Declaration: I am FORGIVEN
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.
Key Bible Verses: Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 15:10
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
2 Corinthians 5:21
21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,[a] so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:10
10 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.
Devotion
One of the greatest blessings of being in Texas is the Mexican food. Can we just pause for a moment and thank the Lord for His new manna from Heaven: Chips and queso. Thank you Jesus. I could literally eat it every meal! All truth be told, I might actually eat it for every meal…
One time my wife and I went on our date night to a new mexican restaurant. We sat down and dove into our go-to comfort: chips and a large queso. Hammer time.
After burying a bowl of chips it was time for us to order our entrees. Now, I love my wife. She’s precious. She’s sweet. She’s my best friend. She’s also one of the most difficult “orderers” I know.
Custom everything. No onions. Sauce on the side. Change the sauce. Add these beans. Change the cheese. Half chicken, half beef (Love you, Anna). After about three attempts at her order, the waiter just looked at her and said, “I’ll try.” After walking away I said, “There’s no way that order is going to be right.” Bless that man.
Sure enough, the food arrived and her order was a mess. The wrong sauce, the wrong beans, etc. Anna was not feeling it. As she was telling me she didn’t want to eat the burrito with the sauce that was on it I said, “Just put some queso on it. Queso makes everything better.” Sure enough, after covering the top of the burrito in queso it tasted incredible. Queso is magic. You can put it on anything and it makes everything better!
God’s grace is the same way. When God’s grace is on your life, it makes everything better. And yes, I absolutely just compared God’s grace with queso 🙌.
Don’t confuse grace with mercy.
Mercy is God withholding from us what we deserve.
Grace is God giving us what we don’t deserve.
Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 15:10, But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.
God’s grace covers us, works through us, and transforms us into new people. Grace isn’t a “get-out-of-jail-free” card. It doesn’t just let you off the hook. It’s more. Grace is the transforming power of Christ to make us right with God and empower us to become new people. 2 Corinthians 5:21 encourages us, For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
Grace doesn’t enable you.
Grace empowers you.
Ephesians 2:8-9, God saved you by his 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.
I’m saved. I’m empowered. I’m new. All because I’m covered in the grace of God I didn’t deserve.
Chips and queso anyone?
Discipline: Embrace grace! Too often we spend our lives seeing ourselves as much less than what God sees in us. This has to change. God’s grace has forgiven you. His grace has made you right with Him. His grace empowers you to be somebody new. This week, recite Ephesians 2:8-9 to yourself at least daily. Here’s the cliff notes version: I am saved by grace, through faith.