Grace, Mercy, Peace

Good Afternoon!

2 John 1:3 (NIV)
Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
2 John 1:3 (NLT)
Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.

I want to tell you, to attest to you, the absolute truth of the verse that we read today. I want to try to convey the feelings and thoughts that fill me at this moment in time. Will I be able to? Probably not. But, well, I think you'll get the idea.

John wrote, "Grace, mercy and peace, (will be with you) which come from God the Gather and from Jesus Christ..." I would ask you to think about how often and how deeply you feel these feelings of grace, mercy and peace. I'll tell you the truth here, and that is the fact that much too often I don't feel that I'm in grace, have mercy, or live in peace. I would guess that would mean, if I'm to believe what is written in this verse, that I'm not truly living in truth and love as I should. That's a sad fact for many of us, I'm afraid. We don't love as we should and aren't in God's truth as we ought to be, and therefore we're lacking in the beautiful feelings and emotions that are readily available from God.

So, what does that have to do with my first statement about trying to tell you how I know the absolute truth of this verse? Well, as it turns out, today is the one day a month that Betty and I volunteer at Angel Food Ministries helping people to get the food they have ordered. Yes, it's a very good deal for everyone who takes advantage of this ministry, but that's not what I want to write about today...or what God has to tell us today.

Today, for whatever reason (God DOES know!) I went in with a loving and caring attitude, more than what I normally feel and let people know. I went there this morning and felt that I should do all I could to show God's love and His truth, the truth that His children can, and sometimes DO, really love as they should. So, I simply did all I could in my small way to let God's love shine through me and out to those to whom I was ministering. I know, I know...I ought to be doing exactly that in every ministry that I take part in, but as many of you know all too well, it's not that easy for me sometimes. But today it was easy. It was very easy.

Now, I didn't give a lot of thought to the reason that I felt the way I did. But I'll tell you that I read this verse of Scripture yesterday, sent from my friend Alan. I won't tell you that I remembered the verse, though, because, truthfully, I didn't. My mind, however, and my spirit surely did in some way. So, with the help of God and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, I simply did as I just said and as I should always do...I loved in spirit and in truth.

And I feel wonderful...I feel the grace of God, truly. I feel His mercy on me and for me. And I feel His peace, that peace which goes beyond understanding, His real peace. Why? Because, of course, I did as this verse of Scripture says I ought to be doing and that is live in truth and love.

So, now to the real reason that I think God had this come about and why I'm telling you this. That is...When you feel that lack of grace, mercy, and peace in your life, that you would remember this verse of Scripture and take effort to do as it says.

The other reason? That is maybe as or more important, it is to testify to the fact that God's Holy Word, the Bible, is true. What it says is true. I, today, am proof that His promises are true and that when we do as He instructs then He will do His part.

Have no doubt. God is good!

Love, peace, and blessings,

David