Undeserved gifts
LENT
The Lord has given comfort to his people; he comes to your rescue. ~ Isaiah 52:9b (CEV)
You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. ~ Ephesians 2:8 (CEV)
KEY IDEA:
All the good things we have which make life liveable are undeserved gifts from God.
PRAYER:
Lord, you have certainly treated me much better than I deserve. Why is it then, that I so easily slip into trying to earn your favor -- trying to make myself look and feel deserving? Help me to repent of such presumption and to totally trust in your grace. I'm going to enjoy your gifts and allow them to transform my life so that Christ my gracious Savior is better recognized by all who encounter me. Amen.
TRANSLATIONS
ABP = Authorized Boydston Paraphrase — my own freestyle biblical adaptation — somewhere between paraphrase, commentary, and sermon
CEB = Common English Bible (©2011, the Common English Bible)
CEV = Contemporary English Version (©1995, American Bible Society)
MSG = The Message (©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson)
NIRV = New International Reader's Version (©1996, 1998, Biblica)
NIV = New International Version (©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, Biblica)
NLT = New Living Translation (©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, Tyndale House Foundation)
