Being a child of God has many blessings that come with that privilege but one of the richest is the forgiveness we receive through Christ. Sometimes I wonder if we really understand the remission and removal of sin that occurs in the mind of God. The Prophet Micah gives us a very graphic picture of how God removes sin from our lives. Micah says, ““He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). To understand the complete removal of sins that occurs when one obeys the Gospel it would be profitable to explore Micah’s words a little more in depth.

Peace is one of the most treasured commodities for any society. For many, many years’ people have prayed, died and lived for peace. Jesus often spoke of the idea of peace. Yet, it was a little different than how we think of peace today. Today, we think of peace as military safety. Or, we think of it as financial security. Sometimes, we even feel like we have peace when the home security alarm is working well and the stock market is soaring.

We live in a world that is full of doubt and worry. What will the stock market do tomorrow? Will the gas prices rise again? How will our country stay safe in these times of terror? Many of these questions are really unknown to us. Yet, when it comes to a person’s eternal salvation, he can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is saved.

The Book of Lamentations has often been referred to as Israel’s funeral sermon or eulogy. In this Book, Jeremiah laments the ultimate destruction and death of Israel as they go into captivity for their sins. Yet, during this sad and depressing time, we find some very beautiful verses about God’s love.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).  One of the great themes of the Bible is God’s loving mercy toward sinful man.  As the Apostle Peter noted, if it were not for God’s mercy we would have no hope in this life.  Notice some of the great statements about God’s mercy found in the Bible.

“Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, ‘Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you’" (Acts 24:25).     His mind was made up.  Paul was going to Rome to appeal to Caesar.  Yet, along the way Paul had a once in a lifetime opportunity to speak to such wicked men as Agrippa and Felix.  If you could speak to some of the world’s most powerful leaders today about the gospel, what would you say?  Let us consider Paul’s three major points to Felix.

Some of the most beautiful words of our Lord are recorded in Matthew 11:28-30.  Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  This beautiful language encourages our spirits in several ways.

Look around and you will see that we live in a world plagued by suffering.  The amount of people dying with such dreaded diseases as cancer, and AIDS is at an epidemic high.  Many people around the world are literally starving to death right now.  Others are in the midst of emotional and psychological turmoil and suffering.  As we see the suffering that occurs in our world, we are naturally made to ask the question, “WHY?”.  Why does human suffering occur?