Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. (Psa. 136:1)

You know, mercy always precedes grace, but they always go hand in hand. Before God gives us what we do not deserve (grace), He first withholds from us the judgement we have coming (mercy). Our God is, by nature, merciful: He does not treat us as we rightfully deserve. Rather, in loving grace, Our Father pours out His forgiveness over us. For such mercy and grace, we can never praise Him enough.

Imagine if God’s mercy were to somehow expire. What if one day He’d had enough of forgiving our sins - those sins that we can’t seem to master or turn away from? What if He were to reach a point where He decided to mete out exactly what we deserve as punishment for our sins, our faithlessness, and our self-centered ways? This is something to really ponder.

Of course, that turn of events would violate His own gospel: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)  If God’s mercy were to expire, we would perish.

“Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever. (Psa. 136:26) God is the only doctor will never send you a bill.

Let us thank God for loving us unconditionally! Amen.

“Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth . . .

I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” Isa. 43:19

 Our life is a journey with God. It may be hard sometimes, but I am assured it would be all worth it. Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.

The only impossible journey is the one you never begin. Prov. 3:5-6, Jer. 17:7

 We will have to go though many trails and different obstacles. James 1:2-4

 God uses events in our lives to shape us, to teach us, to grow us - some of the key events are those sparked by sin in our lives or someone else’s life. On our journey we continually avoid Satan, confess our sins, and forsake them. Paul advise us to “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.” Eph. 6:11  “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am you God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.” Isa 41:10

 A New Beginning is always exciting, refreshing, and makes us thankful. New beginnings often happen at weddings, a new baby’s birth, graduations, retirement, and so on. When these new beginnings include times like a new birth in Christ, a restored soul, land for a new building, leadership in place, the first minister, and restoring fellowship with other brethren we have so much to be thankful for. No words can express how blessed we are!

Etymology of Opportunity:

Nested into Colossians 4 is a verse that doesn’t get much publicity, but I think of it as a great definition of spiritual maturity. If each of us obeyed this verse, it would revolutionize our lives.

This scripture doesn’t specify how many or how few opportunities. It does not quantify how small or how large the opportunity. We simply need to make the most of every opportunity.

Seeing and seizing opportunities is an underappreciated dimension of spiritual maturity. Seeing and seizing those opportunities is at the heart of what it means to follow Christ and to be filled.

But here is the catch: The old aphorism is wrong. Opportunity doesn’t knock. The Egyptian giant that Benaiah battled didn’t knock on the door; he knocked down the door. (1 Chronicles 11:23)

In fact, Benaiah is one of those cool background characters that’s only mentioned a few times in the Bible, but whenever he shows up, he’s doing something incredible.

Most of us want our opportunities gift wrapped, but opportunities typically present themselves at the most inopportune times and in the most inopportune places. Opportunities often come disguised as a big, hairy, audacious problems, but we as Christians see things different.

The word “crisis” is made up of two characters:

One means danger and the other means opportunities.

Problems are opportunities in disguise. Let us always seek opportunities in the Lords church.

Amen!

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: (I Peter 4:10)

When asked “what is grace,” the word is most often defined as “unmerited favor.” Yet, grace involves so much more. It empowers us to do the will of God, to forgive when it’s hard, to do what would be impossible on our own; from walking in wisdom to building businesses to loving the unlovely.

The grace of God is extended to us in many forms: in salvation, in our spiritual and natural gifts, in our accomplishments, and in our experiences.  As we’re called to freely give because we freely received (Matthew 10:8), we are called to both receive grace and extend it to others.

How do we do this? One way is to be like Christ in His sacrificial love. Let’s consider what our Lord gave up (Philippians 2:7-8). He gave up the most for the sake of the least. If Jesus extended that kind of selfless love to us, we’re obliged to extend it to others.

Every gift of time, every act of service, every favor we do; these are reflections of the sacrificial love and grace of our Lord. By deliberately losing something (time, energy, focus, the chance of to do something else) so that others may gain, we extend His grace.

I say this, “if we want to be like Christ, we need to look for ways we can be like Him. Christ, our Lord, gave up power, glory, and position because that is what He had. What do you have?  Time? Money? Opportunity? Talent? Imitate our Lord by sacrificing that for others, and you will be a good steward of the grace of God.

Showing grace to others is about showing kindness even when they don’t deserve it.  God has shown us much grace.  We, in turn, are asked to show grace to each other. Amen!

“And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.  Then He opened His mouth and taught them.”  Matthew 5:1-2

For years during the summer, I visited my first cousin in Taos, New Mexico. We would fish in the mountain rivers. Some areas would still have snow. We would hike the trails to find the best fishing spots, but we would also look for a place to sit and take in the wonderful spender, tranquil peace, and talk about God.

When you think of the Sermon on the Mount, do we see Jesus (as Hollywood has coached us) perched on a high rock up in the hills, teaching the multitudes, or do we see Him walking through tall grass on the mountainsides, reciting the Beatitudes as He maneuvers among masses congregated there?  Hmmm…?

Scripture says our Lord walked away from the crowd, headed into the hills, and found a place to sit. When His closest followers came to Him, Jesus taught them. This is a picture of intimate impartation to those seeking him, not a scene with stage lights, microphones, and megachurch-like multitudes.

Men too often long for the soapbox and the spotlight. They want to hear the applause and the “Amen.” But Jesus looks for faithfulness in little things. (Luke 16:10) He calls us to feed our own households and teach our own children first and foremost (Matt 24:45; Ephesians 6:4; 1Tim 5:8). Whether or not we’re called to speak to the many, we must often step away from the crowds and find a place to sit with the few in our lives that are right in front of us.