OUR GRACIOUS LORD

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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

Lord, be gracious to us; we long for You. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.

Isaiah 33:2

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

Have you ever experienced the actions of a gracious person?

By definition, one who is gracious displays the following social characteristics:

1. They show a natural kindness and courtesy. They are also thoughtful and friendly.

2. They have an easygoing and pleasing manner. They are also good natured and sweet to be around.

3. They show consideration, courtesy, and good manners.

4. They are merciful, compassionate, forgiving, and benevolent.

A person who behaves this way is someone I think anyone would enjoy being around, a person who has the right disposition when it comes to their dealings with others.

So how can we be that kind of person? How can we get to the point where we can be defined as gracious?

With all other appropriate behavioral attitudes we’re to have in life, it all starts with the Lord. Look again at our verse for today:

Lord, be gracious to us; we long for You. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress. Isaiah 33:2

The scriptures tell us that we love because the Lord first loved us (1 John 4:19). The same applies to grace for grace in its purest sense comes from the One who ordained grace and made it amazing, the gracious Lord God Almighty. When we have the Lord of grace fully in our life, then and only then will we be able to be people of grace ourselves.

The people of Israel yearned for this grace, pleading for the Lord to grant it to them. They longed to be in the presence of the Lord where they could find their strength every morning, and their deliverance and rescue during times of difficulty. We see this affirmed in the very words of the scripture verse.

As fellow believers, we need to follow their lead.

Let’s all commit each day to open up with a prayer asking for the Lord to continue to be gracious for us as we long to commune with Him, to abide in His presence and Spirit. Let us give thanks for the mercy and forgiveness the Lord has granted us, a mercy and forgiveness that has allowed us to live until this very moment, although we deserved to perish long ago as a result of our sinfulness. We should always be in constant praise for the Lord’s goodness and deep compassion for His creation.

But it’s not enough for us to just seek and receive the graciousness of the Lord. It cannot just end there although it can and does today.

For if the Lord is so amazingly gracious toward us, shouldn’t we turn that graciousness around toward the way we deal with one another?

Think about it. Wouldn’t the world we live in be such a better place if we would only exercise grace toward everyone we come into contact with? And can you see that if we extend grace to someone who may not think they deserve it, they might just decide to become gracious themselves? Grace can and will beget grace. The Lord grants it to us and we pass it on, we pay it forward to everyone we meet. If enough people adopt this attitude of graciousness, then guess what? Grace abounds!

Friends, we need grace. We can’t live without it from the Lord. This is why the people of Israel yearned for it so much; it’s why we need to yearn for it today. And when we allow the Lord’s amazing grace to flow through us to others, we start to see grace taking root in our families, in our friendships, in our workplaces, in our churches, in our communities, in our nations, and in our world.

We were created by a Lord who is exceedingly gracious. It’s time to match that graciousness in the way we relate to others.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com