Friday March 18, 2022

Today is Friday, March 18 and this week we are exploring what the Bible says about the nature of humanity and our relationship with God.

As I step into this quiet space alone with my Creator, I pause and become still. I breathe slowly and deeply and focus my heart and mind on the presence of the God who loves me.

Pause and Pray

Blessed Lord, I worship you in the serene stillness of the dawning day with praise and thanksgiving. Help me hear the message you have for me. Speak to me through the power of your Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

I rejoice in God’s steadfast love and worship him with the words of Psalm 90.

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Psalm 90:1-2

Pause and Pray

The second chapter of Ephesians presents the believer a tremendous contrast. The contrast compares walking without Christ to walking with Christ. Christians are to walk in the way that leads to life. The cross makes this change possible. The disparity between what we once were and what we have become by grace could not be more evident. Our pitiful life without Christ pales in comparison to the glories of life brought by the power of Christ’s salvation. We go from death to life. By grace and grace alone.

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. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving 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 grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:1-5

As I consider the nature of humanity and the human condition, I recognize my own fallen nature. As Paul tells the Ephesians, he speaks to me also. I was dead in my transgressions and sins, that was the place I used to live. Alongside other Christian believers, I followed the ways of this world and lived as one who was disobedient. If I am honest with myself, my fallen nature continues to raise its ugly head on occasion, leading me to gratify earthly appetites and cravings of the flesh, filling me with negative thoughts and consuming desires for worldly things. By nature I was (and continue to be) deserving of God’s wrath. But because of God’s great love for me, I was not left in my place of death. My dead end. God, who is rich in mercy, made me alive with Jesus Christ. My new beginning. By grace I have been saved. Praise and thanks to God for his great love.

Ask: When have I experienced God’s mercy? When have I failed to cooperate with God’s grace at work in my life?

Pause and Pray

Merciful God, thank you for rescuing me from my dead end. You pulled me up from the depths of my transgressions, freed me from my sin, revealed the hollow, empty ways of the world, exposed the desolate gratification of earthly satisfactions and introduced me to the glory of life in Christ. I thank you and praise you for loving me and bringing me from death to life. I read the words from Ephesians again and listen for the message you have for me.

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. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving 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 grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:1-5

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

I continue to reflect upon my human nature and personal relationship with God. What is the current state of my soul? What might God want to reveal to me about my past, present or future? Perhaps there was a time in my past when transgressions, sin, disobedience and gratifications of the flesh were a trap for me. Maybe there are places in which I presently struggle to set boundaries with unhealthy thoughts or desires. Perhaps God is calling me to step into a new future. Maybe God is inviting me to accept his grace, mercy and love and recommit to life in Christ. Perhaps God wants to remind me of the source of my salvation and new life – the source is never my behavior or actions, it is always God’s mercy and grace. By grace I have been saved. Thanks be to God.

Pause and Pray

God of Mercy, I invite you into the paltry lost places of my soul. Shine your light and examine my heart. Reveal my transgressions, expose my sins, conquer my cravings, invade my thoughts, occupy my desires, restore your image and transform me in your love. Set me free from this undeserving body and grant me your mercy, love and grace. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord. Amen.

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

As I leave this time of prayer, I go contemplating the glory of the Lord to shine his light and share his love with all people.

Amen.