God’s grace motivates our good works, not the other way around. When we have tasted His undeserved favor, we are compelled to live for Him out of gratitude, not from guilt or even primarily from duty. We obey not to earn something from God, but because we have already been…
We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works. Our salvation is all of grace from beginning to end. But this free gift changes us and bears fruit in a new way of living. Grace reigns in our hearts so that righteousness reigns in our…
God’s grace is an undeserved, unmerited gift. It is not something we could ever earn through our own efforts. When we understand the depth of our sin, helplessness and inability to save ourselves, we desperately seek deliverance. We search for protection from the coming storm of God’s wrath against all…
In saving us, God intends to “show the immeasurable riches of his grace” toward us (Eph. 2:7). We cannot begin to fathom the depths of God’s mercy or comprehend the tenderness and strength of his love. But we see glimpses of it as he daily pours out grace upon grace…
“By grace you have been saved,” Paul declares in Ephesians 2:5. God saved us not because of any good deed or merit in us, but solely because of his abundant mercy and great love. We contributed absolutely nothing to our salvation; it was an entirely undeserved gift from start to…
Like Brandt Jean, we can extend remarkable forgiveness to others by God’s grace. As Christians, we are called to be people of forgiveness, reflecting the mercy that was shown to us (Eph 4:32). Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to be harmed. It only breeds bitterness…
Text: Ephesians 1 Before you did anything good or bad, before you accomplished anything noteworthy, before you even existed, God set his love on you and chose you to be his own. He didn’t choose you because you were wiser, stronger, or more spiritual than others. Not because of anything…
Devotional Day 5: “Bringing Back the Wanderers” “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back…” James 5:19 Like football player Roy Riegals, I’ve gone the wrong way before. Shame wanted to bench me, but grace put me back in the game! If you’ve…
Devotional Day 4: “Bringing Back the Wanderers” “…whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will…cover a multitude of sins.” – James 5:20 I can’t atone for anyone’s sin. But by God’s grace, I can be part of bringing wanderers back to the saving love of Jesus. His blood is…
If we exalt ourselves, we will be humbled. But if we humble ourselves before God and one another, it is God who will exalt us. That is exactly the opposite of what the world says. The world says exalt yourself and you will be exalted. But the truth is that…