DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)
We again declare that all our hope is centered in the atoning Sacrifice, and in the risen Savior, who has gone into the glory as the testimony of our justification, and of our acceptance in him.
Oh, dear Savior, if in the course of years we have tried to add anything to the one foundation, if unconsciously we are relying now upon our knowledge, our experience, our Christian effort, we desire to clear away all these heap of rags and get down on the foundation again. None but Jesus! None but Jesus! Our soul rests in none but Jesus; and we hate and loathe, with our inmost nature, the very idea of adding anything to what he has finished, or attempting to complete what is perfect in him.
Amen.
VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)
“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift.” (Ephesians 2:8)
For salvation to be complete, it must be by free favor. The saints, when they come to die, never conclude their lives by hoping in their good works. Those who have lived the most holy and useful lives invariably look to free grace in their final moments. If this be the case in our last moments, when the conflict is almost over, much more ought we to feel it to be so while we are in the thick of the fight.
If a man be completely saved in this present time of warfare, how can it be except by grace. While he has to mourn over sin that dwells in him, while he has to confess innumerable shortcomings and transgressions, while sin is mixed with all he does, how can he believe that he is completely saved except it be by the free favor of God?
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
Know (and enjoy) the God who gives all grace
Today we prayed that God would remove all of our confidence in ourselves and rest only in the free grace that he gives through his Son Jesus Christ. This beautiful salvation by grace alone is a work of the Triune God alone. We don’t play a part, but each member of the Trinity does.
An excellent book for growing to enjoy the glorious God who gives grace is Experiencing the Trinity: The Grace of God for the People of God by Joe Thorn. This book is fifty, very short devotionals, each covering one aspect of God’s character and salvation. The book is divided into three sections: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, with each devotional reflecting on a different aspect of that person’s glory.
This daily devotional is a breath of fresh air — add it to your daily reading and you will grow your knowledge of God and your love for God. I hope you’ll grab a copy today.