"THE WORKINGS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: John 16:8-11(And when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.)
God of all goodness, You have willed that Your gate of mercy should always stand open to Your people. You have put gladness in our hearts; You have satisfied our hunger with good things. In giving all, You have not withheld from us Your own Son, Your very self; may we never withhold anything from You but give ourselves completely to Your service, and walk with joy in the footsteps of Him who went about doing good, even Jesus Christ, Your only Son, our good Shepherd and our gracious King, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
GOODNESS AND MERCY OF GOD – Hebrews 4:16
Mercy that begins now and extends into eternity is what we received from God. We deserve condemnation by our sinful acts but we get justified through the goodness of God. While we deserve shame, we also get glory, while we deserve to rot in hell, we get eternity with the Father. Through Christ we are receipients of God’s unending mercy. Psalm 100 says that God’s mercy is everlasting. God demonstrated His mercy in the greatest way possible by sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins, in this we are justified through faith in Him. We are saved not on the basis of our deeds which we have done in righteousness but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). Let us turn to Him and He will be healing to our souls.
SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY
1 A pilgrim was I, and a wand’ring,
In the cold night of sin I did roam,
When Jesus the kind Shepherd found me,
And now I am on my way home.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days, all the days of my life;
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days, all the days of my life.
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever,
And I shall feast at the table spread for me;
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days, all the days of my life;
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days, all the days of my life.
2 He restoreth my soul when I’m weary,
He giveth me strength day by day;
He leads me beside the still waters,
He guards me each step of the way.
3 When I walk thro’ the dark, lonesome valley,
My Saviour will walk with me there;
And safely His great hand will lead me
To the mansions He’s gone to prepare.
J.W. Peterson & A.B. Smith - 1958
