To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion.
Posts tagged Mercy
Born Again to a Living Hope
0Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. – 1 Peter 1:3
There are times in our lives when what we are saved to might not be as present in our minds as the fact that we as Christians are saved. Oftentimes the beliefs that we don’t struggle with are ones that we are not confronting opposition to. There are times when our whole salvation can be called into question because of the opposition that we face. Peter opens his first letter to the church by reviewing what we are being saved to, and the rest of the book reviews the implications of that salvation. Peter solidifies the churches position on what they are born to.
Great Mercy
We are saved by mercy. Mercy is grace granted to believers. There once was a man named Jesus Christ who lived many years ago. He did not live as any other man but was instead perfect in all his ways. All men inherit a sinful nature from our forefather, Adam. Adam was a sinner as we are sinners. He was the first in a line of sinners that has gone through all of human history. Jesus was perfect. He was a spotless lamb who was sacrificed by sinners for sinners.
When Christ died he did so for sinners. However our mercy is not just found in Christ’s death. It is found in his glorious resurrection. When Christ died he did so that men could be raised. Christ was sacrificed so that sinners in the line of Adam might receive a new heart. We need only believe to be saved, because of the mercy of God.
Living Hope
When Christian’s die it is not the beginning of suffering or complete annihilation, rather we go to onto a greater life. This life with Christ is so great that the old life is put off. The greatest joys we experience on this earth are a foreshadowing of what will happen in heaven. When a Christian becomes a Christian his life is never over, simply goes through constant transformation. This transformation culminates in coming to be with God in heaven. This is a living hope.
No matter how hard life is we can trust in at least two things: the mercy of Christ and the living hope that we have in Christ. Those who come to Christ in faith have access to the great mercy of the Father and the living hope that is found in that mercy.
Sorry Sir, Our Grace Does Not Come With Prosperity
0All of the advisors on marriage that I have ever heard that are respectable have said to not go into a marital relationship with high and lofty expectations. Don’t expect your husband to write you love letters all the time, and husbands don’t expect your wives to have five course dinners ready when you get home. High expectations lead to disappointment when reality sets in. I think a lot of people start their relationship with God with high expectations. They think that when they enter into close relationship with God by the power of the Spirit through the sacrifice of the Son they are going to get a few things straightened out. They think that God will heal them or those they love. They think that God will balance the budget. They think that God will mend a relationship. These things have happened and do happen, but there is no guarantee that when we become Christians that they will happen. The only thing that we are guaranteed when we come to God is grace. (more…)
Easter and Faith
0Three days after Jesus was placed in the tomb, the stone rolled away, and His body was gone. An angel greeted the women who had come to pour spices and oils on His body. He told them to go tell the disciples that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead. An instant conversion happened. The women who saw the angel suddenly believed in the resurrection of the actual Lord and savior Jesus Christ. For most of His earthly ministry people were wowed by his miracles and power, but they never really got it. They were expecting a glorious revolution where He would lead an army to save Israel from the oppressive Romans.
After Jesus was crucified the disciples scattered, fearing for their lives. They had forgotten everything that Jesus had said about resurrection three days later. Their own desires had caused them to be deaf toward the desires of God. They desired a glorious Israeli empire that would come to pass in 33 A.D. They didn’t want to hear that Jesus would die and be raised.
When Jesus rose from the dead, the lack of belief in His power over death and the future was changed. The disciples were instantly converted into real believers in the total power of God. They saw the big picture. They saw why things that had happened, happened. They saw what was coming. They knew that the kingdom had not yet come, but was coming.
I like to think that I have the right idea most of the time. I like to think that I know what’s going on. I like to think that I’m a person with good morality, and decent actions to reflect that morality. I’m a lot like the disciples in that regard. We both did the right things for the right reasons and we expected results. Then the unexpected happens, a test of the faith. Everything that we believe in gets nailed to a cross, then buried.
The disciples scattered, and I could spend hours telling you how I have handled tests of the faith quite poorly. When we think we’re doing the right thing, we expect things to go our way. When they don’t, we assume we did all the right things in vain. We forget what God has said, that He would die and resurrect, that life would be hard but things would get better. Our faith is restored when Jesus moves in our lives. He changes our situations for the better. Despite our lack of faith, He moves in and around us to show His love and power.
Easter is a great reminder of the power of God over death. It’s an excellent time to contemplate grace and mercy. It’s a great time to go to church for the first time, or the first time in a long time. Easter is also a great time to repent of a lack of faith. Don’t end up like the disciples, weighed down by a loss of faith. Rise up and be of good cheer.
The grave couldn’t hold Him and He is with you right now.
Have a great Easter.
Love,
Jack
God is Just
02 years ago
by Tim
One of the most terrifying realizations that we must come to is that the God of the bible is a just God. This means that you and I deserve to burn in hell for eternity because we have sinned and rebelled against God. We are a wicked people and eternal death is the punishment that fits our crime. But the Gospel, the Good News, of the bible is that Jesus payed that penalty for us. The dichotomy shown by Jesus work on the cross is that God is merciful but is also always completely and totally just. The dictionary defines mercy as “compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one’s power” and just as “acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good”. When we read the bible we can find a couple of verses that relate to this topic. (more…)