T H U R S D A Y
put this man on his donkey and sent him to the hotel to enable him to begin a new start in his life .
Three : Love and Mercy . Here it can be said that love is a fruit of God ’ s character . It acts out of God ’ s deep affection for man . Mercy , however , acts out of need . Love therefore is constant and mercy is given on an “ as-you-need-it-basis ”. Love is therefore the source of mercy . Without love there can be no mercy .
Four : Love and Grace . Grace is the expression of love and it generally comes in the form of a ) A gift - Ephesians 2 v 8 says , “ For it is by grace you have been saved , through faith – and this is not from yourselves , it is the gift of God …” b ) An invitation – It is the grace of God that invites us into a relationship with Him . Jesus spoke a parable ( Matthew 22 ) of a king preparing for a wedding . Those who were originally invited declined for various reasons , so the king sent out an invitation to all those who would be considered to be undeserving . This is what grace does . Despite our ‘ undeservedness ’ we get to be invited to the wedding feast of the King .
It is very important that we understand the difference between these words and I hope that this word study will have been helpful to you . Won ’ t you take some time to ponder it again and see afresh the beauty and the depth of God ’ s absolute love as it takes on its relative form as it relates to mankind . Read again , if you will , Ephesians 2 v 1 – 10 with particular emphasis on seeing the very specific use of the words that we have spoken about today .
Prayer Thought : As you pray today , won ’ t you specifically meditate on the four words that we have looked at in this devotional . Take time to relate them to yourself personally and spend time thanking God once again for the magnitude of his amazing grace .
T H U R S D A Y
Mark 10 v 17 – 31
Today I would like to make the point that life without grace is meaningless and that within every human being born is the Desire for Grace .
I believe it is true to say that this subconscious desire for grace is what leads people into a life long journey of trial and error until this seemingly elusive grace is found . Some , on their journey , will try alcohol , drugs , unnecessary relationships and passionate endeavours . Others , in their journey , may go the “ religious route ” with rituals , self-discipline and legalism , but at the end of the day for those who find it , they find out that it is a gift . Those who have received the gift of grace acknowledge that “ you ’ ll only know you ’ ve got it when you get it ” – until then the search continues .
In the reading above Jesus was confronted by a young man on the journey just described ; he tried everything from chasing after power and possessions only to come