“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.”
Titus 2:11 NKJV
Welcome to the 14th devotional recap of the year. This week, we learnt about God’s master plan, the colours of His amazing grace, and that His grace is a gift.
We started this week by learning about God’s plan for salvation through Christ. It was not an afterthought. God’s plan was preordained, as seen in the scriptures (Isaiah 53, Ephesians 1:3-5). The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus were all for our sake. By faith in Him and in what He has done, we are forgiven, declared righteous, and can fellowship with God.
On Tuesday, we studied scarlet, which signifies the blood of Jesus. The New Testament reveals that the shedding of animals’ blood done by the Israelites in the Old Testament were types and shadows of Christ’s redemptive work. Though our sins are like scarlet, His blood will make them as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18, NLT). Forgiveness is only by the blood of Jesus.
Wednesday’s devotional taught us about the power of grace. The natural state of mankind is sin (Romans 7:21-23), but grace helps us to overcome it. Like the case of the adulterous woman in John 8:1-11, the only one who has the power to either condemn or forgive has chosen to forgive us. We must come to the consciousness of this truth.
Thursday’s topic, Rainbow: Grace for All, showed us that Christ didn’t only die for those who love Him, but He also died for everyone in the world (1 John 2:2). Jesus died for people like the prodigal son (Luke 15), whom we might tag ‘undeserving.’ God’s grace has been made available for all; therefore, we ought to rejoice for every soul that receives this grace.
We rounded up the week on Friday by looking at God’s grace as a gift (Ephesians 2:8). Christ not only died for us, but also for our “enemies” and those who offend us. As such, we cannot receive the gift of God’s grace without accepting the responsibility it bestows upon us to be gracious unto others.
Jesus Christ is our perfect example, so we must strive to emulate Him in every way. Jesus tells us not to keep score, but to lose count of wrongdoings and offence (Matthew 18:21-22). Yes, this isn’t easy, but we can do it with the help of the Holy Spirit!
From today, live with the consciousness that God’s grace is powerful enough to save all who believe in Jesus Christ.
Have a great weekend.