“When God our Savior revealed His kindness and love, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:4-5, NLT)
No matter what you’re going through, you can live with hope. That’s the consistent good news of the Bible.
In 1 Peter 1, you can find five reasons to live with hope. In yesterday’s Daily Hope, we looked at the first reason: God chose you before you chose him.
Today, we’ll look at the second reason: God always treats you with grace and mercy.
Peter wrote to those who were already believers, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3, NLT). Peter didn’t just say that God is merciful — he praised God for His “great mercy.”
The more you understand God’s mercy and grace, the more you — like Peter — will be amazed by it. It’s completely undeserved. It’s totally unmerited. It’s not something that you could earn or work for. It’s just a free gift. God’s mercy is based on His love for you. And you can’t make God love you any more than He loves you right now. You also can’t make Him love you any less. That means His mercy toward you will never change.
God’s Word, the Bible, says, “When God our Savior revealed His kindness and love, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:4-5, NLT).
This is extremely important to understand. When you make mistakes as a believer, God doesn’t get mad at you. God doesn’t want to get even with you. God doesn’t start planning to mess up your life. Here’s what God does: He always acts in mercy toward you. Why? Because you’re covered in the blood of Jesus Christ when you accept Him as Savior.
Because of Jesus, God responds in mercy every time you mess up. And that can give you hope.
Ponderings:
- Why do you think it’s difficult for many people to accept God’s grace and mercy?
- You often hear about God’s unconditional love. But how does it make you feel to know that God’s mercy is unconditional, too?
- What person in your life needs to hear about God’s grace and mercy? How can you share that message with them this week?
Prayer
Father, because I am a sinful human being, I am always in need of Your mercy and grace. Give me the opportunity to tell someone else about the saving grace of Your Son’s sacrifice, granting salvation to all who freely accept it.
Stay encouraged!
Pastor Mike
