A Forgiving God; Gracious and Merciful

 TEXT: Nehemiah chapter 9

    Closing out the old year and beginning a new year finds most of us making resolutions and promises for positive changes in the coming year. The Israelites of biblical times had their moments of repentance, too. And just like us it seemed to last only for a short while before the old ways slipped back into their routine.

    Nehemiah 9 is a sober chapter. It begins with confession...in fact reading from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day, and another fourth of the day in confession and worshiping (v. 3). I'm not sure about you, but I would imagine this is more time in God's Word, confession, and worship than any of us have achieved in any day. If fact, to be honest, I wonder how many of us will actually get out our Bible and read an entire chapter of Nehemiah? Would any of us spend a fourth of the day in confession? That level of commitment would seem to keep us on track especially during rough times. Yet as soon as times grew peaceful and the people found rest complacency set in and the old familiar comfortable habits returned (v. 28).

     God is a just God. He will not tolerate sin or wrong in any form or to any degree. Yet who can understand the depth of his grace and mercy for us? Time after time, over and over again, God waits to forgive his wayward ones. His desire is not that any should perish but that all might come to salvation through Jesus Christ his Son.

(2 Peter 3:9) He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

    Do not delay. Do not hesitate. Call upon the name of God today through Christ Jesus his Son and return to the waiting arms of your merciful God. He loves you and is waiting to forgive you. God is never more than a whispered prayer away.

 

The devotional A Forgiving God; Gracious and Merciful appeared first on Write From My Heart at writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com

email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com

Exploring the Bible (book one of Basic Bible Concepts)

 

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Exploring the Bible (Basic Bible Concepts) Paperback – September 25, 2021

by Dorothy Willmon (Author)

Part of: Basic Bible Concepts (1 books)

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Exploring the Bible is the first of four books in the Basic Bible Concepts series. It begins with a detailed look at Holy God--Supreme, Divine, and Creator of all things. Next follows a detailed look at Jesus Christ--Son of God, Son of Man, and our Savior and Lord. The first half concludes with a detailed look at the Holy Spirit as both our Counselor and Comforter. The second half of Exploring the Bible will guide the reader in understanding how the Bible as we know it came to be and provide overviews of both the Old Testament and New Testament, as well as one of the most challenging books--Revelation. The first book concludes with helpful tips on how to begin individual routines for studying the Bible--God's Holy Word. All believers in any level of personal spiritual life will find this book as a useful guide for rekindling their passion for drawing closer to their Heavenly Father through study of his Word.

Heart Audits and Life Resolutions

 

Heart Audits and Life Resolutions: a Write From My Heart devotional Kindle Edition

by Dorothy Willmon (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Making a resolution is a way to demonstrate your determination to take a course of action for positive change from a current path or course in life. This 31-day devotional guide provides questions to help audit the current status of your heart and provide scriptural basis for making positive steps in deepening your faith. Although originally written for closing out the old year and stepping into a fresh new year, this guide can be a useful resource at any time of the year for any Christian of any level of faith who wants to resolve to deepen their relationship with their Heavenly Father.

THANKFUL

 

Write From My Heart

November 15, 2021

THANKFUL  expression of appreciation

1 Thessalonians 5:18  …give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

            When we consider what it means to be thankful, perhaps the above noted verse is the first one that comes to mind. Being thankful in every circumstance we find ourselves is not always easy, yet it is the only proper reaction in view of God’s love and mercy toward us. My heart is reminded of two related events from the Old and New Testaments.

            From the Old Testament we remember the jubilant exodus of the children of Israel from their Egyptian bondage. They were truly thankful in expressions of appreciation for all God had done. They sang and danced full of praises to the Lord God Almighty. Of course just a few days later they were back to their persistent grumbling and complaining, so their thankful attitude did not last long (Exodus 12-16).

            From the New Testament we remember the ten lepers who were healed of their chronic, and at the that time incurable, disease of leprosy. We know from the account that only one man came back praising God and thanking Jesus. Being a Samaritan, this man was the most unlikely of the group to be appreciative, and yet he showed the greatest humility and appreciation of all (Luke 17:11-19). How tragic that Jesus was placed in a position of having to ask where all the other thankful people were?

            How does this relate to us today? It is mid-November and fast approaching the day we celebrate as Thanksgiving Day. To be honest, most of us live the kind of lives that reflect anticipation of Concerngiving Day or worse, Complaintgiving Day. Our list of worries, concerns, grumbles, and complaints seem to far outweigh our thankfulness. Perhaps it is time to reflect on the true meaning of being thankful. Are we thankful for only short timespans? Or do we place our Heavenly Father in the position of having to wonder why we never returned to thank him? Neither response is acceptable for a child of such a loving, merciful, faithful Heavenly Father. Yes, perhaps it is time to consider the true meaning of being thankful.