Embrace God’s Grace!

Ezra 10

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, December 5.

Apart from God’s grace, not a one of us could call Heaven our eternal home. It is God’s grace that provides the solution to sin – “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

Ezra described Israel’s return from exile as “a brief moment grace” (Ezra 9:8). When he was confronted with the remnant’s sin of intermarriage with the Canaanites, he wasted no time to entreat God, and the people gathered around him in a large assembly weeping bitterly over their sin (Ezra 9:5-10:1). After three days, all the men of Israel gathered to Ezra the priest, who said to them in Ezra 10:10-12:

“You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives adding to the guilt of Israel. Now therefore, make confession to the Lord God of your fathers and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.” Then all the assembly replied with a loud voice, “That’s right! As you have said, so it is our duty to do.”

Their confession of sin came with their willingness to repent. God’s grace to the people of Israel is the same call to us today, as commanded by Paul in Titus 2:11-14:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

The grace of God always comes with a reward – “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b). Ezra embraced grace, so should we in our lives.

Seize the moment and embrace the grace of God by walking closely with Jesus!

God bless you!

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