"God Is Here" -2

"The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah." (Psalms 46:7) When you think about it, where was Jacob when God renamed him? he was more or less hiding from his brother, waiting for him to show up, and hoping that all the gifts that he had sent to him would cause him to be merciful to him. It's kind of ironic, don't you think? God's grace cannot be bought, because you cannot buy anything that is freely given; any attempt to purchase something that is being freely given should offend the giver; especially if that gift is given out of love. As I was preparing for my Wednesday night teaching in Romans, I was struck by something said by Charles Spurgeon: "You will say, 'Oh, I am the worst in the world'. Christ died for the worst in the world. 'Oh, but I have no power to be better'. Christ died for those that were without strength. 'Oh, but my case condemns itself.' Christ died for those that legally are condemned. 'Ay, but my case if hopeless'. Christ died for the hopeless. He is the Hope of the hopeless. He is the Saviour not of those partly lost, but of the wholly lost."  Maybe if you could experience what Jacob was feeling, you might better understand the "wholly lost" part of what Spurgeon was talking about. Jacob considered himself to be died, then God shows up, and Jacob wasn't letting go until God blessed him; which God did, by saying, "Thy name shall be called no longer Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." Notice God did not say, "Prepare for thy death", but just the opposite was put forth; God gave Jacob hope by giving him a new name, Governed By God. We too have a new name as believers in Jesus Christ; where we once were sinners and the ungodly, we are now called righteous and the justified; not only that, but Paul shows us in Romans 5:2 that we have access to God anytime and forever more, which is based upon the "faith in the grace wherein we stand". This is so important for us to understand, because it's not based upon merit, it's God's grace that allows those that believe access. "Oh, but I don't feel worthy". It is Jesus Christ who is worthy, you have access through Him. "Oh, but my sins are too many for Jesus to consider forgiving me". Ya, right! Who are you kidding? Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, not just part, but every single sin that everyone could commit and has committed, He paid the price for them all; so where do you think your sins stack up with that? He already forgave your sins while He was on the cross, so there; now what are you waiting for?
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commanded His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6-8)