The Word For Today

The English word for new is the Hebrew word hadas. It doesn't just mean again and again, as amazing as that would be. It's new, as in different. It means never before experienced. Today's mercy is different from yesterday's mercy, or the day before that, or the day before that! Just as the seasonal flu vaccine changes from year to year, God's mercy changes from day to day. It's a new strain of mercy. Why? Because you didn't sin today the way you did yesterday!

Try this little exercise: figure out how old you are - not in years but in days. Whatever number you come up with isn't just your age in days; it's also the total of the different kinds of mercy that you have received life-to-date. By the time you are twenty-one, you have experienced 7,665 unique mercies. When you hit midlife, it numbers about 14,600. And by the time you hit retirement, God has shown mercy to you about 23,725 times! And his mercy for you is a tailored mercy that perfectly fits your sin, your shortcomings, your needs and your mistakes. His mercy fits like a glove!

Mercy and grace are not the same thing. Mercy is not getting what you do deserve, and grace is getting what you don't deserve. The apostle Peter spoke about 'the manifold grace of God' (1 Peter 4:10 NKJV). In Scripture, the word 'manifold' means 'multifaceted'. Like snowflakes, God's grace never crystallises the same way twice. That's what makes it so amazing! Same with his mercies.

The Israelites had celebrated the Passover as a way of commemorating their exodus from Egypt. The evening before the exodus, the Israelites were instructed to sacrifice a lamb without defect and to mark their doorframe with its blood. Then, when the Death Angel passed through Egypt, he would pass over their homes. Little did Jesus' disciples know that they were eating the Passover meal with the Passover Lamb. Jesus rebooted their understanding of the bread and the cup, explaining that they represented his body and blood. And because of what he accomplished at Calvary's cross, we come under the protective custody of the blood of the Lamb.

Like the Passover, communion is a commemoration of our exodus from slavery. We were slaves to sin, but Jesus set us free. Whenever we go to the Lord's Table, we make a beeline to the foot of the cross - the place where sin met its match. We remember that our sin is nailed to the cross.

Are you having a hard time forgetting your sins and failures? Does the devil keep reminding you of them? Stand on God's word and serve him an eviction notice. In the Old Testament, God said: 'I will forgive and forget their sins' (Jeremiah 31:34 TLB). In the New Testament, God said: 'I will be merciful to them in their wrongdoings, and I will remember their sins no more' (Hebrews 8:12 TLB). Scripture tells us what God does with our sins: 'You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea' (Micah 7:19 NKJV).

God forgives and forgets. Amazing, isn't it? He remembers everything you've done right while forgetting everything you've done wrong. Yet, while God cannot remember our confessed sin, we have a much harder time forgetting it. We tend to remember our mistakes more readily than our successes. That's why it's harder to forgive ourselves than to receive God's forgiveness. We tend to remember what we should forget while forgetting what we should remember. That inability to forget the sin we've confessed is part of our sin nature itself. The fall fractured the image of God in us, including the amygdala: that's the part of the brain responsible for storing emotional memories. The strength of the memory is dictated by the strength of the emotion. We quickly forget the moments that don't make a blip on our emotional radar. Strong emotions, such as shame, take sinful snapshots and poster-size them. They get blown out of proportion in the darkroom of the mind.

Are you struggling to forget what God has forgiven? Read these Scriptures prayerfully: 'I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins' (Isaiah 43:25 NKJV). 'I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to me, for I have redeemed you' (Isaiah 44:22 NKJV). 'For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins...I will remember no more' (Hebrews 8:12 NKJV).

God has forgiven and forgotten your sin - it's time for you to agree with him and do the same thing.

When you fail, God's love for you does not fail. To enjoy the fullness of what he wants for you, you must believe that. The knowledge of God's love will carry you through to victory when everything is against you. The knowledge of God's love will carry you through life's storms into a place of peace.

God's love is not restricted to the days when you have performed well. He loves you just as much during the times when you fail. You need to be confident of his love, especially when you have trials and the devil is accusing you and saying, 'Well, you must have done something wrong.' God's love is not doled out on a merit system. You did nothing to deserve his love; therefore, you can do nothing to forfeit it.

John wrote: 'We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect [mature]. So, we will not be afraid on the day of judgement, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because [God's] perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced [and embraced] his perfect love' (1 John 4:16-18 NLT). Be confident of, and trust, God's love for you.

If you're dealing with an insecure partner, make every effort to be accountable. It's important to voluntarily provide adequate details. After all, he or she is looking for assurance. Learn to explain your whereabouts in a casual but thorough manner. Short, one-syllable responses will provide more insecurity and leave the person to imagine various negative scenarios. A jealous person is insecure and thus has doubts about having what it takes to maintain the relationship.

Do not make the mistake of thinking or saying, 'You just need to get over your insecurity.' If it were that easy, your partner would have done it by now. Continue to pray for their healing from this debilitating mindset, but do your part not to exacerbate the problem with vague communication. Most of all, encourage your partner to talk about the fears. Listen without being critical or judgmental. Seek first to understand. Make it clear that you love your partner and have pure intentions regarding your relationship. But here is something important to keep in mind: stay balanced in your interaction. You must also make it clear that you will not be forced into an emotional prison by having to account for every moment of the day. This too could exacerbate the jealousy and set up unrealistic expectations.

Trust is a two-way street. And one way to build trust is by praying together. In prayer, we become honest and transparent, realising that God already knows every detail about us. When your partner hears you share your heart in prayer, it relieves unfounded fears and creates security within them.

Meditation is the most effective way to assimilate God's word. David describes the 'blessed' man this way: 'His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night' (Psalm 1:2 NKJV). And whatever you meditate on and memorise, the Holy Spirit will help you recall when you need it. 'He will...bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you' (John 14:26 NKJV).

As one of the highest-ranking American captives in Vietnam, Jeremiah Denton was subjected to gruelling torture. But he survived, and returned home to become one of Alabama's United States senators. How did he do it? He says that one of his basic survival skills was quoting passages of Scripture he had memorised. Internalised Scriptures were his unseen sword to fend off the cruellest weapons of the enemy. By inwardly focusing on the power of God to sustain and strengthen him, he was able to rise above his circumstances. Scriptures he had memorised and meditated on years ago became his prayers of deliverance. When you meditate upon God and his word, recalling his many promises and acts of faithfulness, your faith grows and your fears dissolve (see Romans 10:17). David understood this well. Many times, in his attempts to escape the wrath of King Saul, he recalled the greatness of God and found himself strengthened: 'I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways' (Psalm 119:15 NIV); 'I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons' (Psalm 16:7 NKJV).

Do yourself a big favour: begin to meditate on God's word and memorise it.