November 19 I Thursday

Ezekiel 11-13

James 1

“...so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” —2 Corinthians 4:15

 Where are we in our faith journey? Some of us may have been Christians for a long time, while some are recent converts and others are discovering the faith. Wherever we are in our faith journey, there needs to be a fundamental awareness: we are all sinners in need of a saviour.

As Paul reflects on his faith journey in his first letter to Timothy, he writes, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15). Paul reminds Timothy, as well as the church of Ephesus, where Timothy was pastoring, that the only reason why we stand before a Holy God in righteousness is not because of what we do but because of what Christ did for us. Paul later adds in that same letter, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all people” (1 Timothy 2:5-6).

Paul makes it clear that we cannot save ourselves from our own sinfulness and be reconciled to God, only Jesus can. If we have not made the decision to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, why not make that choice today?

Paul unpacks this reality in another letter to the church of Colossae: “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:19-20). When Jesus died on the cross, we are told that He not only reconciled us through His death, but the whole of the created order.

As Christians, we ought to be the most thankful people on the planet. We must be overwhelmed with joy at the reality that the God we worship clothed himself with humanity, went to the cross and paid a debt that we owed but could not repay. By Jesus’s finished work on the cross, we are told that we are reconciled to God. We are made righteous, clean, holy and pure in His sight, not because of what we do, but because of what Christ did for us. Therefore, we must be the most grateful people that are full of thanksgiving. As Paul reminds us, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). May we remember to give thanks to God today as well as every day.

Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I rejoice in Your finished work on the cross. I am grateful for Your role as mediator between God and mankind. Thank You for reconciling my relationship with God.