The Goodness of God

"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship" (Rom.  12:1).

All of us should be thankful for the mercy of God, that He did not "give us up" (Rom. 1:18–32) to some awful things like He did with some people who refused Him. BE THANKFUL!

Paul wrote, "And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God" (Rom. 2:2–5).

Many believers judge others for sin, even though they are involved in the same things themselves or worse. And they think they're going to escape the judgment of God?!

I have seen many people with impenitent hearts who have experienced the "longsuffering and goodness of God" as He tried to lead them to repentance, yet they would not repent. Have you been in their shoes sometime in the past? Are you there right now? On the basis of God's mercy, change your mind, confess that sin, and make the decision to present your body and your life to the Lord right now. Let Him bless you and use you.
Christ suffered and died for your sins, paid your debt in full, and rose again. Believe in the Lord Jesus as your Savior and receive Him so you can be born again, be forgiven of your sins, and go to heaven.

Prayer: Father, show your mercy to Your children who are not yielded to You. Cause those who are not using their lives to do Your will to repent and be saved. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Quote for the Day: "Forbidden fruit creates many jams." —Author Unknown

Has God given us a sound mind

The apostle Paul wrote, "For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline" (2 Tim. 1:7).

O, dear people, doesn't it make good sense to be filled with the Spirit and to walk in the Spirit and to let Him do what He came to do in and through you? Will you decide, as Joshua did, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15)?

How can we live with a spirit of power, love, discipline and a sound mind? Doing so requires concentration: "Meditate on it day and night" (Josh. 1:8). It requires personalization: "as for ME and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15). It also requires determination: "I will do as You say" (Luke 5:5).

Prayer: Father, thank You for giving us a spirit of power, love, discipline and a sound mind. Help us to live in Your truth daily. Help us to meditate on Your Word. May Your children, who have eternal life, learn how to live more abundantly in You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Quote for the Day: "You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith." —Mary Manin Morrissey

Oh, the Mercies of God!

Paul wrote in the book of Romans, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom. 12:1–2).

God does not compel nor coerce you to present your body to Him as a living sacrifice, but he challenges you to. He begs you to do it, if you please, on the basis of His mercies. God's mercies: WOW! Awesome!

In the Bible, God allowed severe consequences to happen to those who refused to present their bodies as living sacrifices. First, He "gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity" to dishonor their bodies between themselves (Rom. 1:24). Thank God for His mercy that He did not give you over. Why did God give them over to their lusts? Because they did not honor God and they were not thankful to Him, even though they knew He existed (Rom. 1:19). That explains a lot of things going on today.

Second, God "gave them over to degrading passions" (1:26). Can you believe it? Pretty modern, huh? You could have been one of them! Be thankful for His mercy that you were not given over by God.

Third, God "gave them over to a depraved mind" (1:28). Be thankful for His mercies! You could have been in the same situation.

Maybe as a child, you became a Christian. You understood that the Lord Jesus suffered and died for your sins and rose so you could believe in Him and receive Him as your Savior and not be given over to depravity. If that describes you, be thankful, and on that basis, present your body to Him.

If you muddied your life with these degrading passions and were not saved until later, be thankful for His awesome mercy and that He did not completely "give you over" to those lusts. Doesn't that make sense? Your reasonable service is to "present your body a living and holy sacrifice" and live for God. I beseech you to do this right now in prayer.

Oh, dear people, God wants you informed and transformed you so you can have "life more abundantly" (John 10:10). He wants to bring out the best in and through you.

Prayer: Father, you are so full of goodness and mercy. May Your children, right now, present their bodies as living, holy and pure sacrifices to You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Quote for the Day: "I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice." —Abraham Lincoln