Daily Devotion-July 1, 2023

Daily Devotion-July 1, 2023

John 1:16-17

For out of his fullness, we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank you for the grace and truth you have given us, as John the Baptist described—by the power of the Spirit—grace upon grace. All this grace was a part of your plan of salvation. We were created to serve you and others with perfect love, just as you are perfect. And what that means is this: By loving you and others, we serve them; we make their importance greater than our own. But we fail at this and want what is best for ourselves, so we think, say, and do things that hurt others; we fail at being perfect.

In the beginning, our first parents were told to worship you by not eating the forbidden fruit, for when they did, they would surely die. We have walked in the shadow of death ever since; because of sin in this world—our tarnished imperfection—we will one day die (unless you come back first.) The law was given to us to show us our sins and realize how much we needed you, our Savior.

First, you came into this world and became like us, yet you were without sin; you lived the perfect life we could not do; you covered us with your perfection. So when your Father sees us, he sees your righteousness; this is grace, your undeserved love.

Second, for every sin, a death had to occur, and you willingly went to the cross in our place, taking every bit of our punishment upon you. You were the ultimate sacrifice, the innocent Son of God suffering the punishment for the world’s sins, grace upon grace. Your love and mercy are delivered to us by faith in You; it cannot be obtained any other way but by believing in You. We are forgiven of all our sins and restored to you; this is salvation, and through faith in you, we have everlasting life.

You are the truth, and there is no other way to heaven than through you. Please allow us to share this good news with those who do not believe or know you; through faith, they will also come to know you and your grace upon grace for them. Amen.

Written through Pastor Roger Emmons

What is amazing is that grace is undeserved, it has nothing to do with you, and despite you, God still gives it to all who simply believe in Jesus as their Savior; he grants a full and complete pardon from all your sins. There you have life.