“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,” II Timothy 1:9
The NLT reads: “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Jesus Christ.
When God created man He know that sooner or later they would fail and not live the life He planned for them. He knew that eventually He would have to send a redeemer to rescue them. In fact, in Genesis 3:15, He gave Adam the promise of a redeemer that one day would break the yoke of the enemy. It would not be enough to send angels to fulfill His plan; it would take a greater sacrifice than that. God, Himself, took on the form of man, came to earth as a humble baby in a manger, and then went to Calvary, giving His life that mankind could be redeemed.
Paul tells Timothy that we have done nothing to deserve this great salvation, it is only God’s great love for us fulfilling the plan He had from the beginning. We can do all the good things we want, give ourselves to helping others, and it will avail nothing. The grace of God leads us to repentance from our sin, and the Spirit dwelling within us gives us the power to live and walk with the Lord. We did not deserve that love, but we are so thankful for His mercy.
Andréa Crouch expressed it to so well in his “My Tribute”
“With His blood He has saved me, with His power He has raised me,
To God be the glory for the things He has done.”
Prayer: Jesus, none of us deserve the great salvation you have given us, but we are thankful for the plan you had from the beginning, and that you gave your life that we might have life. We give you all the glory.
Devotion by Anne Johnston
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