MERCY
BREAD
3 Praise
be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has
given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil
or fade--kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until
the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In
this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to
suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith--of greater worth
than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine
and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though
you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now,
you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for
you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:3-9 (NIV)
19 I
remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. 20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within
me. 21 Yet
this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for
his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your
faithfulness. 24 I
say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for
him.” 25 The
LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it
is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. Lamentations 3:19-26 (NIV)
14 Therefore,
since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the
Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For
we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was
without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with
confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time
of need. Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV)
21 Keep
yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to
bring you to eternal life. Jude 1:21
(NIV)
50 His
mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. Luke 1:50 (NIV)
22 Be
merciful to those who doubt; 23 snatch others from the fire and save them; to others
show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted
flesh. Jude 1:22-23 (NIV)
14 Therefore,
since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the
Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For
we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was
without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with
confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time
of need. Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV)
24 To
him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious
presence without fault and with great joy-- 25 to
the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. Jude 1:24-25 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Whatever the timing or form of God’s mercy,
we never rise above the status of beneficiaries of mercy. We are always utterly
dependent on what we do not deserve.”
John Piper
“There is a
wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea.” Frederick William Faber
“To added affliction He addeth His mercy,
to multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.” Annie Johnson Flint
“Mercy imitates God and disappoints
Satan.” John
Chrysostom
“God’s
willingness to show mercy appears by His joyfulness when sinners take hold on
His mercy. God’s goodness is that He
rejoices at the salvation of sinners and is glad when His mercy is accepted. God rejoices when a poor sinner comes in and
takes hold of His mercy. What an
encouragement to believe in God! He is a
God of pardons. Mercy pleases Him. Nothing prejudices us but unbelief. Unbelief stops the current of God’s mercy
from running, shut God’s bowels, closes the cavity of Christ’s wounds, so no
healing virtue will come out. As far as
the heavens are above the earth, so far is God’s mercy above our sins. What will tempt us to believe, if not the
mercy of God?” Thomas Watson
“Among
the attributes of God, although they are all equal, mercy shines with even more
brilliance than justice.” Miguel de Cervantes
“We should follow Christ in simplicity and faith, because
the paths in which He leads us all end in glory and immortality. It is true they may not be smooth paths –
they may be covered with sharp flinty trials, but they lead to the ‘city with
foundations, whose architect and builder is God.’ ‘All the ways of the Lord are loving and
faithful for those who keep the demands of His covenant.’ Let’s put full trust in our Leader, since we
know that, come prosperity or adversity, sickness or health, popularity or
contempt, His purpose shall be worked out, and that purpose shall be pure,
unmingled good to every heir of mercy…..His dear love will make us far more
blessed than those who sit at home and warm their hands at the world’s fire.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“I love Him because He first loved me. His goodness and mercy and compassion to me
are new every day. And my assurance is
lodged in these aspects of His character.
My trust is in His love for me as His own. My serenity has as its basis an implicit,
unshakable reliance on His ability to do the right thing, the best thing in any
given situation. This to me is the
supreme portrait of my Shepherd.
Continually there flows out to me His goodness and His mercy, which even
though I do not deserve them, come unremittingly from their source of supply –
His own great heart of love.”
Phillip Keller
“He shall lead you on with courage, and bring you off with
honour. He lived and died for you. For mercy and tenderness to His soldiers,
there is none like Him.” William Gurnall
HEART SAVOR
·
His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness!
·
In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living
hope.
·
God’s mercy is vast and beyond our comprehension.
