mercy

The Greatest Gift of All

December 21, 2019 By Marji "Mike" Kruger

For God so loved. . .

His love is immutable, incomprehensible, immeasurable, impartial, and irresistible.
His love is a source of strength and a stronghold in times of trouble.
His love is faithful, flowing, fulfilling, final, forgiving, and forever.
His love never relinquishes, never fails, never disappoints, and never forsakes.
His love is unconditional, uncontainable, undeniable, unchangeable, unparalleled, and unprecedented.

For God so loved the world. . .

He loved all men, all women, all children, all personalities, all races, all ages, and all nationalities.

For God so loved the world that He gave. . .

His gift reconciles, redeems, and rescues.
His gift is an act of grace and an act of mercy.
His gift is undeserved and irresistible.
His gift is grounded in His love.
He gave His very best, sacrificially — He gave His Son.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. . .

His only Son: The Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, Christ!
His only Son: The Faithful and True, the Great High Priest, the Holy One of God, Immanuel!
His only Son: The Lamb of God, Messiah!
His only Son: The Prince of Peace, the Ransom for many, the Suffering Servant, Savior!
His only Son. . .Jesus!

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes. . .

All who believe bear His Name and are adopted into His family.
All who believe are near to God, are new creations in Christ, and have God’s Spirit living within them.
All who believe have peace and riches in Christ and are strong and transformed in Christ.
All who believe are forgiven and saved.
All who believe have eternal life and a hope for tomorrow.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

All who believe have victory over death in Christ, a hope and an inheritance, and eternal life with God.
Heaven will be the city of the Living God, a better and lasting possession, an eternal inheritance, the Kingdom of Light, the Kingdom that cannot be shaken, the Kingdom of God and Christ, and the paradise of God Almighty.
In Heaven we will enjoy complete moral purity and divine sustenance, and will be free from sin and death.
We will have glorified bodies, immortality, and joy beyond measure.
All our needs will be satisfied, we will share in Christ’s Glory, we will be like Christ, and we will have intimate, eternal fellowship with God, with Christ, and with those who love Him.

This Christmas, join me in focusing on our God, the Greatest Gift-Giver of all, who gave the Greatest Gift to all. . .Jesus Christ!

Merry Christmas!

He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to urge her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people. (NIV) Esther 4:8

Haman, an official in the Persian Empire, has revenge on his mind. To carry out his plan he receives the authority from King Xerxes to destroy all the Jews in kingdom. His deliberate refusal to forgive festers and grows and becomes deadly. But, God is on the move in mysterious ways in Persia. He is working behind the scenes.

When Mordecai heard of the plot, he was moved with deep sorrow, and he cried out with a heavy of heart. What caused the grief? Mordecai knew that the plan involved the unchangeable law of the Medes and the Persians. Not even the king could change it now that it had been uttered. Mordecai puts on sackcloth (a sign of mourning) and heads to the king’s gate.

Queen Esther hears of Mordecai’s great distress. She sends her servant, Hathach to “find out what was troubling Mordecai and why. 6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate. 7 Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. 8 He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to urge her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people. 9 Hathach went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said.” (Esther 4:5b-9)

Esther’s initial response is somewhat puzzling as we discover a certain reluctance on her part. Through Hathach, the queen reminds Mordecai that no one could approach the king in the inner court without a royal summons. The result of doing so was the penalty of death!

How are you backed into a corner today? Perhaps you can’t see any way out of a difficult and delicate situation. No matter how you try there’s no solution. . .or at least no solution that would please God. Wait! God is on the move today working behind the scenes and bringing His purposes and plans into place. When it looks like you’re backed into a corner with no way out, take hold of God’s hand and allow Him to unfold His perfect plan!

Understanding God’s Forgiveness

October 27, 2012 By Marji "Mike" Kruger

You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. (NIV) Psalm 86:5

The nature of God is to forgive sins. God was even ready to forgive us while we were still His enemy (Romans 5:10). . .even before we were ready to ask for or receive His forgiveness! God does not forgive us because we deserve it, but rather, He forgives out of His mercy and grace.

When God forgives us, He forgives us completely –
“. . .he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (NIV) Psalm 103:10-12

When God forgives us, He covers our sin, He blots it out and no longer deals with us according to our sin –
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. (NIV) Psalm 32:1
. . .he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. (NIV) Psalm 103:10

When God forgives us, He no longer charges the guilt of our sin to our account –
. . .that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (NIV) 2 Corinthians 5:19.

When God forgives us, He removes our sin from us, and from His presence. And incredibly, He promises not to remember it against us any longer –
Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back. (NIV) Isaiah 38:17

God’s forgiveness cost us nothing! But, it came at a very great cost to God – the life of His Son. God promises to never withhold forgiveness from you when you confess your sins in a sincere manner (1 John 1:9). With such undeserved forgiveness from God, how can you ever withhold forgiveness from another?

Grace and Peace

July 4, 2012 By Marji "Mike" Kruger

To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (NIV) Romans 1:7

1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (NIV) (The same exact verse is found in: 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians 1:2; II Timothy 1:2)

Colossians 1:2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. (NIV)

1 Thessalonians 1:1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you. (NIV)

1 Timothy 1:2 To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)

Titus 1:4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. (NIV)

Philemon 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (NIV)

1 Peter 1:2b Grace and peace be yours in abundance. (NIV)

II John 1:3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. (NIV)

Revelation 1:4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, (NIV)

Are you filled with God’s grace and peace?

A God of Compassion

June 30, 2012 By Marji "Mike" Kruger

The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. (NIV) Psalms 145:9

In the Old Testament, compassion was a response to need. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (ed. R. Laird Harris [Chicago: Moody Press, 1980]), states that the word is an “emotional response which results (or may result) in action to remove its object . . . from impending difficulty.” The word is used to describe emotion in both humans and God.

The word is also used in the Old Testament as an expression “to love deeply” or “to be compassionate,” or “to have mercy.” In this regard, the word is used to describe God’s love for human beings.

In the New Testament, the Greek words also express emotion. “Oiktirmos” conveys a sense of pity at the sight of the suffering of another person. When the Greek word “splanchnizomai” is translated “compassion” it is a deep emotion that produces a response. It provokes an action in the individual to relieve the suffering that is taking place. When Jesus felt compassion for a person (or peoples) it was often the turning point in the individual’s life.

How do I model compassion for others the way that Jesus did? Does someone in need cause me to emotionally reach out to that person? Do I care enough to get involved? Do I care enough to help by taking some action that may be a turning point in that person’s life?

If you struggle with lack of compassion for others, ask God to change your heart…and to give you opportunities to “practice” responding to others in need.

The Ultimate Act of Love

June 21, 2012 By Marji "Mike" Kruger

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (NIV) I John 4:10

God’s reconciling love was demonstrated on the cross through the death of His sinless Son. God initiated the reconciliation. The crucifixion of Jesus was God’s predetermined plan (Acts 2:23) in which every detail of His sacrificial death was precisely planned.

Salvation is God’s predetermined plan:
** This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. (Acts 2:23)

Salvation Is God’s Ultimate Act:
** For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:17)

Salvation Is Grounded in God’s Love:
** The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 7:7)
** “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
** But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
** But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions– it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4)
** This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (I John 4:10)