Liz’s Morning Devotional based upon Upper Room
March 7, 2022
Read Ephesians 2:4-10
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! Our salvation is a gift from God! Hallelujah!
We are God’s accomplishment. God doesn’t create junk! Sometimes we struggle to reconcile these two ideas in our own lives and when we view the world around us. In my younger days, I’ve had those moments when everything seemed to be going wrong or crumbling around me. This most often occurred when I had committed to more than I was able to manage, and I hadn’t yet become accustomed to handing off my worries to God.
I am very much still a work in progress in this skill, but because I have so much practice over-committing myself (LOL), I’ve learned to recognize the signs. On my darkest days, I now turn to God first and simply say, “Help Me!” I’m sure God is thinking, “well, you’ve done it again!”, but regardless of my shortcomings, God is right by my side loving me. God’s love for us never wavers. Thanks be to God!
When we consider the brokenness of the world around us, and of the people around us, we must remember the relationship that we entered when we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior. At our baptism, we are reimaged in Christ, so that we may share Christ’s love with the world. For each lost child of God, we are called to reach out and help. Our calling may be sharing a smile or a kind word. It may be providing a need such as food or clothing.
Regardless of our unique calling, we are to serve our Lord with joy and let the love of God shine through us so that the world will see the light. Jesus, the light of the world, draws us to him. In him, there is no darkness. All we must do is accept Jesus and submit ourselves to God. God’s love is bigger than the ocean, higher than the mountains, greater than the number of stars in the sky, and more immense than we can imagine in our wildest dreams. Through Christ, the new covenant, God is always with us and always loves us, even when we make the same mistakes again.
Loving God, Thank You for loving us. Sometimes, we are such a mess! We can also be stubborn when it comes to turning over our worries to you. Thank you for always loving us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: I can trust that God’s love for me will never end.
God’s love is bigger than the oceans! Pastor Liz
Liz, what a surprise and joy to find this from you this morning — just like in days past. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. There were no new Upper Rooms left at church so this is a special treat for me. You are a true blessing. Thank you!