Becoming Like Jesus: Scripture MemorizationSample

Recognize the Gift

Pray…

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the free gift of grace. Jesus, help know more deeply that there is nothing I can do to earn or lose your gift. Thank you for loving me unconditionally. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Read…

Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:7-8 NLT

Consider…

Once we realize that there is nothing humanly possible we can do to earn God’s grace, then we can live with the confidence that comes from knowing it’s actually free. It’s free to us and freedom for us.

It can be so easy to feel like you need to do something for God to get His love and favor, because that’s often how the world works. We have transactional relationships—if I do this thing for you, then you respond this way to me. But that is not how God operates. Before we did anything to clean ourselves up, to get right with God, or to love Him back—Jesus died for us.

But how do we go from thinking we need to do something for that gift instead of receiving something as a gift? Journal your thoughts.

Practice…

Let’s continue internalizing the truth found in Ephesians 2:8-10. Pull out that notecard or flip back to that page in your journal. Copy the verse down in a different color and say it out loud as you write.

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT

Listen…

Set a timer for 5 minutes.

Lean into your listening by thinking about 3 things that you have in your life that you did nothing to earn. Those are examples of grace.

Ask God to speak to you and reveal more of His love and grace to you.

When you get distracted, come back to Jesus by praying this prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for the free gift of grace in my life. I recognize that there is nothing I could do to earn that gift, yet you give it to me freely. Thank you. Teach me to live under the freedom of your grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.