Short Trials and Eternity

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

(1 Peter 5:10 ESV)

Because our life on earth is short in comparison to eternity we can see why Peter would say that we suffer a little while. This life, although it seems like a long time is just a blip on the screen when compared with eternity. 

But God in his grace has called us to an eternal glory in Christ. This will also fair so much greater than any trials that we face in this life. This glory that we will share in is incomparable to any trials we face in this life. 

God lists many promises in this short verse. He will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us. Our trials are never in vain and are used to grow us to be more like Christ. That is how we can rejoice in our suffering. 

What suffering do you face today and will you face it with joy in the expectation of eternity?

Showing Mercy

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

(Luke 635-36 ESV)

God has shown a great amount of mercy to us. If you are a believer you have passed from death to life and have a promise of eternity with Him. Even for those who are not believers God has a general mercy by refraining his wrath. 

Just as God shows mercy to the undeserving- which is all of us, we should also show mercy to our enemies. Just before this passage Paul discusses how the gentile will do nice things to those that are kind. That is not a big deal. But love your enemy, be kind and don't expect anything in return- now that is a God thing!

We can only do this with God's power. It is natural for us to not do good to our enemies, or at the very least not do anything one way or another. But God commands us to do good to them. 

When we follow through on this command God rewards us. We will also be sons of the Most High. We will be recognized as sons of God for our godly loving on those we see as unlovable. 

Who is God calling you to show this kind of love to this week? How will you live it out?

Finding Daily Mercy

I acknowledged my sin to you,

and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

(Psalm 32:5 ESV)

This Psalm begins with a statement saying that a person is blessed whose sin is forgiven. It then goes on to tell what happens when we try to hide our sin.The result of unconfessed sin makes us groan and feel as though we are wasting away. 

But we are indeed blessed when we do not hide our sins. We are forgiven when we confess and forsake them. We can be set free from guilt and shame when we stop trying to hide our sin. 

We can't hide our sin, anyway. God is all-knowing, all-seeing, and there is nothing that we can hide from him. 

We are blessed and happy when we confess our sin to God. So, when you realize you have sinned go to God right away and acknowledge it to him. Claim your sin and ask fro cleansing. You will find mercy and forgiveness when you do. 

When we confess our sins throughout the day, we will be blessed. We will have a clean heart before God and have greater ability to serve him. Will you make confession a daily, if not moment by moment prayer?

The Coming Judgement

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

(Acts 17:30-31 ESV)

A time is coming when God will judge the world. He has been amazingly patient with us, as we all have lived lives that dishonor him. But he warns us many times in his Word, that a day of judgement is coming. 

We will all one day stand before God and give an account for our lives. Are you ready? If you are relying on your good deeds to help you in your case before God it won't work. Our good deeds are like filthy rags. We cannot do anything to earn our salvation. We can only earn death and the wrath of God.

God is the only one who can make provision for you. It cost Jesus his life. To survive the judgement of God you must repent of your sins, and trust alone in Jesus' death and resurrection as suitable payment for your sins. 

Have you done that? Are you completely secure in your eternal salvation?