Listen here.
Welcome to
Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the appointed Scripture readings for
the upcoming Sunday. I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church
in Hudson, OH.
Thank you for
being with me today.
The Epistle
lesson this week goes nicely with our other readings. Remember that the Old
Testament presented us with an account of sin leading to death, and the Gospel
account pointed us to Jesus death, which leads to life. This reading reminds us
that we were dead in trespasses and sins, we are made alive in Christ, that
salvation comes to us by grace, and is received by faith.
The Epistle
reading is from Ephesians 2:1-10
The Reading:
Ephesians 2:1-10
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. (Eph. 2:1-10 ESV)
Comments
This is another
well beloved passage that we get to read this week. Verses 8 and 9 of Ephesians
2 are quoted over and over again as a clear and succinct statement of how God
brings salvation to us.
The image here is
potent. We were dead in trespasses and sins. We used to walk in these sins –
that is they were our way of life, and God teaches us that they are the ways of
this world. These behaviors boil down to disobedience
Chew on that a
little today. Sin is disobedience to God, and that make us worthy of God’s
wrath.
Nevertheless, God
is rich in mercy. What a beautiful phrase: rich in mercy. He loved us even
though we were dead to Him. He loved us so he raised us in Christ to a new
life.
Ponder the
richness of God’s mercy today.
Meditate on these
two things today: God’s wrath at the disobedience of sin, and God’s rich mercy.
See them in tension and at work in your life, remembering that God’s mercy –
that rich mercy – is His final word on the subject and that He saves you by
grace, and you receive that grace by faith.
Prayers
Father, by grace
we are saved through faith in Jesus. Thank you for Your rich mercy, for Your
grace, and Your love which You poured out on us while we were still dead in
trespasses and sin. Forgive us for our disobedience and turn Your wrath away
from us. Give us Your Holy Spirit so that we will do the good works You created
us to do, and that we are alive to do through faith in Jesus. Amen.
Memory Verse:
Joel 2:13 - Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious
and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents
over disaster. (Joel 2:13 ESV)
Thank you so much
for using Devotions for Worship, I pray that our time together has blessed you
and given you something to meditate on – some reminder of God’s grace to rattle
around in your brain – for the rest of the day.
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favor? If you got something out of this devotional time, would you like and/or
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others.
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God bless you!
Comments