Grateful for Grace Posted: As you read The Upper Room daily devotional today, we want you to know we are THANKFUL FOR YOU. Read Ephesians 2:1-10 It is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) Todays Devotional As a municipal prosecutor, I often review requests to seal the record of someone convicted of a criminal offense. Records are sealed (removed from public access) at the discretion of the court. One question on the form for sealing the record is, “Why is this sealing deserved?” I have only seen one answer that I thought demonstrated true humility. The answer was, “I don’t deserve to have my record sealed, but I would be grateful if the court did grant this request.” That response is a model of the way we should respond to God’s offer of salvation. God, through the death and resurrection of Christ, is willing to erase our entire record of sin if we accept salvation with a right heart. Someone who tries to grasp salvation with good works thinks that he or she has earned and therefore deserves salvation. To think that salvation is a matter of luck or fortune is to see God as arbitrary and therefore to miss the concept of grace. But the person who sees himself or herself as unworthy, yet loved by God, understands that through faith and the grace of God, we are saved from our transgressions. The sealing God provides is not deserved, but we are grateful for God’s love and Christ’s sacrifice that brings salvation. Matthew L. Reger (Ohio, USA) Thought for the Day: Prayer: Dear God, we do not deserve your forgiveness, but we humbly submit ourselves to you, asking for your grace. Amen. Prayer Focus: To humbly receive God’s grace
Posted on: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 04:59:20 +0000
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