DEVOTION

There are many words in our English language that make us stop and dwell on them for a while.  Devotion is one of them.  I love the sound of it, the meaning of it, and the value of it.   Years ago The Everly Brothers sang a great song entitled, “Devoted to You”.  Maybe you remember it.  Here are some of the lyrics

Darling you can count on me
Till the sun dries up the sea
Until then I'll always be
Devoted to you

I'll never hurt you, I'll never lie
I'll never be untrue
I'll never give you reason to cry
I'd be unhappy if you were blue

Through the years my love will grow
Like a river it will flow
It can't die because I'm so
Devoted to you

Devotion is such a special thing in any love relationship.  We love devoting ourselves to our spouse, our children, to a dear friend.  We can easily connect with the sentiment of the song.  It moves us.  I trust that will be true in one relationship above all others.  May we say to Jesus, our Lord and Savior, “Through the years my love will grow, Like a river it will flow.  It can’t die because I’m so devoted to You.”

UPDATING

I am getting ready to put my home on the market.  The time has come to downsize and get ready to move.  I have owned the home for 8 years.  It certainly isn’t an old home and frankly I think it has a lot of good features.  It’s very livable and comfortable.   But that’s my perspective.  Outside eyes, like those of my realtor see things differently.   I am discovering that my home is in bad need of upgrades for it to be attractive to today’s home buyer.  

It’s interesting to see how many things need to be updated, not just houses, but restaurants, wardrobes, technology and you could name many more.

I have to wonder if my spiritual life needs an update.  Am I living in the same spiritual state I was 8 years ago?  Haven’t really done much to make spiritual improvements?  Am I increasing in His virtues and disciplines?  Or I am just comfortable with the way things were.  Lord, don’t let me get stale but let a fresh work of your Spirit begin in me.

GRACE

Grace is one of the most beautiful words in the world.  It is found numerous times in the Bible, especially in the New Testament.  When Jesus came to this earth John records that He came “full of grace and truth.”

Paul writes to Titus, “The grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men.”   He also writes in Ephesians, “For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and not of yourselves.”

As Christians we love God’s grace.  Grace is God, authoring the free gift of salvation to all who would receive it.  Grace is God, paying the full price to accomplish our salvation through His incarnation and atoning death.  Grace is God, throwing wide open the doors of His kingdom to all who want to come in. 

Grace is God, giving to us what we neither deserve nor could acquire, namely, a salvation with an incredible beginning and no ending.

As beautiful as grace is, it can have a dark, seductive side.  It can convince us that God’s love is so great it will never run dry, and no matter how we live, God is always there to forgive.  It can lead us to abuse His grace, living casually according to our own wants and desires.  As long as our ticket is punched for heaven, we live on earth with freedom, liberty and a fairly undisciplined spiritual life.

A proper understanding of grace should lead us to embrace God with a growing affection.  We see His grace as a gift that draws us closer to our God, deepens our love for Him and delights in living fully the life He died to give us.  Grace leads us to want Him more than anything else, to die to self and live for Christ. 

Because of His grace God invested His all in us.  I can’t think of any reason why His grace wouldn’t motivate us to invest our all in Him.  Do you?  See you Sunday to celebrate His grace together.