Reading:  Ephesians 2: 1-10

By Grace Through Faith

1  And you he made alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins

2  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

3  Among these we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

4  But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us,

5  even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

6  and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

7  that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

8  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God --

9  not because of works, lest any man should boast.

10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

COMMENTARY

Almost 2,000 years have passed since followers of Jesus were first called Christians.  Yet today, we who have placed our trust in the Savior still consider it a privilege to march under the same banner as those early believers.  By calling ourselves Christians, we are saying to the world that we know the Lord Jesus as our Savior and that we are His followers.  How important, therefore, that we live in a manner that is consistent with our relationship to Christ, the One whose name we bear!

The story is told of a Jewish woman who had been converted.  The friend who led her to the Lord suggested that she begin her Bible reading in the gospels.  She did this with great delight, and she benefited spiritually. But when she was finished, she told her friend she wanted to read a book on church history.  When asked the reason for her special interest in that subject, she replied, “0h, I'm just curious.  I've been wondering when it was that Christians started to become so unlike Christ."

Looking at the religious scene today, we can understand why this new convert was perplexed.  I'm afraid there is a great disparity between the life of Christ and the lives of many who bear His name.  In fact, some believers mimic the world instead of imitating Jesus, which makes it impossible to tell the difference between them and unbelievers.

As Christians, we have a glorious name.  Let's remember that we are privileged to bear it - and we are obliged to live up to it !

NEWS

PRAYER ( say together)

Heavenly Father, please help us to live and grow like Jesus Christ, guide us to show his love to others and strengthen our witness among the unbelievers.