A brief prayer is offered that you can add to your daily
prayers this week. The scripture is from our Sunday Service Bulletin. We
continue our sermon series on receiving something special or profound. Today’s
topic is “The Grace”.
Epistle Reading- Ephesians
2:1-10 English Standard Version (ESV)
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you
once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3
among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the
desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like
the rest of mankind 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love
with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us
alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up
with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so
that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through
faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of
works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk
in them
Devotion: The Grace
Grace is the free and unmerited forgiveness by
God of our sins which saves us through faith. Paul is saying in verses 4 and 5
that God loves us so much that saved us by sending His Son [the Christ] to give
up His life for us. God’s grace is described and explained in many places in
the scripture. One of the most awesome examples of modern day earthly Grace
involves the Amish community of Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania and a woman named
Terri Roberts. If the town sounds familiar, it is because on October of 2006 a
shooter entered an Amish school in Nickel Mines and took the lives of several
children and then his own. Terri Roberts, who lived and worked in the community
is the mother of the shooter. She was obviously ashamed and terribly upset for
the victims and their families. At her son’s funeral, just as they were
lowering his casket into the ground an armada of Amish horse drawn carriages showed
up and the Amish families offered their forgiveness, comfort, and condolences. The
seemingly extraordinary reaction of the Amish community made the national news.
Amish scholars explained that the Amish willingness to forgo vengeance does not
undo the tragedy or pardon the wrong, but rather constitutes a first step
toward a future that is more hopeful. Is there someone in your life who would
benefit from a forgiving word from you? Is there someone you’d like to ask for forgiveness?
If so, I pray that you would find a way to make the future more hopeful by resetting that relationship with a bit of grace. I know this forgiveness can come from someone like you.
We pray: “Lord help me be more forgiving and be
more like You. Amen”
