Nougat 6

As I reread Today’s Holy Nougat to prepare the reflection, I couldn’t help but sing part of an old favorite to myself.

Mercy there was great and grace was free

Pardon there was multiplied to me

There my burdened soul found liberty

At Calvary

Let’s now reflect on the biblical text

Hebrews 4:16 NIV

[16] Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Receiving Mercy and Grace

We believe in and serve a God Who loves us beyond this lifetime.

That’s a fact.

Such profound knowledge invites a response from us. The Hebrews writer says it gives us (much-needed) confidence to approach God when we sin. And that is comforting. It may even spur us into joy.

Self-Check

How does our knowing that God’s mercy and grace pursue us at all times (see Psalm 23:6) – so much so that when we falter, Y’shua is already there to redeem us- affect how we relate to God?

Application

It is true, this Nougat offers each of us a lifeline. We will sin. We will get weary. We will forget to find rest in Y’shua, despite His constant offer. We may even take Y’shua’s invitation to rest in God’s grace and mercy for granted. Those acts of will all have the potential to separate us further and further from God’s Spirit, God’s Word and God’s Presence.

That’s where the caveat to confidently enter into our rest, Y’shua, becomes critical. When we realize the extent of Y’shua’s love, and truly grasp the extent of that mercy and grace, we should rush to claim it. It’s when we become that second ‘Lost Son’. You remember the parable right?

Y’shua shared three parables on lost-ness in Luke 15. What’s interesting to note in the first two is the lack of engagement by the lost items, the sheep and the coin. Although they wandered away or slipped out of the purse, it was the (Good) shepherd and house-wife who searched for the lost. In fact, we note that neither the remaining flock nor the coins were complete without the missing sheep or denarii. I’d argue that that’s mercy and grace at work for us.

Then, there’s the third parable – where the son made a clear choice to be separate from his father. He denounced the father, took what he could, and disappeared, putting as much distance physically and socially between himself and his dad.

Until everything crashed

That’s where his head (in this case, superficial) knowledge of his father’s graciousness saved him. He knew that he had no rights to mercy. He’d never had to experience that level of grace before. But in the moment he locked into his own humility and repented, that second son tapped into grace beyond grace.

We can too.

When we recognize our lost-ness, there is scope for repentance. We have an opportunity to walk away from the old ‘new life’ outside of Christ. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God assured Solomon, ‘IF my people, who are called by My name should humble themselves, seek my face AND turn from their wicked ways, then I (YHWH) will hear and heal.’

That’s basically what happened with that second son. He found mercy and grace that restored him fully to son-ship. That’s the kind of rest we find in Y’shua – we’re restored into the family, redeemed and rehabilitated.

Hallelujah

So, how about it, can we humble ourselves enough to accept God’s gift of grace and mercy through Y’shua our Messiah?

Point to Ponder

When we receive such abundant and matchless grace, how can we refuse to do likewise?

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May all we seek be found in Christ