Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Have you ever heard how a pearl is formed? It is truly fascinating. A foreign object, often a grain of sand, somehow makes its way into the tightly sealed crack of an oyster. Instead of spitting out this irritating object, the oyster covers it with layer upon layer of a substance secreted from its own body. After months or even years, a beautiful pearl is formed. The longer the pearl stays in the oyster, the more valuable it becomes.
What a picture of God's mercy toward us! The Lord doesn't spit us out when we come to Him! "We are accepted in the beloved!" God has every right to cast us out because of our sin but instead, He brings us into His body and covers over our sin with His beautiful covering!
When God found us we were nothing more than an irritation but by His grace, He keeps us under His covering, so that we can be made into something valuable to His Kingdom! God is using our time now under His covering to conform us into His image!
Let's cherish this time under God's covering and take this opportunity to grow more and more beautiful -- that we attract many for His Kingdom in these trying times!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]We've been in full-time ministry just over 20 years now, and boy, have we had our share of trials and tribulations!
Sometimes when we are in the midst of trials we start to wonder -- Lord, will it ever end? In case you haven't noticed, it doesn't. But the good news is that with each faith-testing experience, our ability to deal with these trials and tribulations becomes better and our faith grows stronger!
A group of scientists and botanists were exploring remote regions of the Alps in search of new species of flowers. One day they noticed through binoculars a flower of such rarity and beauty that its value to science was incalculable. But it lay deep in a ravine with cliffs on both sides. To get the flower someone had to be lowered over the cliff on a rope.
When Peter stepped out of the boat to walk on water – he literally stepped out of the boat! Imagine that! But was Peter going overboard? No, I don't believe so -- he was literally taking a step of faith with his eyes fixed on the Lord!
On December 25, 1908, a newspaper in Messina, Sicily dared God to make Himself known by sending an earthquake. Three days later, the city was destroyed by an earthquake that killed over 84,000 people.
My wife and I both came from very worldly back rounds. We both enjoyed alcohol and drugs and lifestyles that come with that before we became believers. I think of all the awful things we did -- yet God chose to forgive us and cleanse us. And then allowed us to know Him and serve Him in holiness.
Our little Elianna is not a baby anymore, someone reminded us recently as we were saying something in passing about “our baby”. Boy do they grow fast.
Today marks 14 days of war in Israel. Amidst the craziness, we've been very encouraged by the many of you around the world who've written to tell us you're interceding for us and standing with Israel. Thank you so much.