The God of a Million Chances

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I don't know about you, but to say that the Lord has given me a million chances is an understatement,

To sin means to miss the mark (the bullseye of the target).

To say I have missed the mark a million times in my life - because this includes my thought life, too - may sound exorbitant, but trust me, I am low-balling it!

So when I hear the phrase, "He is the God of second chances," I don't understand it.  Why?  Because from personal experience, I know that I know that I know that if God had stopped at my "second chance," I would be toast forevermore!

No.  He has given me, and keeps giving me, chance after chance after chance.

Let me explain further.

How many days have you lived?  Now even if you were to sin only once a day (ha!), how many days is that so far?  It would be at least in the thousands.  But because we know that we all sin more than once a day(!). that's why I put the "second chance" deal into the millions.

I rely on God's mercy and forgiveness frequently.  Though I am saved and forever sealed in His Courts above - my salvation is secure because of His finished work on the cross, not because of my good deeds (heaven forbid!) - I still sin.  

I hate sin.

I hate what is does to my heart.

I hate how it leaves me feeling.

And yet I still do it!  

Maybe my sins seem "small" compared to others, maybe big.  Either way, sin is sin!  We must face this truth

So are you in need of a "second chance" from the Lord?  Fear not!  It's not like He says, "OK, this is it!  This is your last chance!"  God forbid!!!

No.  His love and grace allow for mistake after mistake and repentance after repentance throughout our lives.

Now in the end, if you have not received Christ into your heart and life, then yes, there are no more chances for you.  He has already given you your millions of times to repent, to come to Him.  So there is a "cutoff" date, so to speak, regarding your eternal destiny.

The chances I am referring to here are the chances:

To start over again
To repent
To get back on track
To do better next time, by His grace
To grow and mature in your faith instead of stagnate or regress

And we all need these chances from the Lord, from His abundant mercy and compassion.

So praise God!  For He is the God of a million chances! (it's probably more like a billion, but I didn't want to belabor the point!)

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