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Author
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Topic: His Mercies Are New Every Morning
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Carol Swenson
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Member # 6929
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posted
Every Day His Mercies Are New!
Have you ever been in a situation where you really messed up to the point where you thought you’d blown it forever, only to be given another chance to try again? It may have been a failed marriage, or a bad investment, or getting fired from a job, or losing a crucial account, or you caused a serious automobile accident, or did something really stupid while you were drunk....
Maybe your adult life has been free of failure, but think back as a child….do you remember ever doing something so bad you thought your parents would never forgive you, or never trust you again? And then the miraculous happened---you were given a 2nd chance!! Just when you thought life was over, you were given the opportunity to start brand new, with a clean slate!
This is what the gospel is all about, every day of the week, 24 hours a day, 60 minutes per hour, 60 seconds per minute, and every moment that we breath. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness O God!" (Lamentations 3:22-23)
God’s love is steadfast: this means that it is the same "yesterday, today and tomorrow". It stands the storm, it cannot be blown away by anything! When all else fails, God’s love remains. God’s love is a stubborn love: He calls Himself a "jealous God" (Deuteronomy 5:9 )----jealous for us! His love is the theme of the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, God’s love is the one constant that never changes, never stops, never runs out, never grows weary…but is always there every day!
His mercies never come to an end: He doesn’t ration His mercy, as though it were in short supply. He doesn’t say "I can only forgive you for 10,000 sins…once you reach 10,001 you’re out of luck!" No!---His mercy is unlimited; it never comes to an end. "For where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more." (Romans 5:20 ) Don’t ever think that you’ve crossed the line and can’t be forgiven anymore. Don’t ever think that you’ve reached a point where God can’t use you anymore. Don’t ever think that you’ve gone too far and separated yourself from God’s mercy, because as long as you have breath in your lungs, you are forgivable and redeemable. Our physical death is the only dividing line between God’s eternal mercy and His eternal condemnation; but "today is the day of salvation…." (2 Corinthians 6:2)
Understand that you didn’t deserve God’s mercy when you first came to faith in Him, and you still don’t deserve it now. This is the gospel message, that "He loved us while we were yet sinners…" (Romans 5:8) "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) And even "if we are faithless, He remains faithful…" (2 Timothy 2:13)
They are new every morning: His love and His mercies make every day you awake a 2nd chance. Our God is not only the God of 2nd chances, but of 3rd chances and 4th chances and 100th chances as well. His love and His mercies are new every morning….as if yesterday never happened.
You have today in front of you. It’s no mistake that the world is still turning today. It’s no mistake that you woke up and are still breathing today. Life isn’t a matter of chance or fate; life is a matter of choice. God has chosen to delay the world’s destruction by another day, and God has chosen to let you live on the earth another day. Will you choose to receive His love and mercy? Will you choose to believe and receive His offer of a 2nd chance? Will you choose to live today the holy life you wanted to live yesterday, but failed to do? You’re alive today and reading this because the Lord of life has given you another chance….what are you going to do with it?
The blood of Jesus was shed almost 2,000 years before you were born. Jesus said "a man doesn’t build a tower without first counting the cost." (Luke 14:28) You can be sure that our Lord counted the cost before He was nailed to the tree: He knew every sin you were ever going to commit, (even the ones you haven’t committed yet), and He paid your debt in full. You are clean in Him. You are new in Him. You are redeemed in Him. Get up off your mat and walk in the freedom that comes with the forgiveness of sins. (See Matthew 9:2-6) Today is a new day and you’ve been given another chance, take it in faith and run with it in freedom!
http://www.thesanctuarium.com/soup/dujour1.html
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Carol Swenson
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Member # 6929
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Thank you TB125. I'm always learning something new. Your statement regarding faith on your website is great.
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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TB125
Advanced Member
Member # 2450
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posted
Hi Carol,
I believe that that statement gives a clear explanation of the difference between belief and faith. Note this summary: quote:
Faith requires surrender and a willingness to put God’s will before our own.
Check out my statement regarding faith on my website. Note the illustration of the aerialist and the "believer". Faith is demonstrated by active trust, obeying the invitation, getting into "the wheelbarrow", or preparing to sacrifice Isaac on an altar although he was his promised son. I'm sure that you understand my point. You see, faith is a verb. As James would say, as a static noun "faith" is "dead" without the activity of "works".
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Bob
Posts: 449 | From: Rockford Illinois | Registered: Nov 2003
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Carol Swenson
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Member # 6929
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posted
Good morning TB125.
That is an interesting observation. I thought that "belief" and "faith" were the same. In fact I read somewhere that "believe" is the verb and "faith" is the noun.
So, what is the difference between "belief" and "faith"?
I looked it up, and I found this statement. Do you agree with it?
http://www.allsands.com/religious/faithandbeli_zbn_gn.htm
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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TB125
Advanced Member
Member # 2450
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posted
I think that the issue is not so much a matter of "belief" as it is a matter of trust or "faith". And that question of whom are you going to trust has always been the foundation for any relationship with God. Of course it is expressed in "belief" and obedience, but basically the relationship is a matter of "faith". That was the situation for Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Peter, Paul, and you and me. For a more complete explanation of this matter see my statement on "What is Christian Faith" at http://christianityetc.org/faith.php
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Bob
Posts: 449 | From: Rockford Illinois | Registered: Nov 2003
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
His Mercies Are New Every Morning
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)
There’s always been a pattern in the way God deals with man’s disobedience. This pattern was first seen in the Garden, appears repeatedly in the lives of the Patriarchs, in the history of Israel, and is found all through the New Testament. Disobedience brought consequences, but confession brought forgiveness and a new beginning.
Take the case of Abraham. The Lord had said to him, “Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household and go into a land I will show you” (Gen. 12:1). But Abraham took his father, his nephew Lot, and all their families, traveling only as far as Haran, about half way, where they remained for several years. Later he continued, again with Lot and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, finally arriving in Canaan many years after they first started out (Gen. 11:31 and 12:4-5).
After that they left again, for Egypt this time, where they acquired Hagar, an Egyptian handmaiden, and got into trouble with Pharaoh for lying about Abraham’s relationship with Sarah. Then, after waiting 18 years for the Lord to give them a son, Abraham and Sarah decided to take matters into their own hands. Hagar became the first surrogate mom in recorded history, giving birth to Ishmael. And so Abraham, the first man to be called a Hebrew, caused the birth of the first Arab. The problems that created continue to this day.
Are You Going to Obey Me or Not?
Variations on the same theme continue in the lives of Isaac, Jacob, 11 of his 12 sons and ultimately in the history of the nation they founded. In fact the entire Old Testament can be summed up in one question. “Israel, are you going to obey Me or not?” (The answer was clearly no.)
For example, the land was given to Israel without condition (Gen.17:7-8), but to live there in peace and prosperity, they had to obey the Laws He gave them. When they didn’t, the Lord either permitted their enemies to rule over them or had them taken from the land altogether. Once these consequences were experienced and they had turned back to Him, the Lord helped them defeat their oppressors and return to their land.
Disobedience, consequence, confession, forgiveness, new beginning: the pattern was repeated with the Philistines, Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks and Romans. Their latest (and final) return, from the Roman expulsion, became official in 1948 and continues.
Why is He so Forgiving?
Why, when they continued to make the same mistakes over and over did He always take them back? The answer is in Ezekiel 36:22. It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. It’s because He promised He would and His integrity is at stake. It was an eternal and unconditional promise and their worthiness is not at issue.
The writer of Hebrews called Abraham a towering example of faith, omitting any mention of these acts of disobedience in summarizing his life (Hebr. 11:8-12). And Paul described Abraham as one whose faith was credited to him as righteousness, and who never wavered through unbelief (Rom 4:3, 20). It’s as if his acts of disobedience had never happened.
In Jeremiah 31:31-34 God promised a New Covenant that would permit Him to forgive their wickedness and forget their sins. That’s why there’s no mention of Abraham’s disobedience in the New Testament. The New Covenant has come and the Lord is making good on His promise to forgive all who ask and forget all we did.
“Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). His mercies are still new every morning. He has promised to accept all who believe, irrespective of their worthiness. “My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40). He’s also promised to forgive us whenever we confess our sins, even after we’re saved. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) These are unconditional promises, given by One Who cannot lie. His integrity is still at stake. He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebr. 13:8).
Are You Going to Believe Me or Not?
Just like He did with Israel, the Lord made eternal and unconditional promises to the Church. These promises were signed in His own blood, but even so, doubters ignore or re-interpret them, attempting to steal away our certainty. Turns out the New Testament can be summed up in a single question, too. “Church, are you going to believe Me or not?”
Jack Kelley
http://gracethrufaith.com/selah/eternal-security/his-mercies-are-new-every-morning/
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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