Daily Devotional
Why Do We Need God’s Grace?

April 18, 2023

Ponder This

We’re blessed because God loves us. That’s grace. God doesn’t love us because we’re valuable; we’re valuable because God loves us. That’s what the Gospel is all about.

Those of you trying to work your way to Heaven, how are you going to do it? You don’t have any righteousness. There is nothing you can do that will take away what you’ve already done. It is not subtraction. There is nothing you can stop doing; you'll still be missing reconciliation with God. What I’m trying to say is sin is sin, and it must be atoned for. If you try anything other than the grace of God, it will never work.

I read somewhere about a man who fell out of a rowboat into the Niagara River. The river was flowing toward the falls, and they tried to save him, so they threw him a rope. He held the rope for a while, but then he saw a log coming past and let go of the rope to grab hold of the log. No matter what else you hold onto, if you are not linked by the rope of grace to the heart of God, you’re going to perish. Salvation is not by works of righteousness, but according to His mercy—He saved us.

• When have you valued your good works too highly?
• How have you tried to sustain your faith by your own strength? Why is this impossible?

Practice This

Write down some “good works” you have done recently. Surrender those things to God.