He has kept and folded us from ten thousand ills when we did not know it:
in the midst of our security we should have perished every hour, but that
He sheltered us "from the terror by night and from the arrow that flieth by
day"—from the powers of evil that walk in darkness, from snares of our own
evil will. He has kept us even against ourselves, and saved us even from
our own undoing. Let us read the traces of His hand in all our ways, in all
the events, the chances, the changes of this troubled state. It is He that
folds and feeds us, that makes us to go in and out,—to be faint, or to
find pasture,—to lie down by the still waters, or to walk by the way that
is parched and desert.
H.E. Manning (1808-1892) English Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster
A.C.T.S.- A basic prayer acronym.
Adoration-start prayer time praising God.
Confession- confess to Him our sins.
Thanksgiving- give thanks to Him for blessings.
Supplication- place our requests before Him.
Not a bad way to structure our prayers, but it is with an eye to "thanksgiving" I write today.
Manning wrote, "He (God) has kept us folded from ten thousand ills when we did not know it."
Most of us remember to thank God for the blessings in our lives- stuff and people. Thank yous abound for physical healings, jobs secured, relationships restored. More often than not thankfulness is offered for salvation and forgiveness.
But, how often to we thank God for protection from "ten thousand ills" of which we have no knowledge? Car accidents avoided. Pink slips that never arrive. Furnaces that make it though another winter. As Manning points out, God protects, shields and covers us from a multitude of trials and tribulations that we most likely deserve, but in His perfect love and knowledge chooses to withhold.
Grace is magnificent. Without grace we would never see God's face. Without grace we would still be under the law. But mercy is not grace's ugly cousin.
Without mercy we would have to suffer on this earth for every stupid decision. We would not be spared the consequences of any careless deed. God's grace gives us what we do not deserve. But it is His mercy that protects us from what we do deserve.
It's not mercy or grace. But mercy and grace.
H.E. Manning (1808-1892) English Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster
A.C.T.S.- A basic prayer acronym.
Adoration-start prayer time praising God.
Confession- confess to Him our sins.
Thanksgiving- give thanks to Him for blessings.
Supplication- place our requests before Him.
Not a bad way to structure our prayers, but it is with an eye to "thanksgiving" I write today.
Manning wrote, "He (God) has kept us folded from ten thousand ills when we did not know it."
Most of us remember to thank God for the blessings in our lives- stuff and people. Thank yous abound for physical healings, jobs secured, relationships restored. More often than not thankfulness is offered for salvation and forgiveness.
But, how often to we thank God for protection from "ten thousand ills" of which we have no knowledge? Car accidents avoided. Pink slips that never arrive. Furnaces that make it though another winter. As Manning points out, God protects, shields and covers us from a multitude of trials and tribulations that we most likely deserve, but in His perfect love and knowledge chooses to withhold.
Grace is magnificent. Without grace we would never see God's face. Without grace we would still be under the law. But mercy is not grace's ugly cousin.
Without mercy we would have to suffer on this earth for every stupid decision. We would not be spared the consequences of any careless deed. God's grace gives us what we do not deserve. But it is His mercy that protects us from what we do deserve.
It's not mercy or grace. But mercy and grace.
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