Read: Ephesians 2:1-10

A story is told about Martin Luther and sin.  One night Luther went to sleep troubled about his sin.  In a dream he saw an angel standing by a blackboard, and at the top of the board was Luther’s name.  The angel, chalk in hand, was listing all of Luther’s sins, and the list filled the blackboard. Luther shuddered in despair, feeling that his sins were so many that he could never be forgiven.

Have you ever felt like that?  Martin Luther’s story does not end there.  In that same dream he saw a pierced hand writing these words above his list of sins.  It said, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” As Luther gazed in amazement, drops of blood flowed from the wounded hand and washed the blackboard full of his sins clean.  Jesus can wash away our sins as well. In Ephesians 2:1-10 the apostle Paul talks about how this is a gift from Jesus and not something we have to earn or work for.

Joyce Meyer says this about Ephesians 2.  “Paul did not say that by grace you are being saved, or that you shall be saved, but you have been saved.  Salvation is an established work (something already finished), leaving no room for us to try to work for it because God has already given it.  If I give my daughter a lovely gift, it has already been paid for and there is no way she can pay for it again. We cannot pay for our salvation because Jesus has already paid, but we can and should respond in love and with a deep desire to be pleasing to Him in all our ways.”

If you have been trying to earn God’s grace it’s time to just stop and receive it as God’s gift to you through his Son Jesus.  Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for our sin and restore our relationship with God. What a great gift. This is why the symbol of the cross has become the lasting testimony of the Christian church.  Because it is by His grace that we who believe are saved.

Make it Personal:  If you believe in Christ and want to receive him as your Savior and Lord you can pray this prayer today and be saved.  “Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I repent of my sins and I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord.  Take control of my life and help me to find victory over all the attacks of the evil one. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.  In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.” Welcome child of God and follower of Jesus!