Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
June 1, 2023
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; We are God’s accomplishment!
God’s grace is wonderful, but it also confounds us. The more I study and learn about our early church leaders, the more aware of this I become. Those great theologians upon whom we base our understanding of the Bible struggled mightily with this understanding that salvation is a gift from God and there is nothing we can do to earn it. Additionally, by the grace of God, God loves and protects us no matter what mistakes we make. All who earnestly repent of their sins are forgiven.
We continue to be worried if we are doing enough. Do we pray enough? Do we say the right words when we pray? Do we serve those in need enough? What about our reading of the Bible? Should I spend more time reading? Should we be more loving and more inviting?
Most of us can answer that we need to do more in response to our gift of salvation or we need to do it better. We doubt that our efforts meet the requirements of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving our neighbors as ourselves. We are right that we can do more because there is always more to do. I am comforted when I read where Jesus would take time to rest and pray. God, our Creator, knows us and accepts our human frailties. Honestly, we can never do enough, but by the grace of God, we are fully loved, and we are saved.
Does this mean that we can sit and do nothing? Of course not; we are called to do our human best, and God will fill in the rest through the divine presence of the Holy Spirit within us. Thanks be to God! When we step out in faith, God will show us the way.
Loving God, We thank you for Your blessings. We have many flaws, yet you love and protect and guide us. Thank You! In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: We can rest secure in my faith today.
God is with us! Pastor Liz
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