Corona Devo 80

To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— 2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:  ~2 John 1:1-2

  Full disclosure here-I do not know what "lady" John is writing to here, and in doing some brief research, I could not find an exact answer.  

So, how about us?  If you are a mom or grandma or teacher (and even if you are not!)--let's take this to heart and claim John's message from the Lord for ourselves today.  

He was writing to a woman who knew the Lord, and since we are also "that woman", let's open John's letter:

3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.  ~2 John 1:3

Ooooo! I love the proclamation of Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ over our lives!  

I once had "grace" explained as "receiving what you don't deserve".  

Like when we treat our kids to ice cream...just because.  That is similar to God's grace on our lives.  The kids probably broke a rule or crossed a line today, but even so, because I love them, I am going to treat them to something good. 

God's grace is MUCH bigger than that for us though.  His grace is what allows us to go to Heaven even though we can't help but sin.  We break rules and cross lines too, but grace means we get something good that we have not earned.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.  ~Ephesians 2:8-9

In close contrast to grace, I had "mercy" explained as "not getting what we do deserve".  

Like when you are 15 miles over the speed limit on the freeway and you blow past a policeman in the median.  You hold your breath, you know you are guilty, but you still...hope.  And he doesn't pull out to follow you.  This is mercy.  I deserved the ticket.

We sin in thought, word and deed.  We want to be holy like Jesus, but because we are human, we fail and we fall.  God knows that, and He loves us so deeply that He shows us mercy.  Our Heavenly Father doesn't not sit on His throne counting our sins and wondering how to punish us for them (check your Bible--it's not in there).  If we have chosen to follow Him, He shows us mercy:  

The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
9 He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever.
10 He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.  ~Psalm 103:8-12

Mercy-- it alone is worth praising the Lord for today.  We do not deserve the mercy God lavishes on us.  

When I catch a glimpse of all that God puts up with in me, I become less critical of my loved ones and those around me.  We have been forgiven so much.

And the last in this gorgeous trio is "peace".  (3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father...  ~2 John 1:3).  There is so much hecticness, busyness and non-stop to our lives that "peace" is a rare commodity for most Americans.  We want it all, but we cannot do it all and have peace.  

John not only prays the covering of peace (and grace and mercy) over the "lady" (and us!), but he also reminds us where we go for these invaluable gifts: they come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ ~2 John 1:3).

These are not gifts that arrive on your doorstep with the rest of your Amazon packages.  These gifts of "grace, mercy and peace" are experienced by building our relationship with God, and by reading His word and applying it to ourselves and our lives.  As we allow God and His ways to penetrate into our souls, it causes reactions and effects in our lives, for His glory.

Grace--receiving something (good) that we don't deserve

Mercy--not receiving punishment that we deserve

Peace--The lack of "crazy" in our lives, or at least less of it!  Whether that is emotional, mental, physical or spiritual crazy--God calms our storms and grants us peace when we partner with Him.  

Just a reminder that you and I ARE chosen by God (To the lady chosen by God...~2 John 1:1) and He has good things in store for us today.  Things we deserve and things we don't.  May the Lord grant us 3 Grace, mercy and peace (~2 John 1:3) today.

Blessings, 

sarah 

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com/