Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
January 22, 2024
Ephesians 2:1-10
1 At one time you were like a dead person because of the things you did wrong and your offenses against God. 2 You used to live like people of this world. You followed the rule of a destructive spiritual power. This is the spirit of disobedience to God’s will that is now at work in persons whose lives are characterized by disobedience. 3 At one time you were like those persons. All of you used to do whatever felt good and whatever you thought you wanted so that you were children headed for punishment just like everyone else. 4 - 5 However, God is rich in mercy. He brought us to life with Christ while we were dead as a result of those things that we did wrong. He did this because of the great love that he has for us. You are saved by God’s grace! 6 And God raised us up and seated us in the heavens with Christ Jesus. 7 God did this to show future generations the greatness of his grace by the goodness that God has shown us in Christ Jesus. 8 You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith. This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. 9 It’s not something you did that you can be proud of. 10 Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives.
Good Morning! Through faith, we are saved by God’s grace!
God’s grace is sufficient. It is difficult to wrap our heads around this idea of salvation. Salvation is the greatest gift one can receive, yet we can do nothing to earn it, and it is beyond our understanding.
Within our earthly constructs, we learn that to accomplish things, you must work hard: the harder you work, the more you earn. Some who are unhappy with this system try to cheat and buy their way to the top, which often results in stepping on those who get in their way.
Through our own efforts, salvation is unattainable to us, the sinful children of God. The very act of working to attain salvation puts us in a position of pride, arrogance, and jealousy. If we make it, we wear this attitude of “look at me, I did it!” If someone else attains this more quickly or “earns” a greater portion, we envy them.
Through Christ, God creates this perfect gift through which none of our earthly weaknesses can survive. Christ taught us how to humble ourselves, which is in direct contrast to the earthly ideas of success. When we humble ourselves and give our lives to Christ, we are given the gift of salvation. In response to this gift, we are to serve God and work to share this gift with all we meet.
Gracious God, Thank you for this beautiful gift of life. Thank you, God, for this precious gift of salvation. We are unworthy, yet by your grace, you bless us. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Share God’s grace with someone today.
Thank God for your gift! Pastor Liz