Tuesday... So what did we all used to be?
We tend to forget what we used to be like, don't we?
But the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians says in chapter 2 verse 2a (NLT), "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 goes on in verse 3, "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." Yes we tend to forget what we used to be like and that the change in us did not just happen.
And we so many times look at people even those close to us and point our finger at them in condemnation, condemning them. "Look at the sinner. Look at what they did to me. I'm so glad that I'm not like that." But at some point, "All of us used to live that way."
But Paul goes on in verses 4 & 5 to say, "But God is so rich in mercy." Now we may not be, we may not be rich in mercy but he is. Paul writes, "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!)."
Paul in his first letter to the Corinthian church in 13:13 says, "Three things will last forever - faith, hope and love - and the greatest of these is love." Yes, we all need faith, yes we all need hope, but we can't survive without God's love and neither can all those around us. That is where mercy and grace come from. They come from the fact that God loves us. "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!)." And that is where his mercy and his grace come from. And that is where our mercy and grace come from. It comes from the love that God has put into our heart.
Remember, we all used to be, we all used to live in sin.
Paul then writes in Ephesians 2:8, "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God." And that is so important for us to realize. We can't take credit but we can give it.
He goes on in verse 9, "Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." And there are a lot of people who want to take credit. They are boasters.
But there are also many people who are always putting themselves down. They have no mercy, grace or love for themselves. Verse 10 speaks to them. It says, "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."
Wow, each and everyone of us used to be sinners but we can also become God's masterpieces when we become honest about who we are and accept his grace and mercy and his love and accept his salvation from who we were so we can do the good things that he planned for us long ago.
Now that is good news, isn't it? So, let's accept his gift, his mercy, grace and love and share it with others. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning
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