Daily Devotional Day & Night

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Today's scriptures are about God's relentless grace. I choose the word relentless to describe God’s grace because that's exactly what it is. As soon as we think that He's fed up with us, He comes right back, and showers us with love. I can only vouch for myself, but there are times when I make the same mistakes over and over again, and I think, "Okay, God is really angry with me now", then I go to Him in prayer, ask for forgiveness, and repent. I then ask Him to give me strength to overcome my weaknesses. All of a sudden I feel this warmth in my heart, as if I feel Him hug me, and whisper in my ear, saying everything’s going to be okay. Don't get me wrong, I am punished quickly for my sins, but once that punishment is done, and He forgives me that is the end of that.
God is similar to our earthly parents. In my opinion, the perfect father would be a man who prays for, molds, supports, and cherishes his family with all of his heart. His entire life is devoted to keeping them safe, providing for them, and nourishing the household. With any parent, it's your God given job to shape and mold your children into responsible, loving and caring human beings. You do that by offering your unconditional love, support, as well as discipline. A child will never learn the affects of bad choices if you excuse everything they do, continuously shower them with gifts, or overlook their bad behavior. At times, the punishment may need to be more severe than others, in order to teach them the ways of life. You never want your child to go out into the world ignorant to the repercussions of bad choices and decisions. You want to protect them, but not shelter them too much, where they never experience "real life" lessons. Punishments are as important as rewards.
God handles us with care, but is still firm when it's needed. He's tender and merciful because He is Love. Love is such a wonderful thing, just imagine how you feel when you look at a person and your heart gets warm, and the first thing that comes to your mind is "I love him or her". You can feel this way about anyone, your significant other, husband or wife, parent or grandparent, or even your children. That feeling comes from God. If we could love someone so much, just imagine how much He loves us. How many times have your child, niece or nephew, etc., done something that made you so mad that you just wanted to punish them? However when you see them, you can't help but love them. They may do something to make you laugh, hug you real tight, or give you the sad face and say, "I'm sorry", and you can't help but smile. God sees us in that way as well. Our trials and tribulations are normally allowed as refinement so that we can learn from our mistakes. Have you ever heard your parents say, "This will hurt me more than it hurts you"? I'm sure God feel that way when we sin against Him and He has to punish us. When we sin, we grieve His Holy Spirit, and so He waits patiently for us to come to Him and repent.
We have the ability to choose right from wrong, so we cannot get upset when we're merely reaping what we're sowing. As I mentioned before, it's okay to question God in periods of angst and turmoil; He welcomes that. Just know that you're not a victim of circumstance, but you're in a refinement period, and be watchful of the lessons that need to be learned in each situation. Paul reminds us of how to conduct ourselves as Christians, it's written: Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Eph. 4:25-32 NIV)
Through the blood of Jesus Christ we have the ability to be forgiven of ANY sin that we commit. God wants us to confess our sins with a humbled and contrite heart, and ask of forgiveness. Repentance is the only requirement for forgiveness. He knows our heart, so when we're truly remorseful for our sins, then He will forgive us, and never count that sin against us again. You will be judged for the right and wrong decisions you've made on judgment day, but your place in Heaven is secure. Jesus died to give you that privilege, so don't allow false guilt to dictate your life. If you committed a sin ten years ago, and have humbly asked God to forgive you, you have been forgiven! If you're still carrying around the guilt of that sin, then you need to forgive yourself, because God has already forgiven you, and wants you to move on. Guilt is another form of bondage that the enemy puts us in. If you confessed and repented for your sin last night before you went to bed, then today you and God started over with a clean slate. When He looks at you, He's so very proud.
If you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then I urge you to pray and ask Him to be Lord of your life today. Once you've said that prayer you are now a part of the Kingdom of God, and sin will never hinder you again, if you don't allow it to. If Jesus already lives in your heart, yet you haven't confessed and repented for you sins, and you feel the burden of it in your heart, then you can go to God and repent, and ask for forgiveness right now. If you need help with those prayers, feel free to contact me, or check out Dr. Stanley's God Quiz right now. My favorite verse today is: Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God. (Ephesians 2:13)

ENJOY! http://www.bible.com/scripture-detail.php?juli=2455359&dtype=Scripture
http://www.intouch.org/site/pp.aspx?c=cnKBIPNuEoG&b=4943197
http://www.intouch.org/site/apps/nl/newsletter.asp?c=cnKBIPNuEoG&b=4943547

I love you!