SEEK FIRST (3/4)

I am certain there is a redemptive work going on right now, people are coming back to Christ. It's a Seek First movement. I was thinking how complicated life can get, causing us to turn to other sources instead of Jesus, fellowship with other believers. Pretty soon we make choices, we get caught up, easily tripped, but that's when grace and mercy are needed most.

Someone defined grace and mercy to me a long time ago. They told me grace was, "Getting what I don't deserve, and mercy, NOT getting what I did deserve." So many people stand on the outside looking in because of guilt, shame, condemnation and fear of who they've been, what they've done. We need mercy, that God would not give us what we deserve, and we need grace to receive what we don't deserve.

Keep these thoughts close to your life...
The only reason I can approach God at all is because of His mercy and grace.
The only reason there is air in my lungs is because of His mercy and grace.
The only reason our lives prosper is because of His mercy and grace.
The only reason our churches succeed and grow is because of His mercy and grace.
My home is to be cloaked in grace and mercy. My marriage, my kids, my life roles; all of them, grace and mercy.

Truth be told, we are not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, behaved enough, rich enough, intellectual enough or anything else in this life. Yet we are ALL THESE THINGS when we are full of His grace and mercy.

May the Lord give you mercy every time you fall short, and may he give you the grace to make up for when you believe you can't go on. The truth of the matter is, "BUT by grace and mercy there goes I." Thank you Lord, for mercy, and grace!