Daily devotional, March 27, 2024 Wash-up
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Ephesians 2:8-9
When I was little, I knew it was time for bed when my parents told me to wash-up. We are not allowed to sleep unless we shower or wash-up, and change to our PJs, because as kids, we get dirty thanks to a whole day of playing in and out of the house.
As followers of Jesus, we can be glad that we can come to Him even if we are teeming and dirty with sins. Like the human beings that we are, we are bound to fail and fall short or even back-slide. Let us not allow these setbacks to cut off the wonderful relationship with God that we have been nurturing. We should remember that we do not have to be almost faultless before we could seek Him, because He welcomes us with open arms.
In his letter to early Christian church leader Titus, St. Paul the Apostle reminded Titus and this congregation that no amount of good work can earn us our salvation because it is only through God’s grace through Jesus that we have been saved:
"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:4-8
One of the best illustrations for this mercy is the Parable of the Prodigal Son. In that story the bad son just came back to His father regretting what he had done, and his father welcomed him back into their home. Such unconditional love is given to all of us once we decide to take on His hand and seek Him with repentance. That same assurance of acceptance has been given us even in the Old Testament:
"the Lord appeared to himfrom far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."
Jeremiah 3:31
Besides, it is impossible for us to be completely sinless, because only Jesus is perfect and without sin. But with His power, we can lessen the occasions that we commit sins and sanctify ourselves.
"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
1 John 1:8
What is important is we have that confidence that our Lord and Savior will empower us to withstand temptation, and will help us endure difficulties that are part of our Earthly existence.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:15-16
So whether we are seeking HIm again for the first time after a long time, or have been momentarily halted and muddied by sin, we can rest assured that we can come back to Him anytime. As long as we turn away from our sin, repent and call on His name, we can be forgiven again, start anew and accept His salvation for us.
Romans 10:11-13
“As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.’ For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Ephesians 1:3-6 and Titus 3:3-11 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Do you want to seek God but you are not too sure if you are clean enough to come near Him?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to draw near you in spite of our shortcomings and failures. Calm my heart as I seek to embrace your feet once again, and re-commit my life to you. Amen.
