God Of The Second Chance - January 2023

Have you every wronged someone that you love or care about? Has anyone that you love or care about ever disappointed you? I know without a shadow of a doubt that if you read the last two sentences, your answer to both questions is "yes." If the foundation of the relationship with the person you wronged is strong enough, you will likely get a second chance with them and they will forgive you. They may even operate on the three strikes you're out model and give you a third chance. Most often after that if you commit another offense toward them, you can forget it. Even if it wasn't your intention to wrong or disappoint the person, that fact is, you did. I'm sure you've asked yourself, "Why do I keep making the same mistakes?" The short answer? Sin. Sin cause us to do things that we don't want to do (Romans 7:19-25), and as humans it's hard for us to see past the faults of others...especially when we are the "casualties."

Where would we be if God was the God of only the "second chance"? We would have run out of chances a looooong time ago. But thankfully, not only is He the God of the second chance, but he's the God of the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and 29th chance! (Houghton, 2004) Don't believe me? The Bible says we receive new mercy from the Lord every single morning. (Lamentations 3:23) God is so generous to forgive us each time we confess our sins to Him because he doesn't want anyone to perish. God desires for all of us to reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) The question that we should all ask ourselves is, "What will I do with my second chance?" Will you continue to make the same mistakes over and over again, or will you learn from them? Will you forgive yourself for the mistakes you made so that you can move forward in the new mercy that God gives you each day? Will you receive God's mercy and forgiveness, and then refuse to extend it to someone else? Or will you do all that you can to live your life in a way that honors God's gift of mercy and grace?

I could go on and on speaking of what we should do and how we should live our lives, but the truth is, I'm just grateful to Him for ALL that He is. (Psalm 9:1) I'm grateful that He is forgiving. I'm grateful that He is consistent. (Numbers 23:19) (Romans 3:3-4) (Psalm 33:4) More than anything, I'm grateful that He knows of all of my shortcomings and loves me anyway. (Romans 8:1) The God of the second chance gives us chance after chance to get it right. As long as we have breath in our bodies, we thankfully have an opportunity to turn our lives around. The Word tells us that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and have faith that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. (Romans 10:9-10). To put it plain, we will have a "second chance" at eternal life.

It is my prayer for 2023 that you allow the God of the second chance to truly reign in your hearts. It is my prayer that as each day passes by, your commitment to God grows stronger and stronger. It is my prayer that as your commitment to God grows stronger, your desire to love others the way God loves you, grows stronger as well. God is faithful. God keeps His promises. God sent His Son to die on a cross for us, and His death on the cross covers the multitude of our sin. (1 Peter 4:8) God knew we would never be perfect, so He made a way for us to have a "second chance". As you go forward in life, strive to live a life worthy of the "second chance" that you have been given.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

References
Houghton, I. (2004). Spontaneous Worship [Recorded by Israel & New Breed]. Decatur, Georgia, United States of America.

Tyndale House Foundation. (1996, 2004, 2015). Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Carol Stream, Illinois. All rights reserved.: Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.

Wellman, J. (2022). 5 Powerful Bible Verses About Second Chances. Retrieved from Faith In The News: https://faithinthenews.com/5-powerful-bible-verses-about-second-chances/