7000 Second Chances

 We all have those days, the days we feel like we've completely blown it. You slept in way longer than you should have, you ate the WHOLE bag of chips, your to-do checklist is practically check-less. Yeah, we've all had those days.

On a more serious note, what about the days when we REALLY mess up? I am talking about those days when the consequences of our actions are a little more weightier than an added pound to your waistline. What about the times you feel like you've deeply disappointed someone you love, like your spouse or your best friend?

But what about when we feel like we have disappointed God? What do we do then? It is in those times we wonder, "Will we get a second chance this time?" We are tempted to just give up and throw in the towel. 

But, I've got encouraging news for you. God only gives us a second chance once.

"What?" You may say, "That's not encouraging!"

 Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." 

If you are over 2 days old, you passed up your second chance a long time ago. Every day you wake up you have a new "second" chance. At my age right now, I am on my 7400th chance (give for take a few days)! Isn't that amazing?

 Unless you are a new and improved edition of human species, you tend to mess up a lot.God knows that, and He is ready to forgive and give you a new start every day! That does not give you license to mess up, but it does give you the ability to get up and move forward. He has the strength and courage you need to help you do what's right.

So, tomorrow morning when you get up, remember Lamentations 3:22-23, and be encouraged, because if He woke you up this morning, you have a another chance, and His mercy to go along with it.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth

thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

all I have needed thy hand hath provided;

great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

-Thomas O. Chisholm

The End of the Old=The Beginning of the New

For those of you who haven't been enlightened, the world is going to end in 2012. December 21, as a matter of fact. 

Be scared, world! 

   
     But seriously, this could be the year that the Lord comes back!

     As the end of 2011 speeds up to make it's final lap and on to the finish line, I am so thankful for a God that is faithful. Lamentations 3:22-23 says,

     I'm sure we can all look back over 2011 and see the times when we went through hard trials, and we seemed to have failed. Hard times seem to stick out with us, don't they? They seem to block out the victories we have gained in Christ, and the times He has refreshed us with His Spirit.

     In Lamentations 22-23, you'll see that Jeremiah sounds pretty torn up. He says in  verses 18-20, "And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD: Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me." God called Jeremiah to speak to a people that would not listen to Him. He had been persecuted, and now the bitterness of his soul is poured out.


     December 31, 2011 marks the end of the old year, and the beginning of the new year, 2012. But, like every other year, it won't be perfect. 2012 will come with its own set of trials, temptations, and hard times. You can count on it.

     In verse 21, he says, "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."
     
    As we step into 2012, remember, God is merciful, and He is faithful! His mercies are new every morning! It's because of His mercy that we are even still here! Boy, with that promise, who's to worry about Doomsday?

   Have a Joyful New Year!