God is Ready to Pardon

 Neh 9:17b
.. but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsook them not.

The children of Israel historically wavered in their faith. Any time things started to get bad, they would turn from trusting God and relying on the gods of the world around them. We find over and over again that God would deal harshly with their sin, but would always make a way to turn back to Him. Nehemiah recalls the days they were set free from Egyptian slavery, and it was not long after they were complaining about the prospects of dying. Because of their unbelief, they were made to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, the consequence of their disobedience. But God did not cast them away, He would not forsake them. We serve a God who is merciful and full of grace. If any man wavers, or falls into sin, we can go to Christ, who is our advocate to the Father, and be forgiven. Like the story of the prodigal son, God’s arms are wide open, ready to pardon. He is a God of second chances, and extends His mercy to any who will turn to Him with a sincere heart of repentance. God does not tolerate sin and will not abide by it. Through the blood of Christ, He has provided a way of escape. We don’t have to succumb to the temptation of Satan and fall into sin. Our faith does not have to waver in times of temptation. He will not forsake us in our time of need. We can overcome temptation with the help of the Holy Spirit and the power of God. But it is possible that one could fall from fellowship and communion with God, but one does not have to despair, for God is slow to anger, and of great kindness, and will not forsake His own. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Lift Up Jesus

 John 3:14-15
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

The bronze serpent lifted by Moses was the salvation of the people. The people had greatly sinned against the Lord who just delivered them from bondage. They were still in bondage to their selfish desires. Their hearts of unbelief started to doubt God and Moses. They became impatient with the way God was doing things. For their disobedience and unbelief, God sent poisonous serpents that brought death to many of the people. Death among many brought them to the realization that their sin was the cause. The wages of sin is still death. God in His mercy made a way of escape. We live in a day where sin and unbelief is found among those who profess to be followers of Christ. They have put their faith in religion and self-reliance. Jesus is still the answer. If we only look to Jesus. He is the only one that can bring deliverance from sin. Let us lift up Jesus to a messed up world and exalt Him. He and He alone can give us eternal life.

Abundant Grace

 1 Tim 12:14
And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
Paul claimed to be the worst of all sinners. His life before coming to Christ was filled with unbelief and evil intent to hurt those who were followers of Jesus. There are many who have given testimony to a life that is wicked and evil, and how God’s grace through faith and love in Christ lifted them out of the pit of sin and gave them a new beginning. But the truth of the matter is that we ALL are sinners. We may have been brought up in a home that taught and trained us to be good and decent people. To be kind and considerate to others. The rich young ruler was such a person. Jesus told him to keep the commandment he said,  “All these things have I kept from my youth up.” Being a good person was not enough. Jesus did come to teach us how to be good people, but His main purpose for His coming was to save sinners. No matter the depth of our sinfulness, His exceedingly abundant grace reaches each one of us with His love. “In that we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Whether you are the chief of sinners or raised to be a good person, we all need His grace. We all have sinned and come short of God’s glory. Believe in Him and His abundant grace will save you!

Where Are You?

Gen 3:9  And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

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Our life is an open book to God. There is nothing that we do or say that He does not know. We may be able to keep them hidden from other human eyes, but there is nowhere to hide from the eyes of God. He is a God of love and even in our disobedience He seeks to find us. God desires that we come out in the open and confess our unbelief, our sin, our disobedience. The wages of sin is death, but God has provided a way for us to return back to Him. We who have lived in darkness, can come into the light of God love and forgiveness. The debt has been paid, Jesus died for the “apple” we have eaten. We don’t have to find a place to hide from God for our shame, He calls us out, “Where are you?”. Come out from living in darkness into the marvelous light of God’s grace.

The Father of Lies

Gen. 3:4, John 8:44 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die…the devil..for he is a liar, and the father of it.

The devil is a liar and deceiver. His lies are shrouded with enough truth to convince people that they are right. The heart of man has been corrupted and is easily deceived. Before the fall of man, the devil tempted man to give in to their human natural desires. There was nothing wrong with eating fruit in the garden of eden, they were just not to eat this one fruit. Why God put this one fruit in the garden is speculation. Like Job, God knew and allowed Satan to tempt Adam and Eve. Why did they not just flee, and resist temptation. We are left with many questions unanswered, but this we know, sin entered into the world by one man’s sin, and failed to believe God and obey His commandments. We may not always understand the reasons God say “no”, but blessed is the man who will put their trust in the lord, and lean not to their own understanding. The devil will come and do all he can to deceive you and me into doing what is wrong, but if God said it, we must believe it! Don’t believe the devil, He is a lair and the father of lies.