The Devotional to End All DevotionalsSample

The penalty for sin is death, or separation from God. God’s not mean. He’s perfect and cannot, by His very nature, have fellowship with imperfection. 

Only the shedding of blood, or the giving of life, can “atone” for (pay for) sin and restore man to God.  A long time ago, people used to sacrifice perfect animals as payment for their sin. But when Jesus came, He became the perfect, sinless sacrifice for all of us. Our divine substitute, He endured the punishment that we deserved, shedding His blood and giving His life on the cross to pay for our sin. His “substitutionary atonement” made it possible for us to be freed from the bondage of sin and gave us the opportunity to become God’s children. 

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can be saved from the punishment that we deserve for sin, eternal separation from God. This “salvation” is a free gift from God, and it begins the moment that we repent and give God complete control of our lives in exchange for His free gift of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ. This moment is commonly referred to as a believer’s “salvation experience” and is a specific moment in time that anyone who calls him/herself a believer ought to be able to remember and talk about, whether or not they know the specific words that they prayed or the details of their surroundings. 

Many people think that saying a few words will get them “saved” and that they can continue to live however they want and still enjoy God’s gift of eternal life and a relationship with Him. That isn’t true. Salvation is not about the words that you speak during what you consider to be your salvation experience. 

Salvation is about surrender. It is a once-and-for-all giving over of yourself to the only One who can rescue you from eternal separation from God. While salvation is free in the sense that you aren’t able to earn it, God does expect a life of obedience He can use in return. 

Use one or more of the following methods to study today’s passages as appropriate and helpful: God Follower, Target, or CUT. 

Thank God for the blood of Jesus that paid the penalty for your sin so you could know Him.