Athlete, But God
Ephesians 2:1-10
"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
This is the passage that gripped my heart in 6th grade, when I first understand God's grace and the unmerited favor that He lavishes on all who turn to Jesus. Before hearing these scriptures, I loved God deeply but I thought I had to earn His love through my obedience to Him. The truth of the Gospel of Jesus is that we are saved through faith and that is a gift from God we can choose to accept, open up and walk in! To understand the magnitude of this gift offered to all mankind, one needs to understand verses 1-3.
Every human starts off as a child of wrath, a son of disobedience. We are alienated from God because of our sin. We don't like to think about how sinful we are, however, it helps us better understand the gift we have been offered. I have come to really enjoy all the places in scripture where is says "but God." God intervenes and He changes everything for the better! Verse 4 say’s "but God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love." God loves us so much that even while we are dead in our sin he offers us the gift of salvation. This is incredible, life altering (eternity altering) gift but this isn't all God gives us. He gives us salvation and goes beyond that to give us adoption into His family! We will reflect on that more tomorrow.
"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
This is the passage that gripped my heart in 6th grade, when I first understand God's grace and the unmerited favor that He lavishes on all who turn to Jesus. Before hearing these scriptures, I loved God deeply but I thought I had to earn His love through my obedience to Him. The truth of the Gospel of Jesus is that we are saved through faith and that is a gift from God we can choose to accept, open up and walk in! To understand the magnitude of this gift offered to all mankind, one needs to understand verses 1-3.
Every human starts off as a child of wrath, a son of disobedience. We are alienated from God because of our sin. We don't like to think about how sinful we are, however, it helps us better understand the gift we have been offered. I have come to really enjoy all the places in scripture where is says "but God." God intervenes and He changes everything for the better! Verse 4 say’s "but God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love." God loves us so much that even while we are dead in our sin he offers us the gift of salvation. This is incredible, life altering (eternity altering) gift but this isn't all God gives us. He gives us salvation and goes beyond that to give us adoption into His family! We will reflect on that more tomorrow.
Recent
Archive
2019
May
Athlete, God CreatesAthlete, You're Made In His ImageAthlete, RestAthlete, RememberAthlete, God UnitesAthlete, Don't FallAthlete, Pain and Frustration Will EndAthlete, Stop ComparingAthlete, There Is No Middle RoadAthlete, Step Out In FaithAthlete, You're CleanAthlete, Know The CovenantAthlete, Know the NationsAthlete, Divisions ExistAthlete, God Makes PromisesAthlete, WaitAthlete, Location MattersAthlete, Who Is Melchizedek?Athlete, You Are IncludedAthlete, God Sees YouAthlete, God Gives Us Signs
June
Athlete, Be RemindedAthlete, Be Honest With GodAthlete, Reflect On His MercyAthlete, God Keeps CoveringAthlete, The Wait Is OverAthlete, God Tests Athlete, Put On The QualitiesAthlete, Be ChallengedAthlete, God works Evil For GoodAthlete, Glory is ComingAthlete, God Saves Messy PeopleAthlete, God Provides Athlete, God's in Control Athlete, God is PatientAthlete, Step Out in FaithAthlete, See the MarkersAthlete, Take Time to PrayAthlete, Let's Talk About Fresh StartsAthlete, Love is The CureAthlete, Grace is OffensiveAthlete, See the ForeshadowAthlete, Don't ForgetAthlete, God is NearAthlete, Are You Willing To Learn?Athlete, Give Thanks
July
Athlete, Cultivate IntimacyAthlete, Take ComfortAthlete, You Have An InheritanceAthlete, God Uses All of UsAthlete, ConfessAthlete, Don't DoubtAthlete, Make RoomAthlete, Ask Your QuestionsAthlete, Do Not ChargeAthlete, Be Aware of Resistance Athlete, Know Your HeartAthlete, Don't Be Stubborn Athlete, Trust JesusAthlete, Have Risky FaithAthlete, We Were Created For JoyAthlete, Understand the Already Not YetAthlete, What Are You TrustingAthlete, ReflectAthlete, You're a Royal Priest Athlete, PauseAthlete, Recognize His PresenceAthlete, Seek Justice
August
Athlete, Remember WITH not FORAthlete, David Wasn't Always PerfectAthlete, Confess to an Audience of OneAthlete, Be Honest With GodAthlete, Take NoteAthlete, Recognize the Preeminent OneAthlete, Put it to DeathAthlete, You Are Being RenewedAthlete, This is Your New UniformAthlete, Whatever You Do, Do It For JesusAthlete, Use A Different FormulaAthlete, We Are FamilyAthlete, You Have Three Deep NeedsAthlete, Fan The FlameAthlete, Start The FireAthlete, Know The AntidoteAthlete, Choose PeaceAthlete, Peace is a WeaponAthlete, It Was Not A Silent NightAthlete, This is How You Experience Peace
Categories
no categories