Monday, January 31, 2022
Jan 31 – Devotions on Ephesians
Jan 31 – Devotions on Ephesians
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
In Vs 8, Paul then reveals in this verse a very important and revelational truth. It is by grace and grace alone you have been saved by faith. Grace is the avenue you are saved and faith is the manner in which you are saved. Grace plus faith and nothing else is how you get saved. Your part is to receive this wonderful salvation by faith. To put your trust in a person you have never seen or met. To accept an act that was done 2000 years ago by a p man in a faraway country. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is believing that God exists and is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Paul then makes it clear that there was nothing you could do to make it happened. This is happened not because of anything we have done. It is not our good works, acts of charity or behavior we are made right with God. Man has been trying to recapture paradise lost from the very moment we fell by our own works and have failed miserably. This salvation is a gift of God to be received and enjoyed. A gift loses its value when we think we somehow deserve or merit it. A gift is a gift to be received and enjoyed to its fullest.
Friday, January 28, 2022
Jan 28 – Devotion on Ephesians
Jan 28 – Devotion on Ephesians
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
In Vs 5, Paul reveals two wonderful truths and realities. God’s love and mercy made us alive while we were yet dead in our transgressions. God did a miracle of regeneration and transformation. In a moment of time has soon as we give our lives to Christ God changed us from the inside out. Our hearts were changed as well as our eternal destination. It was through Christ that this was done. Jesus was the vehicle and avenue in which this transformation came. His death, burial, resurrection, broken body and shed blood made this possible. Our acceptance of His provision in our lives made this all possible,
Paul then shares one of the most powerful statements ever. It is by grace you are saved. Grace and grace alone made this happened. You could do nothing to make it happened. God’s, riches, at Christ’s expense, unmerited favor, and nothing more. God’s rich love and rich mercy made this happened.
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Jan 27 – Devotion on Ephesians
Jan 27 – Devotion on Ephesians
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
In Vs 4, Paul introduces the great but. This word but has a great significance in this moment. God in His great love for us chose to do something about the sin problem. In the Old Testament, he covered sin through the blood of animals but He had a greater plan in action. Love is the nature and character of God. The Apostle John says it is who God is. Jesus said that people would know that we are His disciples by the way that we love one another. God’s love is beyond understanding, its height depth, breadth, and width is awesome.
Paul says that God’s love is the motivating factor in His mercy. Mercy is the ability and right to punish a person and you do not choose to. Instead, you pardon them. God is rich in mercy. His mercy is abundant and vast. There is nothing that compares to the love and mercy of God, We deserved wrath but instead receive the great love and rich mercy of God.
