Reading your Bible for Today July 2

July 2: Ephesians 2:8-10

KJV Key Verse: Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordainedthat we should walk in them.

Devotion:
Have you ever told anyone your Pastor or priest saved you, or maybe someone else saved you? Or have you ever told anyone how you did it yourself? Well, being saved is not about what we do or what we can do, it is simply about placing your life back in Christ's hands. The only thing we can do is to submit to our Lord. He is the only one who can “save” us. He is the only one who has paid for our sins. Nothing we can do or say will get us closer to God other than us giving our lives back to Him. Which means no person has saved you – it is Jesus Christ Himself who has accepted you back. It is His gift to you!

Imagine the uproar if people would go round the world telling of how many people they have saved? It's bad enough there are many who will go round boasting of how many they have led to the Lord. It is bad enough that “men of honour” base their strength in Christ by counting something they have not really done! We may be able to knock on the door, we may be able to get the person to open the door, but that person can do nothing through us other than listen to God's Word. The Holy Spirit is the one who will be able to convince each person about who God is.

And why should we be the ones submitting to His law, His will, His life? Well, He did create us! When God created Adam and Eve, He did so out of love. He was extremely pleased with what He had done. He knew exactly what had to be done in order to create us so we would be able to love Him back. We may be the ones who are able to have children, but that is only because of the way God made us.

When we submit our lives back to Christ, we need to remember exactly what we are doing. From that moment on we should be aiming at leading our lives according to His will and not our own. If you are going to get a job, you have to work according to your new boss's hours and outline, not your own. Having a job should not be about surviving, but about enjoying what you do. In like manner, we should be doing our work for Christ out of our love for Him, not out of duty!

Points to Ponder:
Do you like doing things for others or do you just do them because you must?

What do you do in your Christian life out of duty, and what out of love?