Made Alive in Christ

Ephesians 2: 1-10 "Made Alive in Christ"

"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. . Like the rest, we were by nature objects 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 grave 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 not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

I love these verses because it starts out telling us how weak we are, "All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts"...none of us are above falling into the temptations of sin and I think it is so important to be aware of that. We all have that innate desire to be selfish in sin, to be "objects of wrath" if you will. These verses end with such a sweet message of hope though! By GRACE we have been saved! Through faith, NOT our own works...it is a GIFT from God! WOW!!!

If only I were more appreciative of God's gifts and blessings He has given me, if only I viewed being "rich with mercy" as higher importance than rich with worldly things. God has given each of us a precious gift, he has saved us! We were dead in our transgressions before He chose us. Lets reflect on that and praise Him for that! He has blessed us by simply choosing us! We seem to think we are entitled to so much more in life. God why did you let this happen or why can't I live there or have that. When we focus on those things and throw pitty parties, we are missing God's beautiful gift of grace, mercy, love, saving! That is why we call him our savior, because He has saved us through his grace! Praise God! We are choosing to follow God and make daily choices to follow Him, but at the end of the day, God says it is not our acts that save us, it is simply HIM and his love and grace.

All of Ephesians is just beautiful and so powerful! I encourage each of you to read through it this week, I know we have all read it before but what a great reminder it is of God's grace and mercy to us! I was humbled through reading these verses that it is not through my works that I am saved but through God!

Lord may we strive to be "rich in mercy" with others and forgiving with grace. Thank you for being our Savior and making us Alive in Christ! We are sorry for not always accepting your gracious gift. Thank you for choosing us even though we are unworthy.

Megs