"Strength for Today" Devotional Book (February 21)

God's Great Mercy

1 Peter 1:3

Several years ago I spent about a week in India. Each day I saw countless starving, diseased people with no home but a few square feet of filthy street. I could not help but feel compassion and pity on those people who lived in such misery.

In a spiritual sense, though, before God saved us, we were each even  more pathetic than any beggar in India. Spiritually, we "were dead in [our] trespasses and sins . . . and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ" (Eph. 2:1; 3-5). God saw our wretched condition and was moved to do something about it. 

How does mercy compare with grace? Mercy has respect to man's wretched, miserable condition; grace has respect to man's guilt, which has caused that condition. God gives us mercy to change our condition; He gives us grace to change our position. While grace takes us from guilt to acquittal, mercy takes us from misery to glory.

Doesn't it give you great joy to know that God not only removed your guilt but looked at you and had compassion? And He's not through giving us mercy: "The Lord's lovingkindness indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness" (Lam. 3:22-23). We can always "draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16).

Because of His mercy, God desires to lift sinners out of their pitiful condition.

Suggestions for Prayer: Thank God for His great mercy, for the forgiveness and blessings you have as His child.

"Strength for Today" Devotional Book (February 20)

The Measure of Grace

-Romans 5:20

Did you ever sin so terribly that you felt, I really blew it this time. There's no way God would want to forgive me now? It's easy sometimes to let our past sins be a constant burden to us, even after we've confessed and repented. Paul has comfort for those who feel this way, and that comfort is founded on the power and measure of God's grace to us.

Before his conversion, Paul (then known as Saul) persecuted the church mercilessly (see Acts 8:3 and 9:1-2). He was "a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor" (1 Tim. 1:13; see also Gal. 1:13). If anyone could be beyond grace, it was Paul.

But God intervened and saved him (Acts 9:3-19). Why? "For this reason," Paul says, "I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost [sinner], Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life" (1 Tim. 1:16). If God would forgive Paul, He will forgive anyone who will confess their sins and repent. If He would show abundant grace to a violent unbeliever, He will also shower grace upon His penitent children.

God is not stingy with grace. Paul celebrates God's saving "grace, which He freely bestowed on us" (Eph. 1:6), and "the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us" (vv. 7-8). Speaking of sustaining grace, Paul says, "God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you ma have an abundance for every good deed" (2 Cor. 9:8). Notice the words Paul uses: "all grace," "abound," "all sufficiency," "everything," "abundance", "every good deed." God's grace is inexhaustible and is given so freely that words cannot express it fully.

Great sins require great grace, but God will give super-abundant grace to those who seek forgiveness, for "where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Rom. 5:20). Don't let your past sins weigh you down; learn to rest upon God's super-abundant grace.

God will lavish grace upon sinners who are truly repentant.

Suggestions for Prayer: Ask God to teach you to understand His grace more fully and help you forget "what lies behind" (Phil. 3:13).

Should I Marry Now?

Should I Marry Now?

-Jayson Boholst Virgo

 "Nak, you're not getting any younger; you should marry now! Look at you. You're 27 years old and still, you're single!" I could still recall the voice of "Mama Cha-cha" saying these words to me 3 years ago. These are also the common lines I hear from people in our church, at my workplace, and even from our clients--the parents. It's like I am about to get deafened with these statements. I choose to defend no more - for me, it's like of no use. Phew! I rather let them enjoy whatever they want to think bout this concern.

 

But honestly, there have been so many times, usually when I'm tired and alone, that I come to ponder about this. "Should I really marry now?" I start to ask myself. I then try to weigh things, listing on my mind the things I would lose if I'd get into it as well as at those I might possibly gain if I'd pursue it. Here, then are some of the things I have come to consider about this issue: Absolute Liberty, Absolute Control over Finances, Companionship, and Responsibility!

 

 Liberty. It is something people strive to enjoying having with, at the same the reason why many people are now in prison cells. But as for me, I really am so thankful to God for the liberty I have to do what I can and what I want for my fulfillment and satisfaction. And it is this same thing that had been a vessel towards my past failures, which somehow made me mature. Am I that ready to give it all away or even slice a half or a portion of it for marriage's sake? Hhhmm... Please give me time to think.

 

Another concern I really struggle about is Finances. Hahaha! Well, I guess I am not the only person in this whole wide world who is tempted to lose heart because of financial lack. Considering my age, I am not yet that fulfilled financially and materially--not yet! Inside marriage, whatever amount I'd receive every payday would then be surrendered to my other half; I can't imagine how my life would be considering this idea!

 

Companionship. Every living creature, I believe is designed to live in harmony with other creatures. To prove, GOD Himself saw through Adam that "it is not good for a man to be alone" (Gen.2:18). So, He took one of his ribs to form a woman (because she was taken out of a man), and was soon named Eve. I admit that there have been times that I started to get bored and saddened because of being alone. There have been several times that I tried to imagine myself getting old alone, never liking how it turned it out in my mind. And I believe my Creator saw me during those times. Should I marry then so I could have someone to be with every day of my life until its end? *Sigh...

 

Lastly, if I'd marry soon enough, I have this really huge matter to face---Responsibility! It's not just a mere of it, but a GREAT one! As I have been trying to assess myself about this matter, here is what I believe in: "With great power comes great Responsibility!" Peter Parker had an in-depth realization and understanding of the word. Marriage is but a hub of great power! Some might raise an eyebrow on this point. But as a slogan goes, "Family is the basic unit of a society," I can say that one can be so influential when he manages his family really well. And it is but a man's responsibility to manage his family, regardless of his age!

 

To end this dilemma, I must continue doing what is right...that is, seeking for the positive and negative sides of marriage so I could really "weigh" things fairly. As of now, I would be so glad to hear from you...Please post your ideas below! Thanks and may God bless u!

"Strength for Today" Devotional Book (February 18)

God's Sacrificial Love

-John 3:16

Today we continue a short study of a topic that brings joy to every Christian: God's love. Both Paul and John call His love "great" (Eph. 2:4; 1 John 3:1), because only great love would provide such a sacrifice as God did in Christ. 

We have already seen that God's love is unconditional, unrequited, and righteous. God's love is also vicarious; it bears the pain of others. In a prophecy about Christ, Isaiah wrote: "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried" (53:4). Christ bears our earthly sorrows, and, infinitely more significant, He bore the pain and punishment for our sins.

True love is a sacrificial love that gives without expecting anything in return. God gives so many good things to everyone, and He gave the greatest gift of all, His Son. As John 3:16 teaches, love was His motive for sending Christ to die; He wanted to provide salvation for us.

Again we must examine ourselves after seeing God's love. Galatians 6:2 says. "Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ." Are you encouraging and helping other Christians in difficulty? Also, ask yourself if you love regardless of the sacrifice. Some will "love" up to the point of pain or inconvenience but no further. However, Jesus commands us, "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 Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men" (Luke 6:35). Love is not always easy, but it's always best.

So much more could be said about God's love. Countless books and hymns have been written about it. We can get only a basic understanding of these few paragraphs. But let this introduction serve as a starting point for a lifelong study of God's love. It's one of the greatest themes in the Bible; you can't miss it.

God's love is vicarious and sacrificial.

Suggestions for Prayer: Pray for strength to bear the burdens of others and to love with sacrificial love.

"Strength for Today" Devotional Book (February 19)

The Meaning of Grace

-Exodus 34:6

 

God's grace has always been a focus of praise for believers. Today's verse is quoted serveral times in the Psalms and elsewhere in Scripture (for example, Neh. 9:17, 31; Ps. 86:15; 103:8; 145:8). Paul is grateful for God's abundant grace in 1 Timothy 1:14, and John writes, "For of His fulness we have all received, and grace upon grace" (John 1:16). Today some of our favorite hymns are "Amazing Grace," "Marvelous Grace of our Loving Lord," and "Wonderful Grace of Jesus."

 

What exactly is grace? It is simply God's free, undeserved, and unearned favor. It is a gift given by God not because we are worthy of it, but only because God, out of His great love, wants to give it.

 

Grace is evident to Christians in two main ways. The first is electing, or saving grace. God "has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity" (2 Tim. 1:9). "By grace [we] have been saved through faith" (Eph. 2:8). This is God's grace to sinners, for "where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Rom. 5:20).

 

Another grace in our lives is enabling, or sustaining grace. We didn't just receive grace to be saved; we now live in grace. It is the grace of God that enables us to live the Christian life. When Paul asked that some debilitating "thorn in the flesh" (2 Cor. 12:7) be removed, the Lord told him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness" (v. 9). Paul elsewhere says, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13).

 

Remember, we have earned neither saving nor sustaining grace. Nothing we can do can make us worthy of one more bit of grace. God says, "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious" (Ex. 33:19). This truth should make us all more grateful because He saved us and sustains us despite our sin. It should also make us humble because we have no worthiness to boast about (Eph. 2:9).

God's grace is His undeserved favor shown to sinners.

 Suggestions for Prayer: Thank God for His grace in saving and sustaining you.