Daily Devotion for April 30, 2025

Devotion:

For an audio version of this devotion, click here.

Read Ephesians 2:1-9.

Let’s not dance around it: Paul doesn’t pull punches here. “You were dead.” Not sick. Not struggling. Not making poor choices. Dead. That’s the diagnosis for life without Christ. Spiritually unresponsive. Without pulse or purpose, just drifting in patterns shaped by the world, the flesh, and forces we often can’t even name.

But then comes the greatest interruption in human history: “But God…”

These two words change everything. God, rich in mercy—not rationing it like a miser, but pouring it out—does something astonishing. He makes us alive with Christ. Not just better people. Not just reformed sinners. Alive. Raised from the grave of our own self-destruction and seated with Christ in heavenly realms.

And how did it happen? By grace. Not merit. Not hustle. Not religious effort. Grace.

This passage strips us of the illusion that we can earn our way to God. We don’t contribute to our salvation any more than Lazarus contributed to his resurrection. The beauty and scandal of grace is that it’s not fair—it’s far better than fair. It’s unearned, undeserved, and freely given.

How often do we fall back into the mindset that we have to perform for God’s love? That we have to earn our place? The gospel says: Stop striving. Start living. Grace is not a ladder to climb, but a gift to receive.

Let this truth reframe your self-worth. You're not defined by your worst moment, nor by your proudest achievement. You are defined by God's mercy and love, by the grace that brought you from death to life. Don’t just reflect on being saved—walk like someone who’s truly alive. Let your life be a thank-you note to the One who gave you new life.

Personal Worship Option:

Pray this prayer or one of your choosing: God of mercy, thank You for the grace that woke me up from spiritual death. Remind me that I am not who I was—because You intervened. Help me to live each day as one who’s been resurrected by love. Let grace not only save me, but transform me, for Your glory. Amen.