Dear Daily Message Readers,
READ: Titus 2 and Galatians 5
Titus 2:11-12 (NLT) "For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.12And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct, and devotion to God."
When Dmitri was released from prison in Siberia in the dead of winter, he had no place to go. His parents were dead. He had no other family. His former friends were hundreds of miles away, if they were out of prison themselves. On the streets at age 10 and an alcoholic at 15, he had been arrested for assault. Now, 4 years later, the guards simply opened the gates at midnight and sent him away. They gave him no money. He started walking toward town, which was several miles away.
Heres what happened to Dmitri. In town, as he trudged slowly along, he was stopped by a man not much older than he was. Have you just been released from prison? the man asked. Do you have anywhere to go? Dmitri confessed that he did not. Come home with me, the man offered. He gave him bread, soup, and tea, and a place to stay for a few days. He told him about Jesus. A short time later, Dmitri believed. When I met him, he was a student in a Bible school, preparing to minister to others who have no place to go (This is a personal story recounted from Christian author and writer Dave Egner.).
It was the grace of God working through the life of this lone Christian that Dmitri came to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Even though he had been convicted by the human courts of being guiltily of assault, Dmitri found his life turned around by the grace of another individual through the power of God. Cold, broken, and alone, Dmitri experienced the power of the living Christ through the actions and servanthood of this Christian. What a powerful testimony for us today!
If we are children of the Most High God, we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness. In his letter to the Galatian Christians, Paul writes on this very topic, saying, For you have been called to live in freedom--not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13). Too many of us use our spiritual freedom as an excuse not to have the heart of servant, for we are too busy with our own needs and desires that helping someone else is simply out of the question.
However, the grace of God never gives us freedom to sin in this way (Romans 6:1-14). Yet the grace of God is freely given to us, and the payment for our sin has been made (1 Peter 2:24). But what a heavy cost to God, even the death of His Son! Believing this simple salvation truth should help us to serve the Lord Jesus gratefully and to obey Him with all our heart. Faith Lesson: The grace of God working in our lives is the means by which we share Christ with others.
In Christ,
Darin Smith
READ: Titus 2 and Galatians 5
Titus 2:11-12 (NLT) "For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.12And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct, and devotion to God."
When Dmitri was released from prison in Siberia in the dead of winter, he had no place to go. His parents were dead. He had no other family. His former friends were hundreds of miles away, if they were out of prison themselves. On the streets at age 10 and an alcoholic at 15, he had been arrested for assault. Now, 4 years later, the guards simply opened the gates at midnight and sent him away. They gave him no money. He started walking toward town, which was several miles away.
Heres what happened to Dmitri. In town, as he trudged slowly along, he was stopped by a man not much older than he was. Have you just been released from prison? the man asked. Do you have anywhere to go? Dmitri confessed that he did not. Come home with me, the man offered. He gave him bread, soup, and tea, and a place to stay for a few days. He told him about Jesus. A short time later, Dmitri believed. When I met him, he was a student in a Bible school, preparing to minister to others who have no place to go (This is a personal story recounted from Christian author and writer Dave Egner.).
It was the grace of God working through the life of this lone Christian that Dmitri came to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Even though he had been convicted by the human courts of being guiltily of assault, Dmitri found his life turned around by the grace of another individual through the power of God. Cold, broken, and alone, Dmitri experienced the power of the living Christ through the actions and servanthood of this Christian. What a powerful testimony for us today!
If we are children of the Most High God, we are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness. In his letter to the Galatian Christians, Paul writes on this very topic, saying, For you have been called to live in freedom--not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13). Too many of us use our spiritual freedom as an excuse not to have the heart of servant, for we are too busy with our own needs and desires that helping someone else is simply out of the question.
However, the grace of God never gives us freedom to sin in this way (Romans 6:1-14). Yet the grace of God is freely given to us, and the payment for our sin has been made (1 Peter 2:24). But what a heavy cost to God, even the death of His Son! Believing this simple salvation truth should help us to serve the Lord Jesus gratefully and to obey Him with all our heart. Faith Lesson: The grace of God working in our lives is the means by which we share Christ with others.
In Christ,
Darin Smith
