G.R.

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.”

The concluding thought from yesterday’s devotional was that every other religion can be summed up in just one word, “Do”. You have to pray five times a day. You have to offer this ritual or sacrifice to earn favour. You have to do this and do that to get this and get that. On the other hand, the summary of Christianity and faith in Christ Jesus can also be summarized in one word, “Done”. It is finished! Tetelestai! That is the summary of being a Christian. It is done. The sacrifice for your sin is done – paid for. The reconciliation with God is done. The favour, blessings, and all that you need are done!

2 Corinthians 1:²⁰ “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” (NKJV). Do versus Done, what choice would you make? To keep doing or to come into what has been done for you, is your choice. What do you want? Romans 3:²⁴ “…all need to be made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift… through Jesus Christ.” (NCV, emphasis added). Years ago, I had a friend who converted from Islam to Christianity and his brother said to him, “How can you become a Christian? I don’t understand this grace thing.” So, he tried to explain to his brother. His brother said, “Let me ask you a question. If I kill people, burn villages, rob banks and one second after I surrender to Jesus, they chase me and kill me I get to go to heaven?” “Yes”, he responded, “As long as you surrender to Jesus, and ask Him to forgive your sins and come into your life. You are saved.”

His brother said, “No, I cannot accept that. What happens to all the bad things I have done? Don’t I have to atone for it? Don’t I have to do things that will make God happy? Don’t I have to prepare for paradise? I don’t understand it.” The truth is you may not understand it but that is God’s grace. There are three things about God’s grace you need to know. You need to do the first one, God has done the second one, and then you need to do the third one. The first thing you need to do for you to experience the salvation grace of God is to get lost. And we all were lost, you don’t need to try to get lost in this world. The Bible says in sin did my mother conceive me.

Oh, that was easy. The first one check. The second one is the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. Done, it is a finished, check. The third one is you have to receive it. And that brings us to the R of Grace. G is God’s Gift To Me. R is Received By Faith. Grace is not received by baptism. Grace is not received by communion. The grace of God is received by faith.

Prayer: Father, I thank You for the gift of God’s grace to me and I receive it by faith, in Jesus Name. Amen!