But God

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Ephesians  2:1-4 says,”And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 

 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others   But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,.”

     My library is, for the most part, gone.  Well, I have been moving the bookcases and books for the past 45 or so years.  When we went to Spain, It took 30 mailing bags with no more than 60 pounds in each bag.  They were shipped via a freighter and took about 2 months to get there.  I am too old to cart around the boxes of books and so most of my library is now digital.  I had two concordances, Strongs and Youngs, which were big books to start with just by themselves but they contained every word in the Bible along with where it was and how many times it was used and the various definitions.  Now, however, I use the concordance on my computer and in an instant can have a listing of every occurrence of individual words but also phrases.  There is one phrase which occurs 44 times in the Bible and it is, “But God.”    When you find that phrase, it will point out a contrast that only God does.

     The word, “but,” is going to indicate a contrast between two different things or even actions.  Such is the case in the passage for today.  Paul describes how we all are before salvation.  We were dead in our sins and headed for an eternity without God.  We were walking in our lives according to the lust of our own flesh.  We were following the idea, “If it feels good, do it.”  For many people in the world in which we live, drugs, alcohol and sex prevail and seems to be the accepted norm for all of society.  We come to a point where we feel there is no hope in this life and we even say, “There is no God.”  Then, we come across a phrase like, “But God.”  It goes on to say “who is rich in mercy, and that He, God, is filled with love for us  even in our seemingly despicable state.  “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8b)  How much does God love us?  Just read John 3:16.  The next time you see that little phrase, “But God,” just circle it and notice what is happening right after those words.  Praise God for all of the times He steps in changes our lives.