The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand

~ June 26, 2020 – Morning Devotional ~

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand
~ Matthew 4:17, KJV ~

The time is now. The day of repentance is closing. Salvation belongs to God and His love for us is based on his divine purpose:

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

Moses 1:39

His divine love for each one of us runs quite deep. It is the most profound love an individual may ever encounter and experience. Scripture upon scripture reveals this simplistic truth. Through His Son, Jesus Christ, he loves us. Paul remarks that while we were yet sinners Christ came and sacrificed himself for us.

The Savior’s plunge into humanity was not a toe-dipping experience. It was a total immersion. He did not experience some pains and not others. His life was not a random sampling, a spot audit; it was a total confrontation with and internalization of every human experience, every human plight, every human trial. Somehow his sponge alone would absorb the entire ocean of human affliction, weakness, and suffering.

The Infinite Atonement – Infinite Depth, p. 95; Tad R. Callister

There is no sin greater than the atonement of Jesus Christ. There is no greater suffering that Christ has never fully endured. There is no weakness the Savior was not intimate with. From Gethsemane to the Cross, he alone carried the burden of all humanities affliction, weakness, and suffering. We may complain where is God in my suffering? He is there with you, in your own garden of Gethsemane.

The Kingdom is at hand and the day of repentance is drawing to a close. The time is now to make a pivotal decision. Come unto Christ. Are you weary? Heavily laden with burdens of shame and guilt? Is the yoke too much for you to carry? Come unto Christ and you shall find rest is what the scripture proclaims.

Or, have you wandered and strayed and are that lost sheep? He is seeking you out. Ready to carry you upon his shoulders back to the safety of the flock. The miracle of forgiveness is when we come to God with a contrite heart and seek his divine grace and mercy. God is just and forgiving. The promise is there – when you place your sins and burdens upon the alter of forgiveness – he will comfort you.

~ Today’s Prayer and Meditation ~

Heavenly Father, I stand in need of thy forgiveness. I seek your mercy and grace upon my life. I give all that I have to know you and to know of your sweet joy and peace. I lay my burdens at your feet. I offer up my sins upon the altar and look to your Son as my Redeemer. I am ready to take upon myself the name of Jesus Christ and to walk with newness of life. Bless me now oh Lord with your forgiveness and overshadow me with your divine grace. I surrender all that I have and all that I am unto you. In Jesus Name, Amen.