Grace & Mercy
In some languages, one being Macedonian, there is not two words in the Bible translation for the word “Mercy” and the word “Grace.” Both are translated as “Milosta ” [–º–∏–ª–æ—Å—Ça]. While these two words are similar, and often placed together, they have different meanings Mercy doesn”t give you what you do deserve, and Grace gives you what you don”t deserve. For instance, if you committed a crime deserving imprisonment, but the judge didn”t give a prison sentence, then he was showing Mercy. ¬† ¬† ¬† ¬† However, if instead of punishing you, he rewarded you and paid the price of your crime, then he would be showing Grace. ¬†Yes, we need both words! What a lot we miss from our Bible reading if we only have one word instead of two. When God sent Jesus to be our Redeemer, He was showing us Mercy upon Mercy, and when Jesus paid the price for our sin and redeemed us, placing us as joint heirs with Himself, that was Grace upon Grace!
What a wonderful joy and a blessing not only to have both these words in our vocabulary, but to experience the Mercy and Grace of God for ourselves, by asking Him to forgive our sins and come into our lives. The difference between God and a human Judge, is that he made the same provision for all sinners, no matter who we are or what our sin looks like! As long as we are breathing, God has promised to save all who call upon His name in confession and repentance. And then never to leave us, but to guide and help us every day, until we see his Face in eternity.¬† No matter our race, color, ethnicity, status, job, upbringing etc etc, there is no other way to Heaven with Jesus and God, except we follow this route. If there was any other way, Jesus would not have had to die on the cross, but He did and rose again, having defeated death and paid the price for our sins. That is His unlimited mercy and unmerited grace, all because of God”s unconditional love for each one of us, but only if we accept the gift as it has been offered to us.
What are we waiting for: till we get older, till we get married, till we prove the Bible to be true, till we get all the verses we don”t understand explained. If these are some of the reasons you would put off trusting in Jesus, make sure you are not too late, too busy, unable to accept the truth when you see it, or unwilling to bend the knee before the Lord. We will not understand everything until we see Him face to face!In the Bible, it says clear enough for each of us to understand, that before the Lords return to the earth for His people, there will be “wars and rumors of wars [Matthew 24:6, Mark 13:7], nation will turn against nation, kingdom rise against kingdom, [Matthew 24:7, Mark 13:8], and famines, pestilences and earthquakes”. [same verses]. Luke 21:11 adds “there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.” Yes, we have had wars before, but never before have we had so many countries infighting, so many religions fighting among themselves, so many people trying to kill and terrorize their fellow man, so many on the move with nowhere to call home. And as for the signs in the Heavens, climate, wearing out of the old earth, what more will it take for us to realize time is short.
Christian, are you praying for the unsaved, those who are undecided or deliberating, those who have no interest and those who are closest to you. You better be, as you may be the only one who can reach that someone before it is too late. Why would anyone want to go through this life, seeing all that is happening today, without the assurance that God has forgiven us in Christ, and wants us to be together in Heaven? It is the most precious news you know, share it with others.To know with assurance that because of His Grace and Mercy, no matter how it happens or when, we will spend eternity with Him and with those who have gone on before. That is what Grace and Mercy is all about.