Merciful and Gracious LordSpeaker: Dr. D.G.S. Dhinakaran Gist: We are not consumed because of that great mercy of our Lord Jesus which is unchanging and is graciously given to us everyday. His grace has always protected our sin-stained lives. The Bible says, "The Lord is merciful and gracious" (Psalm 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Jonah 4:2; Nehemiah 9:17; Joel 2:13; James 5:11).
"Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22,23)
Dear friend, you and I are not consumed because God's unchanging grace is graciously given to us each day. The Bible says concerning His mercy, "For a mere moment I have forsaken you, But with great mercies I will gather you" (Isaiah 54:7; Colossians 3:12).
We are not consumed because of that great mercy which is unchanging, and it is graciously given to us everyday. Even when we were struggling against wicked people, carnal lusts and works of satan, it was His grace which protected our sin-stained life.
"For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield" (Psalm 5:12). How true this promise is!
I remember a funny story, which I studied in my college days. A king had two Ethiopian slaves. One day, the two had a quarrel between them. One killed the other. He was confronted with the problem of disposing the body without anybody's knowledge. There were big jars in the palace, which contained wine for the king. He opened one of the jar's lid and dumped the body inside and closed it. He was the one who served the king with wine. When he served wine, the king asked him, "Where is the other slave? He does not seem to be seen anywhere." This slave replied, "I do not know his whereabouts." Days passed. One day, the King as usual called him, "Bring me wine." At that time, there was no wine other than the jar that contained the corpse. He did not know what to do. He took the wine from that jar and poured it into a bottle and served the king. He was afraid and terrified, "Oh! it will stink! Will the king find out my crime?" But what a surprise! The King drank the wine as usual. His face shone! The king asked, "It's very tasty! Where did you hide this for so many days? Why did not you give me this wine before?" This slave did not understand anything. But the king asked for more and more. Later again the King asked him, "How come this wine tastes so good? What new ingredients have you added to this?" He tackled saying, "Sir, I did not add anything to it." But the king called the other servants and asked them to open that particular jar. That's all! His face went white with fear. He was troubled. "Oh! The king is going to hang me on seeing the dark corpse of the slave; what will I do!" At that time, the jar was opened and they took out the corpse. He was surprised to see the dark body turned into white as it had been soaking in the wine for many days. They could not identify the person. So he escaped. He must have thought, "It is by the mercy of the wine, that I am not consumed."
Dear friend, even in our lives, many unwanted matters happen to stain our life. But when we come to the presence of the Lord, when we take part in the Holy communion, when the Pastor says, "Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup" (1 Corinthians 11:28), when we examine ourselves likewise, we see many shortcomings and unwanted things in us. When the Pastor says, "This is the blood of Jesus Christ which has been shed for you" and we drink of the cup, we cry out to the Lord for His forgiveness. At that time our stained heart turns white. The wine that the Ethiopian slave served bleached only the skin of a dark corpse white. But the blood of our gracious Lord Jesus Christ cleanses our heart. That is why we are not consumed. His mercy and His unchanging compassion cleanses us through His blood. It safeguards us from the anger of God so that it may not endure forever. It is by His unchanging mercies that we are not consumed.
Prayer:
Loving Lord Jesus,
Thank You for the blood that You have shed on the cross to restore humanity. My life is full of sin, unwanted pride, lust, arrogance and bitterness of heart. Lord, You blood alone can cleanse me. Lord, make me holy and acceptable before Your presence. Let Your mercy and unchanging compassion surround me. I pray in Jesus' magnificent name.
Amen. |