His Mercy and Faithfulness

His Mercy and Faithfulness

Christians often define mercy as ‘not getting what you deserve’. This is a simplistic but effective way of describing the times when God reduces or eliminates the consequences of our sinful actions. In the context of all of scripture, this can be applied to our eternal life - salvation (1 Peter 1:3-4) and our finite lives this side of eternity – God’s compassion (Psalm 123).

In a very personal way, I think of mercy as what your spirit cries out for when you don’t want to face the penalty for offending God. Thankfully, God is merciful! He doesn’t try to be merciful; it is part of His very nature. He is perfect and always bestows His mercy righteously.

The LORD's Mercy

• Sustains My Life
• Lamentations 3:22-23 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
• Saved My Soul
• Titus 3:4-5 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 
• Satisfies My Needs
• Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

When I take His Mercy in my life for granted, I notice that complaining, anger, resentment, rebellion, disrespect, covetousness, selfishness, being judgmental and pride start to creep into my attitudes, thoughts and words.

Forgive me my LORD! Forgive me my family! Forgive me my brothers and sisters in Christ. Forgive me whoever I have wronged!


God is faithful to His character. Praise God for His Mercy and Faithfulness.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Search for ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness’ is you are not familiar with this hymn.

Prayer

Merciful Father, loving Savior, life without Your mercy would be intolerable. Eternity without Your mercy is Hell! I thank You and praise You for Your abundant mercy. May Your mercy sustain those suffering and save those bound for Hell. You do all things well. I trust You and am in awe of Your Holiness. I pray in the powerful name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I Call Him Father

I Call Him Father

Each of us has an earthly father. Yet no matter how good, bad or nonexistent our relationship may be with him, as Christians, we also have a Heavenly Father. Have you ever prayed and searched the scriptures to gain a deeper appreciation of how God is a Father to His children?

Our love for Christ/God/Our Father (Isaiah 9:6) is so important, He said that our feelings for our earthly father (and others) should be like hate compared to our love for Him.

• Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

 

Seeing God as Our Father

• Old Testament
• Deuteronomy 32:6 Do you thus deal with the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, who bought you? Has He not made you and established you?
• Isaiah 63:16 Doubtless You are our Father, Though Abraham was ignorant of us, And Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O Lord, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.
• In the Old Testament God was viewed more as the Father of the Nation of Israel.
• New Testament
• Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
• Galatians 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
• In the New Testament God is viewed as a loving Father to every Christian. We are so close to Him that the Holy Spirit prompts us to call Him ‘Daddy’!

 

A Few of God’s Fatherly Attributes

• God Gives Life – God is the creator of all life. He lovingly created each of us. (Genesis 1:27, Psalm 139:13-14, Colossians 3:10)
• God Provides – We may not get everything we want, but God provides all that we need. (Psalm 23:1, Matthew 7:11, Philippians 4:19)
• God Protects – Although we are not promised an easy life (to the contrary, we are promised suffering for Christ’s sake), God not only protects us, he also gives us the armor we need to stand for Him and the weapon we need for spiritual warfare, His Holy Word. (Psalm 3:3, Psalm 28:7, Ephesians 6:10-11)
• God Listens – Sin impacts our relationship with God and can become a barrier to our communication with God (Psalm 66:18, Proverbs 28:9). But when we approach Him honestly, humbly and in repentance, He will hear us. (Psalm 5:1-3, Daniel 9:19, Hebrews 4:16)
• God Disciplines – As a father disciplines his children to correct and teach them, God perfectly disciplines His children as part of transforming them into the image of Jesus Christ. (Proverbs 3:12, Hebrews 12:9-10, Revelation 3:19)

I have given you just a few verses and thoughts related to why I Call Him Father. Take some time this week for reflection, prayer and Bible study and then list some additional reasons and scriptures elaborating on why God is your Father. And remember, God is the perfect Father; He doesn’t make mistakes. All He does and allows is for your benefit!


Prayer

Dear Lord, what an awesome privilege to call you Father. Although my understanding of Your perfect love for me is limited, I thank You for all You do to care for me and sustain our relationship. I pray You will use Your Word to touch other’s hearts with the amazing truth about Your Fatherly role and responsibilities in their lives. Thanks in advance. I praise You and love You. In Christ’s name, Amen.