Christ Church Daily Devotion April 11 2024

The scripture passage from Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1-5 explains that we were dead in our sins, but because of God's love and grace, we are now alive in Christ. Though we still face struggles with temptation, we know the joy of being alive in Christ. Before accepting Christ, we were spiritually dead, but now we can produce spiritual fruit. We don't deserve a relationship with God, but He saves us out of love. The suggested prayer expresses gratitude for God's love, mercy, and grace, and asks for help in growing in faith and showing love to others. Welcome to Christ Church's daily devotion for April 11th, 2024. Today we will be reading from Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 through 5. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world, and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 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. In this scripture passage, Paul explains we were dead in transgressions. But now, because of God's love and grace, we are alive in Christ. The before and after in our lives is like night and day. Though the ultimate victory has been won with Christ, we still face the struggles of temptation that affect our spiritual lives. The devil still uses every opportunity to inflict pain on the people of God. To our benefit, though, we know not only the reality of our struggle with sin, but also the joy that makes us alive in Christ. The forces of darkness want to pull us down by pointing to our continuing failures. But because we are alive with Christ, we see the signs of victory today. Before we had Christ in our lives, we did not produce any spiritual fruit. We were dead before Christ gave us Jesus, showing his love, mercy, and grace. Until we accepted Christ, we were just like a dead tree, which did not produce fruit or soil that has no nutrients. None of us deserve a relationship with God, but fortunately, God saves us because of his love for us. Your personal worship option today is, Dear God, thank you for your love, mercy, and grace. Thank you for sacrificing your only Son on our behalf. We cannot fathom the level of your love, but are so grateful for it. Help us to grow in our faith and show your love to others. Amen.