Daily Devotional for Sunday, December 8

Transformed by Grace

"And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus;'1Timothy 1:14.

If you are not familiar with this text in 1 Timothy, I encourage you to read it. It is humbling and convicting. Paul's next statement in verse 15 shows the depth of his humility and the abundance of God's grace. "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (verse 15). Despite the fact that Paul considered himself chief (first in rank) among sinners, he understood that Jesus Christ came to this world to save him just as Jesus came into this world to save you and me.

One of my favorite verses in all of the Scriptures is Matthew 1:21, ''And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." If you cannot read this verse and rejoice, I encourage you to get your heart right with God. The Bible never tells us that Jesus came to earth to start a religion. He was not sent by God to be a peacemaker (Matthew 10:34-36). Jesus was sent by God on a mission to earth for one reason-to be the Way of salvation for sinful mankind. Jesus is the manifestation of God's love for us.

Paul knew that his eternal destiny changed because he trusted Jesus. He described himself as one "who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, andinjurious" (1 Timothy 1:13). He was abeneficiary of grace and grateful for God's grace. He was such a devotee to God's grace that every letter attributed to him in the Bible includes within its first few verses an encouragement of grace to the recipient. May we be as grateful for the grace of God. It is by the gift of God's grace through faith that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8).

JUST A THOUGHT

Grace is such a precious gift from God. Never take it for granted.

Chris Floyd