Old Church Basement: Returning to Simple Worshipنموونە

MERCY

Now I’m alive to tell the story

How I’ve overcome

It’s His goodness and mercy

And the power of His blood

Can you think of a time when you were given mercy in a way that surprised you?

Maybe you got pulled over for speeding but didn’t get a ticket. Or deadline on a late work project was gracefully extended.

When things like this happen to us, there's a relief that comes along with the mercy.

You can take a deep breath and relax for a moment. Because that thing that hung over your head, or kept you from moving forward is no longer yours to bear.

But there's no greater mercy that any of us have ever received than the mercy available to us through Christ.

We've been offered freedom and life with God instead of death, darkness, and punishment - all through God's mercy and the sacrifice of Jesus.

“Was the grave meant for me

Where my sin lay buried

Now I stand redeemed

By the mercy of God”

The suffering that Jesus endured, the pain and separation from God, was meant for you and me.

But instead, He took on our brokenness and sin. Every regret and mistake, every unrighteous thought He carried on His shoulders. And by His wounds and His mercy, we have access to eternal grace and forgiveness. This is the power of the cross.

"But he was pierced for our transgressions,

 he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

 and by his wounds, we are healed." - Isaiah 53:5

We don’t deserve this love or this freedom. We deserve separation from our Creator. Instead, we receive grace, mercy.

“It’s His goodness and mercy

And the power of the blood”

Your life itself is evidence of God’s mercy, his grace, and His care over you.

What has God brought you out of? What are moments and times in your life where you can look back and say, “If not for the mercy of God?”

Don’t forget these things. Write them down. They are your testimony.

Share them with other people. Look back on them as reminders of what God has done.

God doesn’t respond to us because of what we deserve. He responds to us out of who He is. 

Lord, today we are thankful and in awe of your mercy.