Friday... But, can be such a beautiful word.

Friday... But, can be such a beautiful word. It really can be life changing.

Look at what Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians. In 2:1-3 (NLT) he says, "Once you were dead because of your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil - the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God's anger, just like everyone else." There it is, there it is. That is the way we are living or have lived. Dead is a definite word of finality. At least the devil thought so and maybe you do too.

And then verses 4-5 starts by saying, "But", that beautiful life changing word of opportunity even though we are dead. Yes, we are subject to God's anger, "But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!)"

Look at that, "even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead." The devil thought he has won by his killing Jesus but God raised him from the dead because he is so rich in mercy and he loves us so much. What a surprise, death is not final.

Oh, we spend a lot of time looking and feeling deep emotion about the cross but that was just the beginning of the story. Yes it was horrible "but God raised Christ from the dead." And here is what that means, "It is only by God's grace that you have been saved." Unbelievable!

So on which side of "but" are you? And that is a very important question because it is our choice. 

Verses 8-10 says, "God saved you by grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this, it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

And that is what the right side of "but" is all about. We either believe and accept this great gift from God or not. Now that is a choice that will make all the difference in our lives. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning