One of my absolute favorite Bible stories is the story of the Exodus, and here we see the correlation of God to his faithful charges.  In this portrayal, the children of Egypt are destroyed, and the ones born to the Israelites are spared; at the parting of the red sea, the Egyptians are destroyed and the Israelites are speared. However, two things stand out through these very picturesque examples of God’s judgment against the aggressors and His divine intervention on the behalf of his people -Total salvation and total destruction. There is no middle ground, either you live with the saints or you die with the sinners. That is how God works. There is no gray area where God is concerned. He makes both his plan and his purpose known to man – and gives them the power to choose.

God will never judge you using someone else’s yard stick. Therefore, whether you receive the blessings or the curses when the wrath of God is kindled is dependent solely upon you – not anyone else. Moreover, Nahum 1:2 tells us that “God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.” So, what is your fear? Do you consider yourself an enemy of God? If that is the case, it might ease your fear and bring you comfort to know what Nehemiah had to say about God in caring for his people Israel, even after they rebelled against him – countless times – and built and worshiped a molten calf in the wilderness not very long after their delivery from Egypt, “But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, and refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage; but thou are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. Thou gavest also thy good spirit ot instruct them, and with heldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.” (Nehemiah 9:16, 17 & 20).   When you see God in this light, it makes it so much easier to open your heart to receiving his gift of salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus.

God tells us in the written passages of scripture that he is quick to forgive and slow to anger. To that end, it cannot be said that God is hasty in his judgment. Here is David’s opinion in that regard, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger forever. He had not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:8-2) That is the God that I serve – the God of mercy, grace and second chances. That is the premise on which this message is based, and it is the knowledge with which it is going forth.