But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4-5)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
I’m a sinner saved by grace
Redeemed by the Blood of the lamb
Loved by my Father
Guided by the Holy Spirit
Renewed by the Word
Have some of you noticed that we are not yet perfect? (No great surprise, right?) And are you ready to make the accusation that since people like me, who go through Christ in order to get things right with God, aren’t perfectly virtuous, Christ must therefore be an accessory to sin? The accusation is frivolous. If I was “trying to be good,” I would be rebuilding the same old barn that I tore down. I would be acting as a charlatan.
But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8, AMP)
Last week, the power went out at my house. I spent 2 and a half hours without power and wasn’t sure when it was coming back on again. My son Zion and I spent some time outside because it was a little cooler and lighter. While sitting out on our deck… I got to thinking… What if the spiritual power in my life went out? Then I thought, it does go out every time I step away from the Word. Every time I think I can do something on my own. Every time I walk away and ignore God’s guidance. The power that God wants to give me vanishes every time time I separate myself from Him.
In John 15:5, Jesus puts it like this…
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do NOTHING.”
We only have power when we are connected to the source. We can’t produce fruit without the life giving sap that runs through Jesus. What does a life with power look like? Well, I think it looks like three things.
If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.] (1 John 1:8, AMP)
Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if we all had to carry a scarlet letter. I wonder if we would treat each other differently. Instead of looking at someone else and their sin, maybe we would be more conscious of our own. What if our sins were written on our forehead? A place we cannot hide them. What if we all had to walk around with our sins out front for everyone to see? My guess is there would be less judgement among Christians, less criticism, more humility, and more grace. I’m completely serious about this.
I’ve thought about it for a while. We get so caught up in what so and so is doing and how they are not living to the standard we think they should be living too. But the truth is there is only one perfect standard. Jesus Christ came and lived a sinless life. He is the perfect standard by which our lives should follow. I don’t mirror anyone on this earth. I need to mirror my Savior.