"When I cry unto thee, then shall my enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.”
This verse gives us great reassurance when it states: “for God is for me.” Now don’t misunderstand me to be intimating that God approves of everything that we do, and that He is thoroughly impressed with us. Let’s just take this as a statement of fact – God is for us. He is not willing that any should perish, and He does not want anyone to throw their lives away. In fact, throughout the Bible, especially in the accounts of Jesus, there are some things that God offers that we need to claim, because they are there in God’s word for all of us to claim. We need to claim God’s grace. Grace means that, though we are sinners, God is for us anyway and wants the best for us. Grace does not mean that we have God’s blanket approval for everything that we do. It means that in spite of our sins and shortcomings, God still offers us salvation. In Ephesians 2:8 Paul wrote: “For by grace through faith are you saved, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God.” We can be saved from sin because God is the God of grace. Throughout the Bible we see the grace of God at work. In the Old Testament, we see God’s grace at work in Israel. Time after time the Israelites let God down, and they had to suffer His discipline, but still they were His chosen people and by grace they continued on and it was through them that our Savior came to us. We see God’s grace at work in the life of Paul. Saul of Tarsus was a real, and dreaded, enemy of Christ and His church, but Christ came into His life and turned Paul around. This is grace and it is available to you – claim it. We need to claim God’s mercy. I believe that mercy is God’s grace in action. There are times when we take the grace of God for granted and go too far, but in spite of this, God, through Christ, shows us His mercy. I think of Simon Peter when I think of mercy. During Jesus’ trial in Jerusalem, he denied Jesus three times, in spite of the fact that he had sworn he would not. One would think that Jesus was through with him, yet because of God’s mercy, Peter became a powerful advocate of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Without God’s mercy, this would not have happened. This mercy is available to you – claim it. We need to claim God’s love. Grace and mercy are at our disposal because of God’s love for us. A lot of people read the Bible and all they see is the wrath of God. In fact, they might think, whether they would admit it or not, that God ought not to be like that. But God is who He is and what He is and we cannot change His nature, but one thing is certain – wrath is not the final word about God. Throughout the Bible, God is depicted as the God of love. John wrote that “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) Anyone who has ever been to Sunday School will remember John 3:16, which tells us of the extent of God’s love for us. This has not changed. God still loves us, in fact, God loves you. This love is available to you – claim it. We need to claim God’s forgiveness. God’s grace, mercy and love come together in His forgiveness. Our God of grace, mercy and love, revealed to us through Jesus, is the forgiving God. Throughout the Bible, we see God’s forgiveness at work. We see it at work in Israel. We see it at work in Jesus. In fact, the first words that Jesus offered from the cross were: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) If you have not been forgiven by God for whatever sin, or sins, that you have committed, God will forgive you. We see God’s grace, mercy and love at work in His forgiveness. This forgiveness is available to you – claim it. I don’t know what your present view of God is, but if it does not include His grace, mercy, love and forgiveness, you need to go back and take another look. All that God has to offer is available to you – claim it. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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