THE POWER OF MERCY AND GRACE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Out of the depths I cry to You, Lord; Lord, hear my voice. Let Your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.

 If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve You.

Psalm 130:1-4

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How many times have we sinned in our lives? It’s not something we like to think about is it?

The truth of the matter is that we would have a hard time listing them all because they are too numerous, exactly the reason why we would shy away from the prospect in the first place. No one, if they truly consider the extent of their transgressions could ever face their God who despises such sin without shame and fear of judgment.

The writer of the 130th Psalm certainly grasped this as he writes the opening verses that are the focus of our devotion. Look at his words:

If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?

The answer of course is no one. No one.

No one could stand before God and no one would survive His judgment. This is the fallen state of mankind and if the story ended here, we would all be living lives void of hope.

Thank goodness it isn’t the end of the story.

For the psalmist goes on after his declaration above to say:

But with You there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve You.

The same God who hates our sin forgives us. It’s the only way we can go on to serve Him with respect and amazement, in awe and wonder over the power of His mercy and grace. It’s the only hope we have now and forever.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God, our Father, our Creator and Maker, did not wish for us to perish as a result of our sins. The judgment – His judgment – that we deserved was instead shouldered by His one and only Son Jesus as He was crucified and nailed to Calvary’s cross. He died where we should have died and as He died, we were given the chance to live, not just in the here and now but also in the hereafter. All because of the grace and mercy and love of God.

God’s powerful grace is truly amazing. It brought a bounty of everlasting opportunity for anyone who would place their faith and trust in His Son as Savior. In fact, you can look at the word “grace” as an acronym of sorts. For a Christian, it can stand for:

G – God’s

R – Reward

A – At

C – Christ’s

E – Expense

We were saved at Calvary’s cross but not without an incredible cost paid. The inheritance we gained from God only came through the sin sacrifice of Christ, the perfect unblemished Lamb of God who died to take away the sins of the world.

For this friends, we should be eternally grateful and do everything we can to always let Jesus know how much we appreciate Him and all He has done for us. We should equally give thanks that God loved us, His children, so much that He was willing to save us, allowing His Son to die instead of us.

The psalmist saw service as the appropriate response to this amazingly divine grace and mercy. We should do likewise, giving all to Christ just as He gave all to us, forgiving and showing grace and mercy at every opportunity along the way.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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