DEVOTION – DAY 450

Ephesians 1:7-8a “God’s Lavish Love”

Ephesians 1:7-8a “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance to the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us.”

The above verse reminds us of the great love that God have lavished on us. His love is so great that He sent His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, to be born as Man so that He could die on the cross. Jesus Christ’ shed blood on the cross was the price of redemption that must be paid so that we can be released from our own punishment for our sins. Instead of us being punished for our sins, Jesus Christ took our place. Thus, we received redemption through His blood – redemption from having to face God’s judgment for our sins. 

God forgave us for our sins because Jesus Christ took our place on the cross. He could do that because Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He alone could atone for all our sins, past, present and future sins. The only requirement is that we open our hearts to Him and place our faith and trust in Him as our Lord and Savior, confess and repent and we are forgiven by God. This is the riches of God’s grace that He has lavished on us.

Nabeel Qureshi was born in California in 1983 to Pakistani immigrants. His parents were devout Muslims and he was raised as a Muslim. He was well versed in Islamic apologetics and considered himself a devout Muslim. He fasted during Ramadhan and he prayed five times a day. In 2001, he attended University. It was there that he engaged Christians in religious discussions. He particularly enjoyed debating the historical claims of Christianity and Islam with a fellow Christian student David Wood. David encouraged Nabeel to research Christianity and Islam with an open mind. 

After a few years, Nabeel realized that his faith in Islam was misplaced. He could not ignore the truth about Jesus Christ. He made the most difficult decision in his life by converting to Christianity. In the process, he lost many of his friends and some of his own family wanted nothing to do with him. His own parents were deeply disappointed but they accepted his decision. Nabeel paid a high price for his faith in Jesus, but he knew it was right decision. Jesus had redeemed him from God’s judgment by His shed blood on the cross. Prophet Mohammad never did that. Nabeel had no regrets because he has tasted the lavishness of God’s grace and love.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for your grace and love for us. Thank you for loving us whilst we were still sinners. Please help us draw close to you all the days of our lives. We humbly pray in the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. What kind of person were you like before you became a Christian? Share.
  2. What changes do you see in yourself now that you have converted to be a Christian? Share.
  3. How can you thank the Lord for saving you from judgment for your sins?
  4. If you are not yet a Christian, what is stopping you from putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Share.