John 10: 27--30 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one. --NIV
In the name of the One Who holds us in His hand, amen.
Yesterday we considered the kingdom of power by which Christ Jesus provides for all creatures. Today we consider the kingdom of grace by which He brings us to faith and keeps us in that faith. If we really see our sins, if we understand how badly we have broken God's Law and sinned against Him, then we will know that we do not deserve anything but damnation. Because of this we may begin to worry that we rightly belong to Satan, and are subject to his evil desires.
Who among human beings truly loves God with all his heart, soul, and mind? We treat God as if He exists to serve us, rather than the other way around. We pray when we need something. We go to Church when we are hurting. Do we pray that the prophecies God has made come true? Do we pray that our Savior return to us to claim His bride the Church and finally crush evil? Do we walk around thinking, "I have faith, I have faith!" and not truly live a life of repentance that reflects that faith? How about our neighbor, do we love him as our self? Sitting at the stop light cursing because he didn't go through the yellow light, or in the store because he didn't move his shopping cart out of our way.
We deserve nothing good from God. We could expect that He would turn away from us and let Satan devour us. Yet, out of His love for us which we did not deserve (grace), He chose us to be His children. He did this in view of the life and death of Jesus Christ. Now our Savior, Who rules all things, uses His authority to shape history itself so that we hear the Gospel, come to faith, and remain in The Faith. God holds us in His hand. He guards our precious faith so that no one can steal us away from Him. Satan cannot really harm us, we belong to Christ. May the reality of Christ's kingdom of grace (undeserved love) give you true peace. Amen.
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, You are to be praised and glorified at all times, and in all places, but we do not always honor you. We are to love and help our fellow man, but we seldom do. Out of Your infinite grace forgive us. By Your mercy do not let us be tempted so that we fall into sin and eventually fall from faith. Guard us by Your Holy Spirit and keep us in the True Faith so that we may praise and glorify You forever with the Father and the Spirit, amen.