LEARNING DAILY

 

Lamentations 3:22-24, The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! By His mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!” (New Living Translation)

 

Pastor Marquise Cox filled in for the Lead Pastor at church this weekend and did a great job. He made a comment at the beginning of his message I thought was important to be heard (or read) by all who read this blog. He said, “God is the God of second chances. He will never give up on you!” If you have walked on the narrow way for very long, you will understand this statement.

 

In the verses above, the prophet Jeremiah wanted the people of Judah to know that even though they were being punished, there was hope of restoration. If you take the time to read the entire third chapter of Lamentations you will see Jeremiah wanted them to know that the Lord’s anger would not last forever; even during the time of His anger His lovingkindness never ceases. Jeremiah wanted the people to know that God’s help would come to those who repent of their sinful ways and continue to wait on the Lord. God is always good and merciful; to those who wait on Him in humility, confess their sin and do all they can to turn from their sinful ways.

 

Let me encourage someone today! You have purpose and hope today, and each day, when you place your hope and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; He promises unending love to you, promises to be faithful to you, and lots of mercy toward you each day when you confess your sins to Him. The way to maintain the joy of our salvation is to confess the sins you commit. You should be able to say this verse from memory by now, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness”. Yes, He is the God of second, third, fourth and many other chances. God is faithful! God is faithful! God is faithful! You do not have to understand what is going on around you. You need to understand and rely on the fact that God loves you and is always faithful.

 

Pastor Cox mentioned that we can become comfortable with sin, even trying to justify it. May that never be the case with you! When you sin, confess it and ask the Lord to forgive you and cleanse you; do so immediately! Can I tell you from experience that you cannot hide it, cover it up, or justify it. God knows and He wants you to come to Him to be forgiven. When I sin, I cannot rest, cannot be comforted until I ask Him to forgive and cleanse me. Trust me when I write His forgiveness, His faithfulness, and His mercies are new each day. He has forgiven me for so many failures – let’s just say I am glad I have not kept record. May I add that God does not keep record either because Christ lives with in me. I have experienced that God has an inexhaustible love for those who love Him and desire to walk the narrow way into His kingdom. As Jesus said, the narrow way is full of difficulty but because of His great, unending love for those walking on the narrow way all are part of His family and have a renewed daily hope that He is the “God of second chances”.

 

Our hope is not based on some irrational belief. It is based only on the God who has proven Himself to love us and that He has proven to be faithful. That hope looks at everything God has done and trusts in what He will continue to do.