The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. Psalm 103:8
Without Grace and Mercy
There is no gift of salvation
There is no being accepted in the beloved
Our righteousness is unacceptable to God.
He is not going to give us something because we demand it
or because we feel like we have paid for it or earned it in any way
That is not a gift
If we try to stack up our good works to repay Jesus for what He did, we are insulting Him
If we think we are going to be able to quote scripture before Him to assure our salvation,
we will be unpleasantly surprised
That is not knowing Jesus
We have to know Him and He has to know us
So then, how do we get God to be gracious and merciful to us?
It is not something we can earn or work for
Those who do that will hear the dreaded words,
Depart from Me, I never knew you (from Matthew 7:23)
God is abundant in mercy and steadfast love
But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us,
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Ephesians 2:4-5
This is what God is looking for
This is a very limited list
and you will find echoes of God’s words throughout the Bible if you look for them.
God is looking for humility and fear:
For all those things hath Mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord:
but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word.
Isaiah 66:2
God is also looking for us to love mercy and to be just:
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee,
but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8
Jesus is looking for us to care for the widow and the orphan and stay free from the world:
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this,
To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
James 1:27
Care for the least of these and treat them as though they are Jesus Himself:
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.
Matthew 25:30
Seek the Lord and His strength:
Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually. 1 Chronicles 16:11
You will find God if you search for Him:
And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
Serving the Lord Jesus is not child’s play
It is to be taken very seriously
This is eternity we are talking about
And it’s all about learning who Jesus is and understanding God’s heart and the gifts He gives