Daily Devotional for Wednesday, November 27

Grace and Peace from God

"Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ;' Galatians 1:3.

Greetings and good-byes canbe very powerful. Although they are now a part of my daily routine, I grew up in a world without e-mails or text messages. While these modern methods of correspondence seem to be a necessity of modern life, they often have a cold and impersonal quality to them. I recall the good old days of so-called snail mail, envelopes and letters written by a human hand. Letters had greetings, often beginning with the word "Dear" followedby the recipient's name and would end with phrases such as "Sincerely" or "Your Friend," followed by the writer's name. The impact of the correspondence was influenced by the tone of the greeting and the closing. Sadly, text and e-mail often omit these personal touches.

In Paul's opening to the Galatian letter (and the closing, see Galatians 6: 18), we find words that speak volumes about the heart of the apostle and the intent of his writing. Paul hadpowerful and sometimes painful truths concerning the gospel to communicate to the churches of Galatia; yet, he prefaced these truths by expressing his desire for the churches to receive two very precious gifts, the grace and peace of God. It is interesting to note that the grace and peace that Paul desired for his readers flowed to them through his ownpen. As the Holy Spirit breathed through him, Paul gave them, and us, the Word of God, the knowledge of the true gospel. Perhaps Paul's salutation reminds us of a fundamental principal of the Christian life. There is no short-cut to grace andpeace, but there is apath, and that path is through apersonal relationship with Jesus Christ.

A POINT TO PONDER

Will you be a channel through which God's grace and peace will flow to others?

Model these qualities in your own life, then introduce the unsaved to their source, Jesus Christ.

First and last,Jesus is a life-changer!

John Nations