Verse of the Day - Titus 3:5

...He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. ~ Titus 3:5 (NLT)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Titus is a book that perhaps many haven't cracked open very much. But this verse may sound vaguely familiar. If so, that may be because it's an echo of a classic evangelistic passage from Ephesians, also written by Paul...

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. ~Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT)

If you've ever taken an Christian evangelism class, if you've ever been witnessed to by a Christ follower, you've probably heard this passage repeated. Why? Because it's critical to the concept of God's plan of salvation. No works...all grace (gift).

Humanity wants to work for what we get. It makes sense to us. Gifts seem to scream for recompense. Don't think so? Just try accepting an invitation to dinner from someone, and not planning to reciprocate. Or how about at Christmastime? As the Christmas cards come in the mail, and you get one from someone not on your mailing list? Oops...!...gotta shoot off a card in the mail to them. If someone offers to help with a need you have, are you tempted to say No thanks, I can handle it...? We do that all the time! Why? Because, in pride, we want to say we earned it. We did it. Look at us...we're good!

God says Uh...no, you're not. You're not good at all. In fact, you're all rotten to the core. Selfish, hateful, and prideful. AND...trying to do good to make up for all the bad just doesn't work in my Kingdom. My way seems crazy, but it's by faith alone. I can give you a clean heart and eternal life if you believe I can through my Son, Jesus', sacrifice on the cross -- without your help. That's the gift. Will your pride keep you working and striving, or will you swallow your pride and take the gift with a humble heart?

It doesn't matter how many charities you give to, how many community service projects you work on, how many noble and lofty endeavors you are a part of. None of these good works can make a person spiritually alive when they are dead. And unfortunately, that is what all of us are at birth. Spiritually dead. No two ways about it. You can say it isn't so all day long, but it's the truth. And pride says that I can work my way out of the pit. Yet God says it's impossible. So, who do you believe? Who do you trust?

Well, that's the $64,000 question, isn't it?

But, we don't have to live very long before we realize that trusting ourselves just digs us deeper into the pit, instead of getting ourselves out -- which just proves God's point. He doesn't have to rub it in our faces of how helpless we really are...we showcase it every day with the dumb mistakes we make and the willful choices that get us into trouble. If we take off the blinders, we see that we're a mess, and we need help. And that, right there, is the big "BINGO!" God says Now you're gettin' somewhere.

God is God, and we are not. He is holy, and we are sinful. See the big gap? Actually, it's a chasm. Like the Grand Canyon. No matter how hard you train, or how good a shape you're in, you cannot leap over the Grand Canyon. And that's us. That's our spiritual condition. But God, in His great love for us, made a way for us...

Silence
Trying to fathom the distance
Looking out 'cross the canyon carved
By my hands
God is gracious
Sin would still separate us
Were it not for the bridge His grace
Has made us
His love will carry me

(Chorus)
There's a bridge to cross the great divide
A way was made to reach the other side
The mercy of the Father, cost His SonHis life
His love is deep, His love is wide
There's a cross to bridge the great divide .

God is faithful
On my own I'm unable
He found me hopeless, alone
and Sent a Savior
He's provided a path and promised
To guide us
Safely past all the sin that would divide us
His love delivers me...

~ from the song, The Great Divide, by Grant Cunningham & Matt Huesmann

I hope that you can know the freedom of laying down your pride and picking up the gracious gift of God's salvation in Jesus Christ. Not by works, so no man can boast...

Love,
Joelene