Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Opening Scripture

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Galatians 1:3-5

Opening Prayer

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt, yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured, there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt. Dark is the stain that we cannot hide, what can avail to wash it away? Look! There is flowing a crimson tide; whiter than snow you may be today. Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace, freely bestowed on all who believe. All who are longing to see His face, will you this moment His grace receive? Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within. Grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than all our sin.

Daily Bible Reading

Ephesians 2:1-10

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Reflection  

Paul begins today’s passage with another long sentence in Greek (verses 1-7). The subject is God, and Christians are the object of the three verbs. The crux of his message is that God has made followers of Jesus alive with Christ; raised up with Christ; and seated with Christ in the heavenly realms.

This is a profound reality and a remarkable turn of events, considering that Paul’s listeners – just like us – were separated from God and spiritually dead before they trusted in Jesus. As a dead body is oblivious to any physical stimulation, so a dead soul is oblivious to the things of God. To go from being followers of Satan and doomed to destruction to becoming followers of Jesus and spiritually alive is, indeed, radical!

“The whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

By default, all people “follow the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” This includes “gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.”

The complete transformation from living condemned as an object of God’s wrath and deserving punishment to living as God’s adopted child and the beneficiary of countless blessings tests the limits of our comprehension, yet that’s the astonishing truth involved in being saved by grace through faith.

Paul essentially divides the entire human race into two groups: the spiritually dead and the spiritually alive; those who are living in darkness and those who are living in light; those who are destined for destruction and those who are destined for a glorious inheritance; those who are citizens of the kingdom of Satan and those who are citizens of the kingdom of God.

And we have not only been brought from death to life, but God has declared each of us to be His handiwork – His “masterpiece.” The word “workmanship” (poiēma) is used only twice in the New Testament, here and in Romans 1:20, where it describes God’s amazing work in creation.

God has redeemed us with the intent of using us for His purpose, to reflect His glory and accomplish His mission. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” The text literally says, “we should walk in them.” Not just do good things occasionally, but behave, conduct ourselves, and live a life that reflects God’s goodness.

Flourishing Habit

Flourishing Christians

I love the way Eugene Peterson translates today’s passage in The Message.

“It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.”

It’s important for those of us who have been following Jesus a long time, never to forget just how lost we were before we were saved and just how desperately we needed saving. May we never “get over” the incredible joy and relief of being rescued from certain annihilation by a gracious, loving Savior.

“Grace” has been defined as “God’s riches at Christ’s expense.” In What’s So Amazing About Grace?, Philip Yancey makes the following observations.

“Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more… And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less… Grace means that God already loves us as much as an infinite God can possibly love.

“Grace is shockingly personal. As Henri Nouwen points out, ‘God rejoices. Not because the problems of the world have been solved, not because all human pain and suffering have come to an end, nor because thousands of people have been converted and are now praising him for his goodness. No, God rejoices because one of his children who was lost has been found.’

“Grace is free only because the giver himself has borne the cost.

“By striving to prove how much they deserve God’s love, legalists miss the whole point of the gospel, that it is a gift from God to people who don’t deserve it. The solution to sin is not to impose an ever-stricter code of behavior. It is to know God.

“Jesus declared that we should have one distinguishing mark: not political correctness or moral superiority, but love.

“I would rather convey grace than explain it.”

So, what’s your story? How have you experienced God’s amazing grace?

Have you ever considered yourself to be “God’s masterpiece”?

How might that identity affect the way you go about your day?

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!