Amazing Grace - January 7 Readings: Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, John 1:19-28

Today’s Readings

Context

Kick-off. Throwing out the first pitch. Tip-off. We have significant ways that we begin our competitions. The great battle for the souls of men was about to be engaged in earnest, and while there was never any real doubt how it would end, it needed its initiation point.

That came when John baptized Jesus in Jordan. Jesus did not need a baptism of repentance as sinners did, and he did not need to picture his salvation, since he was born righteous and never lost in sin. But as an act of obedience, as a model for the rest of us, Jesus entered the waters of baptism. Then as he came up the Spirit descended on him and he was filled and empowered for the ministry that lay ahead.

Devotional - God's Amazing Grace

There is nothing in me, in my natural state, that is pleasing to God. I'm a sinner. So are you, so you don't find that such a big deal. But to a Holy God, my sin (and yours) is a serious thing, a great, big deal. It is so heinous in God's eyes that I can never please him, never earn his favor, or a place in his eternal home.

But God was well-pleased with Jesus. He delighted in Jesus. God's heart glories when he looks upon Jesus Christ. And Jesus never did a single thing to sacrifice or lose that pleasing standing - not a single sin of thought, of word, or of deed. Jesus was perfect in every way. All that I never could be, he is!

And now, because of his sacrifice, his resurrection, and the grace he sent my way, I am now clothed in the righteousness of Christ. I am "in Christ," and because of that I will eternally experience the pleasure of God that Jesus earned rather than the wrath of God that I deserve. It is an amazing thing.

Father, thank you for the righteousness of Christ that is mine, not because I've earned it, but because in your amazing grace you have given it to me. 

Think and Pray about It

Take time to simply thank God for his grace, for the Cross, for the fact that your eternity rests on who Christ is and what he has done, not on who you are and what you have done. That is what grace is all about!

(NOTE: I am on a mission trip, and have written these devotionals in advance. Hopefully, they will all post on time and in decent order. Some may be a bit brief as I try to get them all set up before I leave.)