TUESDAY May 9, 2023

A Divine Work of Grace

About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!” And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?” So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.”
Acts 10:3-4

Cornelius was a kind man who worked among the Jews. He was not a Christian, but he was giving and caring. He was diligently searching for God, and he found himself attracted to Judaism. As he began to study the religion, he even began to pray to Jehovah. I have heard it said by some that God does not hear sinners. I do not believe that, because God heard Cornelius’ prayer. God hears sinners; otherwise, how could we be saved?

God had to touch the heart of the Apostle Peter in preparation to speak with a Gentile. The Jews were prejudiced. Peter, as a Jew, needed to realize that salvation was not exclusive to the Jewish nation. God would speak to Peter so he would become a willing vessel to witness to Cornelius. He needed to hear the Gospel message of salvation.

It is important to understand that God chooses ordinary people to share the Gospel. You do not have to be a pastor or someone in a leadership position to share Christ’s message with others. Any Christian, a new convert or someone mature in Christ, just has to make themselves available for God to use them. Often Satan whispers a thought into our minds, You are not worthy. Let us face the fact that we are all not worthy. Jesus is worthy! It is by the grace of God that He uses our lives; it is nothing us.

In our Christian life, we need to be like Jesus––loving, kind, gentle and forgiving. Sometimes we fail, but that just proves that it is God’s grace working through us. Without Him we can do nothing. It is by the grace of God that we are who we are. Salvation is a divine work of grace. Know this: God works though human channels. When we are saved, we become loving channels of His love, grace, and mercy to others.

We are all so sunk in sin, and so wedded to the world, that we would never turn to God and seek salvation, unless He first called us by His grace. Without a divine call, no one can be saved.
~J. C. Ryle~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!