not remain angry forever.’”
Have you ever had someone do something terrible to you? Perhaps they hurt or upset you in the most painful way possible. Maybe they stole something hyper-valuable from you. Perhaps they hurt your family or one of your children or grands. Can you imagine it? Did it hurt? Did it make you angry? Did you want revenge or retribution in some way?
Here, Jeremiah the Prophet, was telling Israel – the children of God – that they had upset the LORD God. They had fallen BACK to their old ways. Thus, Jeremiah – speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit – called them “backsliding Israel.”
Truly… forgiving someone for the hurt they caused you is NOT easy. El Elyon, the Most High God, had been hurt and upset by His children Israel going back to their old sinful ways (backsliding). Yet God’s GRACE is clearly shown when He says: “For I am merciful, I will not remain angry forever.”
GRACE – simple definition: God giving us what we DON’T deserve.
MERCY – simple definition: God withholding from us what we DO deserve.
In today’s verse, God offers His grace and mercy to His children.
I wonder if that strikes a responsive chord with you. Has someone hurt you? Have you hurt someone? Have you ever – for a while at least – turned your back on God? Have you told Him not to bother you when you were misbehaving? (Are you still there?)
Know this… God STILL loves you and Jesus died for your sins, period. His love and grace for His children is unending.
Grace from God is gives us another chance, and another, and another… until we get it right. It hurts the LORD like it would hurt any parent whose child had gone off the rails, yet God is merciful and will not remain angry forever.
Prayer: LORD, I confess my sin. I was wrong, and You were right. Thank you for being so gracious and allowing me to draw near to you again. Amen.
Jeremiah 3:12
“‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not remain angry forever.’”
Have you ever had someone do something terrible to you? Perhaps they hurt or upset you in the most painful way possible. Maybe they stole something hyper-valuable from you. Perhaps they hurt your family or one of your children or grands. Can you imagine it? Did it hurt? Did it make you angry? Did you want revenge or retribution in some way?
Here, Jeremiah the Prophet, was telling Israel – the children of God – that they had upset the LORD God. They had fallen BACK to their old ways. Thus, Jeremiah – speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit – called them “backsliding Israel.”
Truly… forgiving someone for the hurt they caused you is NOT easy. El Elyon, the Most High God, had been hurt and upset by His children Israel going back to their old sinful ways (backsliding). Yet God’s GRACE is clearly shown when He says: “For I am merciful, I will not remain angry forever.”
GRACE – simple definition: God giving us what we DON’T deserve.
MERCY – simple definition: God withholding from us what we DO deserve.
In today’s verse, God offers His grace and mercy to His children.
I wonder if that strikes a responsive chord with you. Has someone hurt you? Have you hurt someone? Have you ever – for a while at least – turned your back on God? Have you told Him not to bother you when you were misbehaving? (Are you still there?)
Know this… God STILL loves you and Jesus died for your sins, period. His love and grace for His children is unending.
Grace from God is gives us another chance, and another, and another… until we get it right. It hurts the LORD like it would hurt any parent whose child had gone off the rails, yet God is merciful and will not remain angry forever.
Prayer: LORD, I confess my sin. I was wrong, and You were right. Thank you for being so gracious and allowing me to draw near to you again. Amen.
Posted in GRACE