SCRIPTURE
2 Corinthians 1:10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him, we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.
DEVOTION
He saved us from so great a death, and he is saving us. We have set our hope on him that he will still save us.’ (Author’s translation)
Paul expresses in this one verse the way salvation affects our past, present and future.
The scope of redemption is to fill our thinking with the brightness of grace in every dimension of our lives.
The past is blotted out and our personal history of sins is erased as we believe in Him and fellowship with Him. Nothing that we have done can ever be brought against us. We have been saved from the dreadful curse of condemnation.
The present is filled with His wonderful love. We have access to partake of His spiritual atmosphere. We have access to His faith and we do not keep holding before God our best struggles to believe, but drink in the waves of His faith to swallow up and replace our poor efforts. We are empowered to live for Christ each day.
The future is filled with boundless hope. We have a destination, a goal, and a vision, and it is all contained in the certainty of His coming.
In Ireland during the Depression of the 1930s, a story is told of some labourers who were employed to build a road. Their skill was undoubted, and they were pleased to work until one of them asked the foreman where the road was going, as they could all see that it was in a rural area.
When they were told that the road was simply linking up a few remote homes – but actually going nowhere – the men were so disheartened that many left the project and those that remained lost all interest in it.
We must keep the end in view because once we lose sight of the journey, we will also lose heart for the present and may even forget the achievements of the past.
Fellowship with Jesus. Thank Him for past sins forgiven and for power to walk in the Spirit today, and look forward eagerly to His coming again.
We would like to thank Pastor Les Wheeldon for today’s devotion.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
In which scope of redemption do you need to remind yourself of/experience God’s grace today?
- The past: He has blotted out all my sins and I have been saved from condemnation.
- The present: I am filled with His wonderful love and I have access to partake of His spiritual atmosphere.
- The future: it is filled with boundless hope!
Prayer:
Lord God,
Thank You for the brightness of Your grace in every dimension of our lives. Thank You that it covers our past, our present, and our future.
Please help me to keep my eyes fixed on the end view – on the goal set before me. May I not forget what You have done in the past, and may I not become disheartened by the present. But may I look ever-forward to the certainty of Your coming!
In Jesus’ name, amen.
PRAYER POINTERS
Pray for someone’s salvation today. Pray that they would come to know God’s lavish grace and redemption over their past, their present, and their future.
