A Devotional on Ephesians 2:8–10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. In reading through Psalm 53, we are reminded of our depravity (our inability to redeem ourselves) and lostness apart from Christ. It is a psalm worthy of coming back to on occasion for the reminder that we desperately need a Savior. It is the reminder that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 6 when he lists a bunch of sins that prevent sinners from going to heaven and then states, “ And such were some of you. But you were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God ” (1 Cor. 6:11). Remembering our natural state as sinners puts us in the proper posture before a Holy God and grows our appreciation for what Jesus Christ has...
Devotional on Hebrews 3:1-3, Psalm 52 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. This Sunday we will continue in our sermon series Psalms: Heart, Soul, and Mind with Psalm 52. As I was reading this psalm, with the lyrics of our morning worship songs playing in my head, I was struck by the awareness of choice. David is writing during a very difficult and dangerous time, and yet chooses worship instead of despair. God gave us the gift of free will, the ability to make choices and to have discernment. Many of us have started 2025 with goals, or resolutions. How are...