<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="eph+1:1-14">Ephesians 1:1-14</span></span></p><p>What is it in the heart of most men and women that rejects the idea of God's free and generous offer of salvation? It is pride, the deadliest of all the deadly sins. Bernard Shaw, an example of a modern-day thinker, said: "Forgiveness is a beggar's refuge. We must pay our debts." But we cannot pay our debts. As our spiritual fathers saw so clearly, the only language we can use in the presence of a God who demands so much and whose demands we are unable to meet is: Just as I am without one plea But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come. In response to our coming, the free unmerited favor of God flows down to us, cancels our debt, imputes and imparts Christ's righteousness to us. How can Christ's righteousness be imputed and imparted to us? It's His righteousness, not ours. A simple illustration may help to illuminate this point. A dull little boy came home from school one day and said to his mother: "We've won a holiday." The truth was another boy had come top of the region in the examinations and the head teacher decided to give the whole school a holiday. Yet the dull little lad said: "We've won a holiday." Grace is like that. God permits the righteousness of Jesus to cover us and then, as we open ourselves to it - to enter us. He did it, but we benefit from it. Isn't grace really amazing?</p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">O Father, as I contemplate still further the "riches" of Your grace, once again I have to confess it's truly amazing. No wonder men and women use that term to describe Your grace. No other adjective will do! Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="php+4:1-19">Philippians 4:1-19</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1ti+1:14">1 Timothy 1:14</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="tit+3:6">Titus 3:6</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What has God promised?</li><li>What did Paul testify to Timothy?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"In him we have  the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace " (v. 7)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="2ti+1:1-18">2 Timothy 1:1-18</span></span></p><p>Several of the world's religions, when faced with the perplexing issue of Christ's return from the dead, explain it in terms of reincarnation. A proponent of one of the Eastern religions says: "Christ's resurrection was really a reincarnation - another soul in another body." I once heard a Christian minister declare that Paul's reference to Christ as the firstborn from among the dead  (<span class="scriptRef" ref="col+1:18">Colossians 1:18</span>) was a clear allusion to reincarnation. There is no doubt that our Lord came from a virgin womb and a virgin tomb, but the body that emerged from the sepulchre was not fashioned in the tomb as it had been when He was an infant in Mary's womb. The body was the same one as before. Others try to explain Christ's resurrection as living on in the recollection of others. "To live in the minds and hearts of those we love," goes a well-known saying often heard at funerals, "is not to die." It has to be acknowledged that some live so vibrantly that it is hard to think of them as dead even after one has attended their funeral. But when we talk about Christ's resurrection, we are not saying He survives in our memories. Recollection is not resurrection. The body which died upon the cross and was laid in the cool tomb on the evening of the first Good Friday was miraculously infused with life once again early in the morning of the first Easter Day. It is as literal and as factual as that. This - nothing less and nothing else - is what we mean by the resurrection of our Lord from the dead.</p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">Father, I am so thankful that in bringing Your Son back to life You brought 'life and immortality to light' through the gospel. I know this to be true for in You there cannot be such a thing as death. Life is so sure - as sure as You are. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="eph+1:1-20">Ephesians 1:1-20</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ro+4:25">Romans 4:25</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1co+15:3-5">1 Corinthians 15:3-5</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1th+4:13-15">1 Thessalonians 4:13-15</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What did Paul say was of first importance?</li><li>What does this mean for those who have experienced resurrection life?</li></ul></div></div>

" ... our Savior, Christ Jesus ... has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light ..." (v. 10)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="col+1:1-20">Colossians 1:1-20</span></span></p><p>Does salvation come up from mankind through striving, helped by the Divine, or does it come down to us from above, through the act of God and our receptivity of that act? Is it an attainment or an obtainment? The answers separate Christianity from all other religions. Non-Christian religions teach that salvation is the work of mankind; the Christian faith teaches that salvation is the gift of God - Christianity alone falls into the category of obtainment. Some people try to blunt the sharpness of the question "Does mankind strive to reach up to God or does God come down to redeem mankind through the incarnate Jesus?" by saying the answer is both. But by the very nature of things it cannot be both. The starting points are different. One begins with mankind; the other begins with God. Since the beginnings are different, the endings will be different. The whole of the New Testament revolves around the Person and work of Jesus. In some form or another He is on every page. A letter I received protested against a statement I made which went something like this: "There is only one Person around whom the universe can unite, and that Person is Jesus." "There have been good persons in history," said my correspondent, "why not unite around all of them rather than just one?" Because Christ is the meeting point of the human and the divine. No one else can hold that position. An Indian Hindu said recently: "There is no one else bidding for the heart of humanity except Jesus. There is no one else on the field." There isn't! </p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">O Father, we want to thank You that when we couldn't come to You, You came down the ladder to us through the Incarnation. We are eternally grateful. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="eph+1:1-23">Ephesians 1:1-23</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+3:31">John 3:31</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1co+8:6">1 Corinthians 8:6</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>List some of the things that we have obtained in Christ.</li><li>What did John declare about Jesus?</li></ul></div></div>

"... he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead ..." (v. 18) 

<p> Could there be a sweeter word in any language than that word "forgiveness," when it sounds in a guilty sinner's ear, like the silver notes of jubilee to the captive Israelite? Blessed, for ever blessed be that dear star of pardon which shines into the condemned cell, and gives the perishing a gleam of hope amid the midnight of despair! Can it be possible that sin, such sin as mine, can be forgiven, forgiven altogether, and for ever? Hell is my portion as a sinner-there is no possibility of my escaping from it while sin remains upon me-can the load of guilt be uplifted, the crimson stain removed? Can the adamantine stones of my prison-house ever be loosed from their mortices, or the doors be lifted from their hinges? Jesus tells me that I may yet be clear. For ever blessed be the revelation of atoning love which not only tells me that pardon is possible, but that it is secured to all who rest in Jesus. I have believed in the appointed propitiation, even Jesus crucified, and therefore my sins are at this moment, and for ever, forgiven by virtue of his substitutionary pains and death. What joy is this! What bliss to be a perfectly pardoned soul! My soul dedicates all her powers to him who of his own unpurchased love became my surety, and wrought out for me redemption through his blood. What riches of grace does free forgiveness exhibit! To forgive at all, to forgive fully, to forgive freely, to forgive for ever! Here is a constellation of wonders; and when I think of how great my sins were, how dear were the precious drops which cleansed me from them, and how gracious was the method by which pardon was sealed home to me, I am in a maze of wondering worshipping affection. I bow before the throne which absolves me, I clasp the cross which delivers me, I serve henceforth all my days the Incarnate God, through whom I am this night a pardoned soul. </p>

This timeless classic from Charles Spurgeon will help to both start and end your day with wonderful insight into God's Word.

Charles Spurgeon's Morning & Evening

"The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." - Ephesians 1:7

Evening Devotional

<p>Your idea of riches, does it run most naturally in this direction? Perhaps you are blessed (as men say) with worldly goods. Your wealth enables you to surround yourself with many beautiful and tasteful articles that some people might call objects of luxury; to live in a certain style; to associate with a certain class to which you think you belong in a peculiar sense. But, these are not your only riches. You are enabled to approach God by faith in Christ the mediator, morning and evening, to cast your care on him, commit yourself to his guidance, rejoice in his goodness, meditate in his word, and occupy yourself with elevating thoughts of the inheritance incorruptible reserved in heaven for you. Of these two portions, the worldly and the heavenly, which is dearest to you? You answer: " The heavenly of course. The favor of God, that is life. The love of Christ, this is true wealth. It pleases God to adorn my earthly path, by the gift of so much wealth as surrounds me and mine with things that a refined taste must prize; but my heart, while it accepts them with thankfulness, cleaves not to them." </p><p>The answer appears unexceptionable; perhaps is so. But is it not a conceivable thing that God has given you of the riches of earth, to test the force of your attachment to the heavenly treasure? Are you not looking at things rather from the modern point of view than from the apostolic and scriptural? Examine yourself Would it be a very disastrous thing to you to have to come down and associate with Christians of a humble order, as one of them? Do you grasp your worldly substance with much less tenacity than the heavenly? Do losses of the inferior kind seem to you every way inferior? Does Christian affection, at all times and under all circumstances, seem to you of greater price than the friendship of the worldly members of that society to which you fancy you inherently belong? Oh, be honest! </p>

A daily devotional written by a Baptist Missionary to India, Reverend George Bowen (1816-1888) over 150 years ago.

Bowen's Daily Meditations

" The riches of his grace." ― Ephesians 1:7. 

<p>The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. § You did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. § He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself.<br><br>In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. § In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. § That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.<br><br>Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.</p>

Daily Light on the Daily Path or Daily Light is a Christian daily devotional scripture reading published by Bagster & Sons about 1875. It has been reprinted continually since then. It consists of brief groupings of scripture passages which speak to prominent Biblical themes—two themes (morning and evening) for each day of the year. It appends no commentary, but simply allows scripture to speak for itself.

Morning Daily Light

 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 

<p>If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. § But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.<br><br>Because I live, you will live also. § If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.<br><br>“The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” says the Lord. § We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. § You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.</p>

 I know that my Redeemer lives. 

<p>Your lamb shall be without blemish. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. § The blood of sprinkling. § Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. § Being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God. § According to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.<br><br>We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.<br><br>Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.</p>

 The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 

<p>Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it … Love is as strong as death. § Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.<br><br>[He] Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness— by whose stripes you were healed. § In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.<br><br>You were washed … you were sanctified … you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. § You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. § I beseech you … , brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.</p>

 To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. 

<p>Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”<br><br>Be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you. § I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.<br><br>The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. § In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. § Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior. § He has … forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us … He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.<br><br>Bless the Lord, O my soul, . . . who forgives all your iniquities.</p>

Evening Daily Light

 Forgive all my sins. 

<p>If the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? §The blood of sprinkling … speaks better things than that of Abel.<br><br>We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.<br><br>When Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people … Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.</p>

 Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. 

<p><span class="bible-text "> <sup class="verse-num ">7 </sup>In him we have redemption   through his blood,   the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches   of God’s grace </span></p>

In him we have redemption<cr>1</cr>  through his blood,<cr>2</cr>  the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches<cr>3</cr>  of God’s grace

Ephesians 1:7

 7 In him we have redemption   through his blood,   the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches   of God’s grace

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace

<p><span class="bible-text ">In him we have redemption   through his blood,   the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches   of God’s grace </span></p>

 In him we have redemption   through his blood,   the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches   of God’s grace

Bible Verse of the Day

March 14, 2023

Ephesians 1:7 NIV

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