Missed Opportunities and the Source of Second Chances – Purity 1853
Purity 1853 01/03/2025 Purity 1853 Audio Podcast
Purity 1853 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a single palm tree marking one of the many entrances to the beach at Half Moon Cay comes to us from yours truly as I captured this scene while taking the boat into my cruise’s last tour stop yesterday morning.
Well, It’s Saturday, January 3rd, and even though I missed the chance to do everything I could have done at Half Moon Cay yesterday and missed plenty of other of chances to experience other things while on my 7 day cruise, I never have to worry about needing a second chance with the Lord.
Let’s face it our time on vacation, and our time here on earth in general, is limited. The content and the enjoyment of our lives greatly depends on the choices we make and the actions we take. Sometimes we are only given a limited time to take advantage of the opportunities before us and if we don’t act, we end up missing out on something good and may never have a second chance to experience something again.
In fact, due to the fact that time marches on, we could recognize that in actuality there are no second chances. Although we might get another opportunity to do something at another time, we can never recapture that missed opportunity in the same way we could have the first time around.
But we can find some measure of contentment and satisfaction in subsequent chances by “getting it right the second time”. While our opportunities to “get it right the second time” may be limited in life, as Christians, we can rejoice because God is the source of second chances and He gives us an infinite amount of them when we put our faith in Jesus.
Speaking of the Source of second chances, the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotional for today, speaks on that topic and I am sharing it on the blog today to remind us all of the awesome gift we have been given in Christ. Dr. Charles Stanley writes:
“The Source of Second Chances
God’s grace is immeasurably greater than our failings.
Romans 3:10-18
God desires what is best for us. Scripture describes Him as patient toward mankind because He wants “all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Many believers can testify that our gracious Father gave them multiple chances before they trusted in His Son.
If you think that the Lord takes second chances lightly, read today’s passage—it is a look at humanity through divine eyes. On our own, no matter how much we try to be good, we will fall short. Thankfully, God’s grace is immeasurably greater than our failings (Romans 5:20).
Of course, the heavenly Father is a righteous judge who cannot ignore transgressions. If He did, He would not be the holy and just deity described in the Scriptures. God considers grace an action word. As a result, He implemented a plan for each person on earth: Whoever believes in Jesus Christ as Savior is forgiven. We are justified by faith and at peace with God (Romans 5:1). Our rebellion against Him is over. In fact, from the Father’s perspective, His children look as if they have never done anything wrong.
Jesus is our second chance. Apart from Him, there is no salvation, no justification, and no grace. Psalm 63:3 says, “Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You.” Take a moment today to thank the Lord for this amazing gift.” – Charles Stanley
Amen. While our capacity of ungratefulness can be great and the enemy will seek to stir up offense in us in spite of the amazing grace that has been given us, if we reflect on all that we have been forgiven of and on all the “second chances” we receive as children of God, the Holy Spirit will help us to see just how blessed we have been when God caused us to believe in Jesus Christ.
God doesn’t just give us another chance to “try again”. He graciously makes us a whole new creation and forever ends the world’s game of performance based acceptance.
When we put our faith in Jesus, we are blessed with God’s unconditional love and acceptance. Once we put our faith in Jesus, we are forgiven of all our sins – past, present, and future – which means we are in effect given an infinite number of chances to live for God.
Because we no longer have to worry about being “dead in our trespasses and sins”, we have the power to live a new life and despite our ignorance and the difficulty we face in understanding what we have received in Christ, when we surrender to God’s will for our lives, we can walk away from all the pain we cause ourselves.
Each new day is another chance to draw closer to God and to walk into the peace that He has for us.
So don’t waste time declaring yourself unworthy, or pondering your regrets, and don’t let the enemy convince you that you somehow should have been given more or been blessed in other ways, instead rejoice in all the second chances the Lord has given you and choose to enjoy and to use today’s second chance to rest in the peace that can only come from God.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
(While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Prayer – Waiting On the Lord.
Jeremiah 29:12–13 (NIV) Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Today’s verses are the third of six passages of scripture that fall under the nineteenth point of our counseling reference guide resource section on Prayer.
19. Pray for the forgiveness of sins.
Today’s Bible verses recognize the truth that even though we can miss early opportunities to find God, we are assured that its never too late to find Him when we call on His name, pray to Him, and seek Him with all our hearts.
When we feel a stirring in our hearts to be made right with God or to investigate the big questions of life, the Holy Spirit is prompting us to find God and today’s verses encourage the “seeker” that their search does not have to be a fruitless one.
If we seek the Lord with all our hearts, we will find Him in the person of Jesus Christ. When our investigations into the divine, lead us to Jesus our hearts will be challenged to accept what seems to be “foolishness to those who are perishing” as truth. But God uses His spirit and our desire for truth to reveal Himself to us.
Our coming to faith in Jesus is supernatural, as the Holy Spirit leads us to salvation, but we still are responsible to seek God and when our spirit is awakened we find God’s mercy and grace through faith in Jesus.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “Day by Day Along the Way” By Jay E. Adams.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Adams’ books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 352
I am not crazy … I am speaking revelatory words that are both true and sane – Acts 26:25
Again, we encounter the rare word that Peter also used in his sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4), a word that shows apostolic preaching was inspired. Preachers today would be wise to study this apostolic preaching to learn what the Spirit of revelation considered proper preaching. Yet, how many courses in seminaries do just that? Instead, rhetorical principles passed down from Greek orators are more likely to be inculcated. Even some who teach students homiletics (courses in preaching) seem unaware of this error. Men in the ministry must learn both the what and the how of biblical preaching if they would preach according to the inspired pattern. And that will require an understanding of what preaching according to the Holy Spirit is like. Have you an adequate knowledge of the methods and content of apostolic preaching?[1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 360.
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