Skip to main content

God First, Man Second: Ephesians 2:8-10

Too often we approach scripture with a question. What does this have to say to me? It might sound like a good question, but I don't believe it's the first one we should be asking. What does this say about God? Now that's a great question. With that in mind, I continue my Monday series with the following;

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ~Ephesians 2:8-10

You might be thinking this is a great verse all around. You're right, but we actually answer both questions when we start with God.

First, God is a giver. Grace is such a good gift that He gives it to people and tells them it's free.

Second, we learn God created us. Nice job, God! I see you've given us a purpose. Apparently God is a planner. That's good to know.

Figuring this out tells me a lot of what I need to know about me. I've been given a gift I cannot earn, nor should I try. God doesn't want me boasting. Any good works I find to do are part of the plan, but not the payment plan.

Oh, and knowing I'm God's handiwork is a great way to start out the week. What's one promise from God that starts your day out right?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Facebook Maybe

Granted, I'm a pastor. I have Type-A tendencies. Ok, my tendencies border on freakish OCD behavior patterns, but... Few things bother me more than the Facebook 'maybe'. I suppose I could go on and on about the grey areas of our society and the refusal of people to accept absolute standards. I could discuss the great need of people to accept that what is wrong for one person is likely wrong for everyone. I should certainly be concerned about mentioning that someone might have sin in their life. But I don't believe the Facebook 'maybe' is quite sin. Perhaps if I were coming up with new sins, I would add this to the list. But alas... Some might think the Facebook 'maybe' did not exist prior to the Internet, but they would be wrong. When I was in high school and asked a girl out on a date, I would normally be told that if they had no other plans, if nobody else called them, if there was nothing good on television and their hair did not need washing, then per...
5 comments
Read more

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mom

I will travel this weekend to Georgia to celebrate the life of my mom, who passed away just before Christmas.  A Celebration of Life service. That’s what we’re calling it. Because that’s what my mom wanted. She was quite clear on this matter. She didn’t want a funeral. She didn’t want people mourning for her.  As a Christian, she was very certain on her eternal destination and she wanted everything, in her life and death, to reflect that. There will be music, people sharing tributes, and a message given by her pastor.  If that sounds similar to a funeral, I agree. But semantics aside, let me share with you a few more things about my mom. Along the way, you might learn a few things about why I function the way that I do. As I’ve considered my mom’s legacy, a few words have come to mind. Steadfast My mom knew what she believed, lived what she knew to be true, and didn’t really care what anyone else thought about it. I have no inclination to remember my mom as some perfect p...
2 comments
Read more